The Whistler’s Dream – Lorraine Zeni

Another brilliant piece from a GUNNAS WRITING MASTERCLASS WRITER 

 

He wants to whistle. He practices on the train and in the car. He practices in bed and in the bath and even on the toilet. He practices while we ride our bikes. Sometimes he is so intent on pursuing his goal that he falls off of his bike and gets up still trying to whistle. Questions and conversations about whistling dominate our days.

“Why do you want to whistle”, I ask. “What is so special about whistling? How do you think it will make you feel? What does it mean to you? What will you do when you can whistle? And once you can whistle what will you do next?”

He gives my questions a lot of thought.

“Well Grandma” he says, “I will be able to take music wherever I go. I will be able to entertain people and make music in my head and I could be the first whistler in an orchestra.”

“And then what will you do if you achieve that and become the first ever official orchestral whistler?” I ask.

“After that Grandma” he says, “I will make the first music for whistlers and I will choose all the people to whistle the sounds of all the different instruments in the orchestra. And there will be new sounds of instruments no one has ever heard before.”

“And when you have done all of that” I ask, “what then?”

His little face lights up. “Then we will have a concert for all the world and we will whistle my music and everyone will learn that if they can whistle they will always have their own music.”

“And after you have done all of these things and shown all of the people that they can carry their music with them all the time” I ask, “what then?””

“Well then Grandma” he says “it will make people feel happy and I will think about what I need to learn next.”

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