A Happy Tune Changes the Day

I came to a room that was very dark.  The drapes were drawn and the lights were off.  I thought the child must be asleep, so I played quite softly in the hall.  As I came to the doorway, I saw a little girl around eight years old lying in the bed, hugging a stuffed animal tightly.  She was alone in the room and looked terrified.  I waved to her, and she nodded shyly.  I continued to noodle and then went into, “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” and asked her if she wanted to sing along with me.  She seemed very timid but I did see her lips move as she mouthed the words.  Then I decided to play “Beauty and the Beast.”  As I played it, her eyes got wider and wider.  When I finished playing it for the second time, she suddenly sat up, still holding her stuffed animal.  She smiled and began to clap.  She said, “Hooray!  You did it!  Thank you!”  She waved goodbye and thanked me again as I walked back into the hallway.  When I came back around the other side, she waved at me from her bed with a smile on her face.