This is my cello -- one of my beloved old friends.
Its year of birth was way back in 1855
somewhere in Germany and is believed to have been
custom made for a small woman (which fits PERFECTLY for me.)
It has been well loved since I've had it,
which has been for 13 years.

When we first bought this, I was 14 years old
and in need of a better instrument to take me
further along in my musical training and journey.
My aunt called and said she knew a man near her city
that had a cello for sale for an extreme low price.

We went to look at it and soon found out why the price was so low.
It had been his daughter's when she was young,
and had since sat in their basement.
Thirty long years this beauty lay unloved
in their basement, wilting and waiting
for someone to come along and make it sing again.
That someone was me. As I got it out of the case,
I noticed only one of the strings could be tuned
enough to try it out. My mother sat in fear
that I'd say I wanted it -- it was ugly and in dire need
of serious TLC to get it into real playing condition.
But playing as best I could from the one lonely string,
I could hear a little of its magic left inside it,
just waiting. We finalized the purchase and took it home.

On the ride I was ecstatic to have a "new" instrument.
My mother, on the other hand, was close to tears
thinking that we'd wasted money on this purchase.
We took it to a local string instrument repair worker
two days later. He confirmed my confidence in the cello
and put my mother's trepidation to rest.
He simply smiled, nodded indicating he could fix it
and said, "If it were me, I'd have bought it."

Three weeks later, and a MAJOR face, back, side,
and well, just about everywhere lift,
it was up and running in time for our upcoming concert.

After all these years, I've wondered about all of the
previous owners of it. I wonder if they loved it
as much as I do. I wonder if their ghosts
still remain with it and listen when I play.

----

Shot for my Photo A Day gallery this morning
and thought it might work here?

I LOVE this challenge topic but I'm having
a bit of trouble coming up with an idea.
Does this work?

PS was toning and a slight gaussian blur.