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Short stories featuring musical instruments and those who play them!.
‘Stop’ I said. ‘Listen. Music, beautiful music’.
‘What music?’ said my friend, ‘I can’t hear music. You really shouldn’t have had that extra cup of coca tea before we set off this morning!’
Five of us and our guide were on the final leg of our trek along the Inca Trail in the Andes mountains. Soon, we’d be arriving at Machu Picchu.
They carried on walking, but I just stood there transfixed by the haunting sound.
When I caught up with them again, the guide took me aside and told me that now and again a person will hear it when others can’t and have done so for generations.
‘What is it?’ I asked.
‘A Quena’ he said. He told me it’s a pipe instrument that dates back some five hundred years and played at rituals, celebrations and folk dances.
‘They say it’s heard in paradise’ he said.
‘But why me?’ I asked. ‘Why do I hear it when my friends don’t?’
He shrugged his shoulders and walked away.
To this day, I still hear the Quena. I hear it when wandering in the countryside, I hear it in the middle of the night. It soothes, it comforts. I hear it when others don’t.
I can hear it now. Can you?
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BTW. Coca tea is made from the leaves of the coca plant which contain several alkaloids including cocaine. It originates from the Andes mountains, particularly Peru – and you can’t bring any home with you!
Previous posts
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Years past
2020 – Stories featuring obsolete words – Q
2019 – Stories for children – Q
2018 – My friend Rosey – Q
2017 – The village of Amble Bay – Q
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