A Solemn Key

The open fallboard of the grand piano revealed an immaculate expanse of ivory and ebony in the darkened salon. Stepping past the silent music stand, I approached the lowest octave where the heaviest bass strings sleep. Setting my metal goblet aside upon the polished rosewood cheek, I planted both boots firmly upon the broad surface of a solitary ebony sharp. With steady, unyielding downward pressure, I transferred my weight. The key sank into its felt bed with a muted wooden sigh, launching the internal hammer against coiled copper wire. A profound, resonant hum surged through the timber case, vibrating upward through the soles of my boots until the night air drank the final fading tremor.