Fairy Tales at the Symphony

The room darkened as strains of music slowly drifted into corners of empty silence. Rich velvet reds blurred with white marble and gleaming wood as the symphony players, sitting under highly polished chrome fixtures holding their highly polished instruments, became the only view. The crowd shuffled in their seats and an occasional cough echoed throughout the large hall. Applause greeted the conductor as he strode onto his platform and with a sweeping gesture, he waved his magic wand and music from the ages sprang to life.

For a few moments, I sat mesmerized. Then I noticed a couple sitting in the choir seats overlooking the musicians. They appeared to breathe as one and occupy the same chair. Their happy glow left their dewy skin and landed on everyone around them. Soon the music formed a backdrop for the story I wove about their love. But, was it real? And what do any of us know about anyone? Even walking 1000 miles in the shoes of another doesn’t allow entry into private thoughts or let us know why the heart beats to certain arrangements.

I recalled another couple, sitting near these same seats, with two teenagers attending the symphony last Fall. The mother was dressed in glitter and the sparkles cast the only light on her skin. Her husband sat one seat over and the teenagers, hunched down in two other seats, sat even further down the row. She held her head high during the performance but nearing intermission; she appeared to rest heavily from the weight of many burdens. Yet, after the intermission, they sat together, four in a row, looking like the perfect family. Did they make up after an argument or did they simply take advantage of more comfortable space for a short while?

I wondered who was the happiest. Which couple had the real love that would last a lifetime? Did it belong to the ones sitting so closely together or did it belong to the ones sitting apart? Are outward signs of love evidence of deep love? Will it last longer than the love that remains hidden unveiled only to the intended? And then I wondered why I was wondering about others. I returned my attention to the beautiful music knowing that it was enough that I was happy and could see love in everyone.