Maya's hands were shaking when she answered the phone. A woman with a kind voice introduced herself as Sarah Chen from the Harmony Foundation.
"Maya, I am calling to let you know that you have been selected to perform in our benefit concert," Sarah said. "Your audition video was absolutely beautiful. The selection committee was unanimous in their decision to include you in the program."
Maya could barely believe what she was hearing. She had been chosen. She was actually going to perform on the same stage where she had dreamed of playing for so many years.
"Thank you so much," Maya said, trying not to cry with happiness. "This means everything to me."
"There will be 12 young performers in total," Sarah explained. "You will each play for about 10 minutes. The concert will be held at Steinway Concert Hall in three weeks. We will have a dress rehearsal the day before the performance."
After Maya hung up the phone, she called Mrs. Rodriguez immediately to share the good news. Her teacher was just as excited as Maya was.
"I knew they would choose you," Mrs. Rodriguez said. "Your audition video was perfect. Now we need to make sure you are completely ready for the live performance."
The next three weeks passed quickly. Maya practiced even more intensively than before, focusing on making her performance absolutely flawless. She worked on her stage presence, practicing walking onto the stage confidently and bowing to the audience. She also worked on controlling her nerves, learning breathing techniques that would help her stay calm during the performance.
Maya's story continued to attract media attention. Several newspapers wrote articles about the blind teenager who was going to perform alongside a famous pianist who had once mocked her dreams. Some people were rooting for Maya to succeed, while others were skeptical about whether she belonged on such an important stage.
The negative comments online had gotten worse since Maya's selection was announced. Some people said that the foundation had only chosen her for publicity, not because of her talent. Others said it was unfair to give a performance spot to someone who was not professionally trained when there were so many qualified musicians who needed opportunities.
Maya tried not to read these comments, but sometimes Sam would tell her about the worst ones because he was angry about them.