Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Chapter 53. 2019 – Epilogue

I left the stage in humbled silence, the strains of the crowd’s homage still echoing in the arena. Backstage he spotted a small boy playing with a guitar.

“Hi there, pal,” I offered gently. “What are you doing here?” The boy didn’t answer. He couldn’t have been more that a couple of years old.

I looked around, “You must have wandered away from your mother.”

He heard a frantic “Hello, hello. Has anyone seen my son?”

He looked back to the young boy, “That’s probably her, she’s coming now.” He was assuring the boy, but he didn’t seem to be upset.

“You found him! Thank God! I lost him in the crowd!” the mother was grateful.

I tried to calm her down. “He was just here backstage, playing with the guitar. Cute, huh?”

The mother laughed, relieved. “I should have known. He seems to have been interested in music since he was born. I’m so sorry to bother you.”

“That’s entirely all right. I love children. I have a grandson who’s not much older than him.”

The mother suddenly realized to whom she was speaking. In her concern for her son, she did not at first recognize I.

“Oh… My… GOD. I didn’t know who you were! I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t be here.” She turned to her son. “Come on, now. We need to get back to where we belong.”

“No, no. Please. Everything’s all right. Did you enjoy the concert?”

“Oh, yes. It was fantastic. My mother was a big fan of yours in the seventies.”

“Your mother,” I was slightly dejected.

“Oh, I am too!” she corrected. “I just wasn’t born back then.”

“Well, it’s nice to appeal to a new generation, too, I guess. You have a fine looking boy there. What’s his name?”

“Rocky.”

I was silent for a moment, and a tear formed in his eye.

Rocky’s mother looked at him and said. “Are you OK?”

“Yes,” I replied. “I’ve just had a revelation. This is the future of rock.”

No comments: