windft

Hey, you dropped your screwdriver again!

Thursday

Junior! Is it really true?

You made me a brand new lock? Wow!

Well... it wasn't too difficult.

(Silently smokes a cigarette)

Guess I really am getting old.

After all these years fixing stuff for us, this is the first time I've heard you say that, Jon.

(Silently smokes a cigarette)

Wanna help me out, kid?

Sure, with what?

I have an old piano at home.

Oh!

This is a nice piano.

But it doesn't look like it's been played in a long time.

Yeah...

The old man opens the fallboard, filling the air with dust.

Fingers mottled from decades of working with machine oil press the keys, and dull, out-of-tune notes come out.

It's been decades since I last played it.

I still remember playing in big concert halls, filled with folks who came just to hear me.

The old man plays a string of notes with trembling hands.

The sound of rustling cloth comes from inside the house, and an old but joyful voice speaks.

'Honey, is that you playing?'

You heard me, Marge?

Why don't you come out and dance?

Out-of-tune notes come from trembling fingers, the shell of a light-hearted dance.

The old woman lifts up the edges of her skirt, and starts dancing on tiptoes.

While she doesn't have much in the way of form or training, the old man cannot take his eyes off his wife's every little step and turn.

Gantt Jr. watches the scene with bated breath.

I looked everywhere for a doctor who could cure my hand, but eventually I gave up.

So your hand is...

Imagine getting a job, then realizing on the first day of work that you've forgotten how to do anything, but you still remember everything else.

You remember the hard work, the glory, the achievements, but there's nothing left.

My hands couldn't press the keys anymore, and I couldn't bear to look at a piano again, not even a single glance.

No wonder you had that expression on your face when I said you might've seen me sneaking into the factory to help out when I was little.

Mom and Dad said everyone knew I was working there against the rules, but nobody said anything.

...They never said anything about me either.

When I couldn't play anymore, my agency came after me, demanding a penalty fee that I had no hope of paying.

Who knew they hid all those terms and conditions in the contract? I wouldn't have been able to pay it even if I spent the rest of my life performing.

So I hid from them here, in the dark corners of the warehouses. Then I met Marge.

She hid me, fed me, and told me how beautiful the sunset outside was.

So this piano...

I went back a little while ago and snuck it out from the old warehouse.

I thought I'd never play it again... but Marge has started to lose her hearing.

So I've been taking job after job to make the money to get it fixed while she can still hear it.

When I said I didn't care for your work a few days ago... I didn't mean it, kid.

Can you help me fix the piano?

I'm afraid we're running out of time.

But I've never fixed a musical instrument.

It's okay, sweetie, no need to force yourself.

We'd all end up like Jon used to be if we obsessed over fixing it. I keep telling him that it's the present that counts.

I'll always remember the tune, even if I can't hear anymore. It's not the end of the world.

Still, I'll try my best. Let me look into it.

I was just thinking...

If I went through the same thing you guys did... I don't think I'd have been able to carry on.

The moment that I found out I couldn't play the piano anymore, or that I couldn't hear anymore, I'd have given up on my goals in life.

I can't imagine what could keep me going.

But what I just saw from you two... it really touched me.

Gantt Jr. gazes at the sweat on their two aged brows.

Sorry if this sounds offensive, but... if a broken star can continue to shine in the night, why can't I?

Heh. Counting on you, kid.

Friday

I can tune it myself. The problem is the parts. Some of the hammers don't move anymore.

Let me see... must be the lever action here.

Do you have a pair of curved nose pliers? I want to adjust the screws here.

Here, a new spring.

Okay, leave it here. This is the hammer, right? It's supposed to bounce back like this?

Exactly!

Sorry, I need a break... Why don't you stay for dinner, kid?

(Marge will eventually lose her hearing, won't she?)

(How long will these repairs last?)

You heard me, Marge?

Why don't you come out and dance?

(Fixing the piano won't help much, if things end up the same anyway.)

(If only Marge could <i>see</i> the sound from the piano...)

A little fowlbeast down shouldn't affect the sound of the strings.

An attachment here won't affect the tone either.

I don't know if they'll like the color, but it's the same shade of blue as Marge's skirt that day.

It won't be easy finding the same dye, and I'm not sure about my artistic talent... but everyone likes feathers and ribbons, right?

Gantt Jr. presses a few keys, and an elaborate device conducts the resonance of the strings to the feathers and ribbons outside, creating a beautiful arc.

The first rays of dawn shine through the windows and onto the piano.

Whew—

I hope they like what I did.

Saturday

Would you like to try it?

I didn't change anything that was already there. I can easily remove it if you want.

Sorry, it's an idea I had last night, so I just gave it a shot without asking.

(Presses a key)

No, kid... It's beautiful.

Did you choose this blue for the ribbons on purpose?

It's the color of Marge's eyes...

(Plays a song)

The lights shine bright in the factory tonight♪

Like the sunset when I spoke my love to you♪

I can hear it, honey... I used to sing this song when I got off work.

You would follow behind me like this...

(Dances in lithe steps)

Gantt Jr. feels like he is seeing the couple in their youth.

Jon in a tuxedo, Marge dancing to the tune, her skirt spinning in the factory.

(Did I finally achieve something?)