He wracked his brain, but no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn''t recall where he''d seen that face before.


    By all rights, a young man with such striking features should have left a deep impression on him.


    In the end, he could only chalk it up to old age-his memory wasn''t what it used to be.


    Just then, faint threads of music drifted from the dimly lit stage.


    As the melody began, the stage lights slowly brightened.


    A single beam of pure white light fell across the woman standing at center stage.


    The beautiful music filled the entire hall.


    Marvin snapped to attention and blurted out, almost without thinking, "That''s Moonlight-Ste''s ownposition!"


    Neville recognized the violin in Ste''s hands and smiled. "Nocturne Ste," he said quietly.


    Mr. Burton nodded in agreement. "It''s been ages since Ste performed with Nocturne Ste."


    Neville added, "Nocturne Ste holds a special meaning for her."


    The group soon fell silent, giving themselves over to the performance.


    Listening to Ste y the violin was a rare pleasure.


    Her technique, her ability to pour emotion into every note-both were simply beyondpare.


    Joshua had listened to Ste y more times than he could count.


    He loved the sound of her violin.


    For years, he''d suffered from insomnia.


    But whenever he heard her y, he''d feel the tension melt away, and sleep woulde quickly.


    These days, he even relied on a ylist Abby had curated-recordings of Ste''s performances to help him drift off at night.


    Still, nothingpared to hearing her live.


    Every piece she yed, he cherished, and he no longer limited himself to just


    Moonlight as he had in the past.


    Joshua couldn''t quite exin why.


    Maybe her talent was simply extraordinary-greater than anyone he''d ever seen.


    Recently, his old insomnia had all but vanished.


    His moods weren''t as vtile as before.


    He suspected it was thanks to listening to Ste''s music every day.


    Because of that, he treasured her hands


    ho would never allow anyone to harm her, or to threel


    her ability to y.


    MS


    Now, seeing her standing on stage, graceful and poised as she yed, Joshua felt suddenly dazed.


    A wave of déjà vu washed over him-like he''d seen this scene somewhere before.


    It was as if the melody belonged to some distant dream.


    He hadn''t thought of that dream, or the shadowy figure in it, for a long time.


    But now, the woman before his eyes seemed to merge with that figure from his memory.


    Joshua''s breath caught, turning uneven.


    He admired Ste''s violin skills-truly, he did-but he told himself that was all it was: admiration.


    Yes, just admiration.


    He kept telling himself that.


    For the rest of the performance, Joshua found himself unable to think about anything else.


    As so many times before, he was soonpletely absorbed in Ste''s music.


    Nocturne Ste had an ethereal, haunting sound, unlike any other violin.


    When ying certain pieces, it could evoke feelings impossible to achieve with an ordinary instrument.


    Of course, it had its limitations-not every piece suited Nocturne Ste''s unique voice.


    But Moonlight was different. Ste hadposed it specifically for


    Tourne Ste, tailoring every note


    to the instrument''s strengths.


    There was simply no violin more perfect for Moonlight.


    Ste''s


    had returned to their


    peakaps she was even


    years


    than she''d been inpetition ago.


    When the final note faded, the hall erupted into thunderous apuse.


    Everyone around couldn''t help but break into excited conversation.