Fastening the Dormant Staves

I found the corner of an antique parchment score curling upward against the lattice of the tall music stand. Rather than lifting my bow to summon the sleeping notes, I reached for a heavy brass page clip resting on the lower tray. With measured ceremony, I lifted the cold fixture between my skeletal fingers and guided its polished prongs over the lower margin of the yellowed folio. The metal seated itself with an austere, dry pinch, pressing the arched sheet flat against the iron backing. The draft could no longer stir the paper, leaving the nocturnal parlor sealed in quiet, orderly vigil.