In my spontaneous escape route, I found myself in the hall where the practice rooms were located. I could smell the rosin embedded in the walls and carpet from all the practicing that had gone on in this section of the school. The atmosphere here seemed to have a cloud of seriousness looming overhead.

I could hear about five different melodies playing around me, none of which went together. A slow ballad came from the right, an upbeat march bounced from the left. There was a tuning here and a scale there, everyone playing in their own key and tempo.

Each door had a thin window that revealed to me that the rooms I passed were occupied with musicians. Although one window I thought I saw a glow from out of the corner of my eye. As I neared the room in question, it looked empty so I went in, curious about what shiny object caught my eye.

It was a fair sized practice room with walls built for acoustics. There was a baby grand piano and a bench to set an instrument case. A music stand and a chair were set aside in the corner. The lights were styled after old-fashioned candles which made the room seem dimly lit with the wood, but the welcome sun shone through the window.

“I’m glad you came, Refi Chan!” piped the voice I had encountered earlier.

Right before me was the pixie. I pointed at it while I shrieked, “Stalker fairy!”

“Aw, I’m not a stalker fairy!” the sprite pouted.

I poked his belly while asking, “So how did you know my name, huh?”

The fairy pushed my finger away and explained, “My name is Lili and I’m a music fairy for this school!”

“Oh? A music fairy you say?” I replied, a little suspicious.

“I help people who study music,” Lili explained flying over the piano, “So they can use their skills to make the whole world happy. Just like how I helped the guy who founded this school! Unfortunately not many humans can see me. I was worried that this year no one would be able to see me again, but low and behold, here you are!” He flew right into my face, “You really can see me!”

I backed up as he flew to the side as he continued his narration, “Now that I think of it, you can’t just compete with your fondness for music. Let’s see what we can get for you to play because you’ll need something for the competition!”

“The problem is I can’t play! Otherwise I would be enrolled in the Music Department!”

“But you have the desire and feelings to express that you wish to share with others, right? Ah-ha! I have just the thing for you!”

Lili waved his wand and sparkles swirled around the room and bonded in front of me. With a glow, a violin formed and gently fell into my hands.

“This is a magic violin! You’ll be able to play this beautifully!” Lili announced.

I looked at him skeptically, “A magic violin?”

Lili responded, “That’s right! Anyone who wants to play it can!”

“Well that’s not going to do me any good,” I said, tossing the instrument at the little fairy.

Lili freaked and waved his wand to send sparkles to catch it.

“Careful!” he shrieked, “This is a very valuable violin! Why won’t you play it?”

I sighed, “One, I shouldn’t take things from strangers. Two, I hate violins. They play too many high notes that hurt my ears. It’s one thing to repulse others while playing, but if I repulse myself while playing, how do you expect me to make others happy with it?”

Lili directed the violin to sit on top of the piano and sat upon it. He rested his head on his hands while he thought for a moment. After a moment, his face lit up and sprung in front of me again.

“What instrument do you want to play?” asked Lili.

“Do you mean you can make any instrument magic?”

Lili nodded. I knew what I would naturally want to choose, but since it looked as though the opportunity arose for any instrument, I wanted to explore my options. Perhaps something exotic and non-conventional: like a koto, or a lute, or the bagpipes, or an accordion. Still, I wanted to give a shot for a chance to make my favorite way of making music to be fan-tabulous.

“I love singing,” I told Lili, “Can you make my vocal chords magic?”

Lili’s face came over with despair, “Aw, you can’t compete by singing!”

“Then how about the bagpipes?”

“You need an instrument that they instruct at this school for the competition!”

“How about a tuba?”

“There’s not a lot of solo work to showcase for that.”

“Well, I played viola back in middle school.”

“With that, you might as well take the violin!”

“But I could take viola playing to the next level, given the chance,” I started to plead, “Earn the violist some respect; show people that all instruments have their own unique qualities and all are needed to make the beautiful symphony of life!”

A tear formed in Lili’s eye. He sniffed, “You really have a voice inside you that will bring joy to others when it comes out. I can make a magic viola if that is the instrument you really want.”

I smiled, the thought that my feelings that have been locked inside would really come out overwhelmed me bliss. But I already had a viola at home, and it seemed silly to have two.

“Well,” I hesitated, “I would love to one day play all sorts of instruments, and I already know a bit about the viola. Do you have a chart on you with all the instruments I could choose from?”

Lili beamed, “No problem!”

He waved his wand and a small poster appeared with the orchestral seating of all the instruments taught at the school. I looked it over while I tried to extinguish the limiting thoughts of an instrument being too hard or too expensive. Then it became clear what I really wanted. It was a cool instrument that not many people could play. It had a wide range of notes and had plentiful solos for the competition.

“That one!” I pointed to the chart, “I want the harp!”