Finding My Stave
I slipped out into the afternoon sunshine and walked toward the neighborhood music shop, ducking under the welcoming brass door chime. Down in the sheet music aisle, a thick binder of blank manuscript paper lay propped open on a low wooden rack. I climbed onto the shelf and stretched up to touch the crisp white page. Taking a loose graphite pencil stub left on the ledge, I carefully drew a bold, curved treble clef across the five clean lines. The dry rasp of lead against heavy cream paper felt wonderfully grounding. Seeing that classic symbol take shape right before me made this quiet corner feel like my personal studio.

