The Seat in the Spotlight

Mara had arranged the school auditorium for every concert in the last nine years. She knew which chairs wobbled, which aisle light flickered, and exactly how far the piano had to stand from the curtain. Twenty minutes before the spring recital, she found one chair alone at center stage. She carried it back to the front row. When she turned around, another chair stood in the same bright circle. A brass plate on its back bore her name. Behind the curtain, a child whispered, "She moved it again."