Fantasia

XLVII

With a tearstained face and blurry eyesight, Eddy let his fingers run over the keyboard of his phone, trying to type down everything that had happened in his dream, the gist of their conversations, which were slowly but surely turning into treasures Eddy wanted to keep forever. He'd done that after every encounter he had with Brett till now, the notes on his phone like chapters of a book. It'd appear like a fantasy novel if Eddy wouldn't know it better himself.
He was just about to finish, when a notification for a message lit up. A text from his mother. Eddy held his breath as he quickly tapped the screen and simultaneously wiped the remaining tears away.

Son
I just went by this morning again, hoping I'd catch the Yangs somewhere around their house before they leave for work. I wasn't able to check yesterday because I went to see your uncle. He's doing well, just his knee is hurting a lot since he's had that surgery...
Anyway. No one was around, again. I then went next door to see if the neighbours knew anything, but they just said they haven't seen any of the Yang family for quite some time. They think they went back to Taiwan or something. If you want me to go by again, I can do that. However, I don't think it's going to help much.
I still hope it helps in some way. Let me know how you're doing, okay? Remember to eat and sleep enough and always work hard.

That was without a doubt one of the longest text messages he'd ever received, Eddy reckoned. Before he could overthink it, he pressed the call button and got an answer after two rings.

"Hello?"
"Mum! Thank you so much for trying again. And texting me", Eddy's raspy morning and after-wailing voice sounded through his bedroom.
"Son! Shouldn't you be sleeping? Must be like... five in Singapore!"
"Have to get up for work anyways. I figured I talk to you quickly. So, they weren't around?"
"No, as I've mentioned. You read my message?"
"'Course! And the neighbours didn't know anything?" Eddy couldn't help but ask again, even though he knew the answer.
"Not the ones next to them, no", his mother confirmed, "I can go ask some other people, but I don't think anyone knows anything if the closest neighbours don't. Maybe they did go back to Taiwan for a longer time?"
"Possible...", Eddy said slowly, "could you still try though? Maybe they're closer to other people."
He heard a deep sigh before she answered, "I can try, Eddy. But I really don't think it's gonna help much. I'll have some time tomorrow."
"Thank you!", Eddy exclaimed, once again surprised how willingly she was offering her help. That was not like her at all. Not that he was complaining.
"You really must be worrying about this Brett, huh."
"I do. I'm just wondering... it's weird to not get any information about someone nowadays with social media and all, but he's like a ghost. I even tried to call him, but either it's an invalid number or he has his phone turned off all the time."
"Maybe he's smart, you know! Not spending time for useless things!"
Eddy chuckled despite the seriousness of the situation. That last comment was more like her. They bid their goodbyes after she promised to inform Eddy when she'd know more and he assured he'd look after himself and give his best at work. After he hung up, he checked the time. Ten past five. Enough time to go running, theoretically. But there was something way more urgent that needed to be done.

He didn't even bother with going to the toilet first and maybe wash his face, get dressed or take on some other measures in order to wake up more. His fingers practically flew over the screen of his phone in search for the number he'd saved yesterday. In the back of his head he registered that it might be too early for an orchestra's office to pick up, but who was he fooling? He was going to try anyway!

"Queensland Symphony Orchestra administration Samantha Wilson, hello?"
"He...", Eddy croaked, cleared his dry throat and tried again, "Hi, Ms. Wilson. My name is Eddy Chen. I have a question regarding a fellow orchestra member of yours."
"Good morning, Mr. Chen. In what regard? Would you like to join the support programm for one of our musicians?", the young, female voice on the other end asked.
Oh, oh... That could actually be a way to obtain Hyung's contact information, right? But first things first. If there was a short cut, Eddy was gonna make sure he wouldn't miss it.
"Uhm... maybe. I wanted to ask if there is a Brett Yang working in the Queensland Symphony?"

It got silent on the other end. Way too silent. For way too long.

"Hello?", Eddy asked eventually, his brows furrowed.
"Yes. Uhm, no. Brett Yang is not a musician in our orchestra."
"Do you happen to know him? I kind of get the feeling..."
"Even if I would, Mr. Chen, I'm not allowed to give out any sensitive information about anyone."

Yeah, that before hadn't been some contemplating-silence. That had been a keeping-lips-sealed-because-she-knows-something kind of silence. What? What was it that she wasn't revealing?

Eddy was well aware that begging was probably gonna bring as many results as before, but he just couldn't help himself. "Please! He's a former friend of mine and I'd just like to know how he's doing."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Chen. There's nothing I can do for you."
Okay! If she wasn't gonna budge like this, Eddy was going to take another route. At least he knew now, that she wasn't going to give him Hyung's contact either.
"I understand", he said as neutral as he could. Difficult, when one's heart was screaming for him to jump through the line and get her to spill the beans already.
"Then I'd like to support one of your musicians. Hyung Suk Bae is his name, I think."
"That is great news! Thank you very much." Her tone changed from reserved to polite and upbeat. "Yes, Hyung Suk Bae... let me see. He's our principle cellist. Do you know him?"
"We played in the AYO together back in highschool."
"I see. Alright. I will send you the donation details to your mail, if you don't mind."
"Not at all. Can I contact him before I make the donation? So I can hear from him how his musical career at the QSO is going."
"Hyung Suk Bae is going to be informed about you being his new donor. It is up to our musicians though, if they want to get in touch with their patrons since there can be many and they have a tight schedule. However, we do encourage the musicians to contact their donors."
"I see."
"Hyung is quite a social person though. I'm sure he'll reach out", she remarked a bit softer.
"That would be great", Eddy sighed, suddenly feeling very, very tired.
"If you could give me your email adress, I'll send you the details right away. Thank you again for your generosity."
"No worries. Thank you for your help."
She hung up with a loud click. Eddy sighed again and blankly stared at his device as its screen went dark.

Brett. How the hell am I supposed to find you?

A/N: Hi guys, crafting a little something tied to my other book "It was 8 pm, right after dinner..." and thus answering to a prompt placed by a dear reader. Keep an eye out on my one-shot thing, gonna publish it there as soon as I'm done.
As always, thanks for reading, starring and commenting! Means the world to me!
Love, author-san :-)