The Farewell Performance

His rheumy eyes film over and he brushes away a tear with the age-spotted back of his hand. He watches himself as a young man – handsome, vigorous, full of joie de vivre. The members of his orchestra now arthritic. Or ashes long since scattered into oblivion, like the beautiful soprano in the film. But for the duration of the archive footage they are all young again. The film ends and their philharmonic youth is silent memory once more. He struggles to press rewind but his gnarled finger presses fast-forward by mistake. He thinks that time has been on fast-forward and wishes he could find the rewind control for his life. With a sigh, he presses play and fades away, watching his immortal youth.