Source: Pxhere
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The violinist
He wanted to learn to improvise on the instrument he was passionate about.
He asked for a leave of absence from the orchestra to travel to San Cristobal, a city in western Venezuela where his grandparents were born. He thought his love for music came from his grandfather who had also played the violin but had taught himself.
He carried only his violin in a case and a suitcase with his usual clothes. He said goodbye to his parents who accompanied him to the airport.
When he arrived in San Cristobal he stayed in a modest hotel and spent a week visiting emblematic places that his grandfather had told him about.
One afternoon in a plaza, he came across a group of musicians playing popular songs of the region. Ken took several photographs and recorded a short video. When he was back in his hotel room he reviewed the recording over and over again and wrote the violin score.
The next morning after breakfast, he started practicing the song he had heard. It was all simple except for a few passages where the violinist improvised; there Ken was lost in reading his staff.
Before nine o'clock in the morning, several people had complained at the front desk about the guy's violin practice. Ken left the hotel somewhat annoyed because they had called his attention to him.
It was early and, the day was sunny. Happily, he was walking with his violin to the same square he was in the day before, and he was also carrying his camera. He amused himself by looking at the old trees that had lifted the cement of the sidewalks. He took some pictures to keep as souvenirs.
When he arrived at the town square people were chatting on the iron benches, but no musicians. He took the violin out of its case and began to practice the same piece he had heard the day before.
Wilmer was a native of San Cristóbal, studying at a high school to graduate as an electrician. He had never left his hometown and liked to party.
That morning the boys became friends. They talked about everything and had lunch at the municipal market. Ken, eager to get to know the city better, went out that night with Wilmer to a bar. They drank and partied until dawn. Wilmer accompanied Ken back to the hotel and told him he would pick him up at night to go out again.
That story repeated itself for days and then months. Ken would arrive drunk at the hotel where he was staying and sleep during the day. He didn't practice his violin and became a heavy drinker. At nights, he would go out to parties, meet pretty girls, and his appearance became increasingly sloppy.
After several months of not communicating with his parents, they traveled to San Cristobal and were frightened by the deplorable physical state in which they saw Ken. The visit was quick. They talked to him and bought a plane ticket for the three of them to return to Caracas. But Ken did not want to travel.
At the airport, Ken's parents told him that they would not send him any more money for his support. Besides, they handed him the orchestra's notice that he had been replaced as concertmaster.
Ken grabbed the letter and said goodbye to his parents. He returned to the hotel, collected his few belongings, and checked out. Then, he looked for a cheaper hotel and checked in. He had little money.
In the evening, he searched for Wilmer in several bars to tell him what had happened to him. After entering several places, she finally found him. He told him everything that had happened, and Wilmer asked him why he had not gone to Caracas.
Ken reflected before giving his answer. He had traveled to San Cristobal because he wanted to learn the native music his grandfather played but had not yet done so. Wilmer, who had become his best and only friend, suggested that he rent a neighborhood's room and that he had to find work.
Ken didn't stop drinking but managed to get a job in one of the bars playing his violin. The pay was not much but it allowed him to pay for the room, eat and drink.
Four years went by, and Ken was still in San Cristobal. He played in a bar three evenings a week and had also gotten a few bookings to play at private parties, especially sexagenarian birthdays, and weddings.
He earned little money but it was enough to live on. He had learned to improvise music and his sounds were splendid, mixing classical music with popular music.
One day, when he was getting ready to go to work, he felt a sharp pain in his liver. He called Wilmer for help and Wilmer quickly came to his aid. He took him to the hospital and he was admitted. He had to undergo several tests and was found to have advanced cancer.
The pain was unbearable. Ken was yellow as if he had hepatitis. He spent 15 days in the hospital until he got better but he had the doctors' sentence in his hands: he had 3 or 4 months to live because they could not operate and cancer had already metastasized.
Ken was very thin. His deterioration was overwhelming. He talked to Wilmer to help him return to his homeland before he died because he did not have enough money to buy a plane ticket.
Wilmer was sad because he saw Ken's hopelessness and anguish. He tried to contact his friend's parents but they had traveled out of Venezuela.
Wilmer knew that Ken's days were numbered and took him home. There he took good care of him for two months but Ken was very ill. Ken asked Wilmer to sell his camera and violin to buy a plane ticket.
Wilmer did everything when he could. He sold the items for the best price a pawnbroker gave him. He bought the plane ticket for the nearest flight to the city of Caracas which would be in 3 days and gave it to his friend.
That night Wilmer and Ken talked a lot. They reminisced about the day they met and the parties they had fun at. Ken had to take several pain pills but he wasn't complaining. They laughed about all the adventures they had had together and shook hands very tightly. Then they gave each other a brotherly hug.
Wilmer left the room and went to rest.
The next morning Ken lay dead. A photograph of his grandfather and others of his parents lay on the floor next to the bed.
My exercise. Main character is: A musician. My character's problem is: trying to return to his homeland before he dies. My character is living with Best friend. What is preventing my character from solving his problem is: Lack of money.
