Like every other Asian, part of my childhood was spent learning how to play a musical instrument. I started taking piano lessons when I was about 8-years-old, and stopped when I was 18. During those 10 years, however, I only performed in 3 recitals. The last one I participated in was back in 1993. I was only 11-years-old at the time…
It was clear Sunday afternoon, and I was scheduled to perform at a joint piano recital being held by my teacher, Ms. F., and her friend/rival piano teacher, Ms. M. The event took place in a small auditorium on a university campus; the room, however, looked like it hadn’t been used since the age of the dinosaurs. It was kind of musty and dark, and there were stacks of chairs all over the place. But somewhere in that jungle of dusty storage stuff, there were actually theater seats and a small stage with a baby grand piano on it.
I didn’t know it then, but I was about to have one of the worst experiences of my childhood…no, of my life.
The recital started at around 2:00 p.m., and I was listed as the ninth performer on the program sheet. I was doing okay watching the first 7 students perform, but when the 8th kid went up, I suddenly turned into a hot mess. It wasn’t because I was nervous about playing the piano in front of 50 strangers—that was the easy part. I was freaking out because of something much, much worse.
Maybe there were vibrations coming from the piano, or it’d been a long time since that room had been exposed to fresh air and light—but while the 8th student was performing, something in that room woke up. It was very alive and apparently very angry at us for disturbing it because it started flying around the piano. And it was moving so quickly that the only thing I could tell was that it was brown.
I kept watching it fly circles around the piano until it finally disappeared. And it couldn’t have picked a better time to go away because it was my turn to play. I walked towards the stairs leading up to the stage and then:
“Ffttt!”
Out of nowhere, that crazy brown thing reappeared and flew right in front of me. I turned to my teacher and made this “do I have to?” face, and she responded with a “you better go up there” look of her own. That was a sign of rotten things to come.
So I sat at the piano and tried to play my song, all while a mysterious brown thing flew around my head. And it was really close to my face because I could hear its wings flapping whenever it came nearer.
The only thing I could think about was, “what is that?!” I didn’t know if I was playing the right keys, or if my tempo was correct. I was just going through the motions. What if that thing is a bat? A blood-sucking bat? Or a bird? What am I going to do if it takes a dump on my head?
I managed to stop freaking out long enough to realize I was close to the end of the song. My nerves started to ease up: I’m going to be home free soon! I’m going to be able to get away from this scary flying turd!
And then…
So not joking. I was sitting on a stage, in the middle of performing at a piano recital, and that brown thing freaking flew into my face! It flew into my face!
Reflexively, I grabbed it with both hands and pulled it off me…
Giant-Ass Moth!
*Awkward silence*
I never played in another piano recital ever again.
absolutangel64 
LOL! even if this isn’t real, you are one of the most adorable writers (and illustrators) i know.
Awww. Hope it didn’t take too many years of therapy to fix the trauma. x]
That is the funniest piano recital story I have ever read! As a music teacher, I would be mortified if that ever happened to one of my students!
I loved that story.
Hey I am really really glad that it wasn’t a bat. Bats are GROSS. You have to get rabies shots if you’ve had contact with bats.
sounds funny!hehehe
Good story. Great visuals.
Hahahaha oh no! That must have been pretty funny to watch though.
roffles and pancakes. childhood trauma is always fun, moths are not.
Aww I think this is a cute story.
Mothra?
great illustrations! loved how they enhanced the story.
Ouch, that’s pretty scary. I wouldn’t find such an experience ’embarrassing’, more like ‘traumatic’.Props for the illustrations, especially the flying question marks. LOL
This moth must have been huge!
When I was six or seven, a giant moth hit my face while I was asleep. I screamed bloody murder and ran to my parents room, thinking someone had broken into our house and started caressing me.
That is so funny! I don’t blame you for not playing in a recital again–recitals alone are bad enough, I can’t imagine how it would be when a moth flies in your face!
I remember piano recitals…. Thank goodness I did not get the pleasure to experience moths though.
I would have cried!
EWWWWWWW!!! Mothra attacked me in the shower once….I damn near broke every bone in my body trying to get away from it!!
LMAO…would you believe that the SAME shit happened to me when I was 14 years old…but instead it was a fucking robin…and when i grabbed it off my face it tried to peck my hands…lol
!!!! that was hilarious…but scary 😀
HAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!! that’s so cuteee 😛
Oh, no! Were your parents in the audience? What’d they think of the attack?
LOL. Wow. That is a way sad time.
You should forget the moth and start playing again. Music is a beautiful ‘gift’ that can lift the spirit and calm the heart. I love to listen to one of my Korean students, Choi Hyo Young; her piano is so moving, so beautiful I almost have tears.
I’m sorry to rec your misfortune, but this is quite possibly your best post of all time.
LOL! I laugh uproariously because I know how you feel about piano recitals. They are traumatizing experiences in and of themselves…without Mothra.
Hahaha, poor you. At least it hit your face and didn’t just fly into your mouth? I love your pics, btw.
That’s awesome. Take heart, young hustla, at least it wasn’t one of those bambucha B-52 cockroaches!
lol!
WHERE IS YOUR GOD NOW?
hahahahaha….i feel your pain…MOTHRA??
LMAO. I HATE PIANO RECITALS…that moth is pretty gross though.
haha favorite thing about your posts have to be the illustrations
perhaps it was just as well…
LOL!
Haha! I love your illustration. Oh man, gotta love recitals:)
Hahaha… what timing. Sucks that it happened, but it built character, no?
omg, this only furthers my huge fear of moths and butterflies.Thank you for sharing so courageously ❤
awww lol but it made a funny story now! haha i like your drawing of the moth-very accurate lol
Haha lol I once had to do a violin solo at a concert one time and I had to hold in my laughter so hard when some 3 year old started running around crying and making a fuss and the mom was chasing it =D I thought it was cute and funny at the same time…er..im glad I didnt bust out laughing =/Your pics. for this are cute and funny =D
some people have all the luck!! It must have been the biggest moth in the universe.I was playing flute one time when my throat dried up and i could not get the air to flow evenly.End of tune – blah
Well anyone would have been afraid and it is no reason to feel embarrassed… you have a gift of music do not let it go wasted… everyone faces an embarrassment but the trick to succeed is to come out of it and change that into your one stepping stone to your success Freedom Debt Relief
damn stuff like that would really ruin a person…im glad u kept going on
is this on video somewhere? don’t they usually tape recitals? this needs to be on youtube 🙂
lol. nice drawing of mothra.
I probably would have shit my pants lol
lol.. damn those moths~!
Ha ha LOL that is cute wish I’ve been there things like that are funny when girls freak out of bugs.
I can see why that would be traumatic but I also see you were talented enough to be chosen to play a recital…very nice! The moth was obviously a fan of your music as well.