Portrait of a Pianist

Abstract

The boy knelt down on the dusty ground several yards outside a small village in Central China. Blisters on the soles of his feet provided harsh testimony to the long hours spent toiling in a sweatshop in Chengdu, the nearest commercial city. His lacerated hands, wrapped in rags, dug into the dry earth, searching for the juicy sugar bug that was to be an early evening dessert. Tan, weather-beaten fingers found what they wanted and a sigh of contentment escaped the young boy's parched lips. He popped the squirming, translucent worm into his mouth and turned a round.