Dr. Rosetti laughed gently. "I don't want anything in return, Maya. Well, except to hear you play more beautiful music. You see, I've spent my whole life teaching music to young people. I've helped hundreds of students over the years, but I've never met anyone with your natural ability combined with such deep musical understanding."
Maya was quiet for a long time. She was trying to decide if she could trust Dr. Rosetti. She had been disappointed by adults before; she had learned that sometimes people made promises they didn't keep.
Dr. Rosetti seemed to understand Maya's hesitation. "I know this is a lot to think about," she said. "And I know you have every reason to be careful about trusting people. How about this: why don't you come to my house tomorrow morning? You can see the piano and the guest room. If you feel comfortable, you can stay. If not, you can leave anytime you want."
Maya thought about her options. She could go back to sleeping under bridges and looking for food in garbage cans, or she could take a chance on this kind woman who seemed to genuinely care about her music.
"Where do you live?" Maya asked.
Dr. Rosetti wrote her address on a napkin. "It's about a twenty-minute walk from here. There's a bus stop right outside if you prefer to take the bus."
Maya looked at the address. It was in a nice neighborhood that she had walked through before; she remembered seeing big houses with gardens.
"Okay," Maya said quietly. "I'll come tomorrow morning. But if I feel uncomfortable, I can leave."
"Of course," Dr. Rosetti said. "This has to be your choice, Maya. No one should ever force you to do anything you don't want to do."
Dr. Rosetti reached into her purse and pulled out some money. "Here," she said, offering it to Maya. "Get yourself a good breakfast tomorrow morning before you come to my house."
Maya looked at the money. It was more than she usually got from people in a whole week. "I can't take this," Maya said. "You're already being too kind."
"Please," Dr. Rosetti said. "Let me do this small thing. You made everyone in this restaurant very happy tonight with your music. This is just a small thank you."