A boy is confused and disheartened when a chasm appears between himself and his two-year older sister, once his animated companion in the sunlit ramblings of childhood. Her journey has become internal and invisible to him, although he is acutely aware of the sudden difference in the careful way she carries herself and the delicacy with which his mother and grandmother treat her. Even his well-intentioned invitations to play bring her to tears and incite reprimand from the two caretakers. The sister becomes absorbed in her studies of piano, encouraged by a teacher delighted with her talent. For the upcoming recital she is paired with Richard, the teacher’s best violin player, a boy whose beauty enraptures both brother and sister. The brother admires the way he cradles and lifts his violin from its plush, coffin-like case. The sister finds, however, that her skill and confidence vanish when she practices with him. Brother watches through a crack in the door as she goes to pieces with every rehearsal, though Richard encourages her and covers for her with complementary melodies. She performs disastrously at the recital, but Richard’s grace and skill lessen the embarrassment. Years later, after moving across the country, brother and sister learn that Richard has died of pneumonia.