Fantasia

L

Eddy could consider himself very lucky today, since he made it back to his desk after a very drawn out toilet break without his boss noticing this time. Concentrating on anything that wasn't what he'd heard over the phone was nearly impossible though. He could have just gone home and it would have been a more productive afternoon. Still, like the good hard worker he was he stayed until everyone had gone home and left the office building into the windy evening, the remains of a spectacular sunset still colouring the sky. The bus ride home exhausted him to his bones and when he opened the door to his apartment, tears he wasn't able to hold back anymore made their way down his face.

Brett. In a coma. Good Lord!

Eddy wasn't even sure if he wanted to play the violin this evening. What the hell was he going to tell Brett? "Hey, good news! I know where you are. And bad news: it's on a hospital bed; the same you've been the last six months." Yeah, that was going to be an awesome conversation! How would the other react? Would he freak out and fall into some sort of coma coma? Or maybe he'd get a shock so massive he'd wake up? Like an Inception thing. That would be awesome! However Eddy was pretty sure it wasn't going to be that easy. And on top of all, he'd promised Brett he would help get him out of there. How in God's name was he going to keep his word? He had hoped knowing about Brett's condition would help, but he wasn't sure anymore at all.

Eddy sighed deeply, roughly wiped his tears away with the sleeves of his suit and threw his briefcase on the side.
Violin! Violin playing would help clear his head. He went over to the coffee table, opened the case, picked up his instrument and checked the intonation before he launched himself into bits of Bach he still remembered. Then, Eddy played the sweet, melancholic melody again Brett had played shortly before they'd met. The piece filled the room and Eddy's mind, calming him instantly, bringing him to a place of peace with a hint of longing. His heart rate slowed down, his breathing synchronized itself with his playing. It felt so nice that Eddy played it again, and again, and again, until his fingertips burned and the clock had long passed dinner time. And when he stopped, he knew exactly what he had to do.

There had only ever been one option anyway. Brett had to know. So Eddy was going to tell him.

Still, as he went to bed two hours later, his belly filled with homemade Pad Thai, the nervousness creeping up on him made it very difficult for Eddy to fall asleep. A lot of tossing and turning and breathing exercises were involved until finally, mercyfully, his eyelids fluttered shut...

"Hey! You just stopped in the middle of your performance!", Eddy heard Brett complain with a playful tone. He groaned, drew a hand over his face and opened his eyes.
"Did I drop your violin?", was the first thing Eddy found himself asking. Brett laughed.
"It was pretty scary, I gotta admit. But I managed to catch it before it could fall on the ground and scatter into millions of pieces."
"Way to be dramatic, man", Eddy commented with a grin and sat up.
They were still by the benches in front of Paganini's and Bach's painting.
"Just plain truth! I'd be bored to death without it!" Brett let himself slump down next to Eddy and lifted up his instrument to emphazise his point.
"Why do you think I asked if it was still intact the second I got here?"
Eddy laid a hand on Brett's shoulder and squeezed it gently. "I'm sorry I bailed on you like this."
Brett just shrugged. "Used to it. So don't bother."

Now, that the initial banter was dying down, Eddy's brows creased upon the weight he suddenly felt on his shoulders. He remembered fine what he'd decided before he went to bed. However, it didn't mean he had a clue how to break the news to the guy sitting next to him.
The absolute best guy in the world Eddy knew.
"How have you been?", he started, trying to hold on to the light atmosphere they'd had.
"Okay. I'm glad you're back though."
Eddy nodded. "Figures."
"What about you?", Brett asked back, glancing at Eddy's profile.
"My mum went by your parents' house. They weren't around though." Eddy's heart was beating so heavily it made him swallow hard.
"Oh..."
"I called the QSO to see if I they knew anything about you and if I could get through to Hyung, but the admin person didn't budge. Now, I'm officially supporting his chair."
"Really?", Brett chuckled, "Man. Can't believe how comitted you are."
"Well, money is the one thing I do have. And it's for a good cause, so what the hell. But guess what?"
Brett looked at him with questionmarks in his eyes.
"He reached out to me. Called me during work." His heart beat accelarated, just like the imaginary train in Eddy's brain was, hurtling towards a cliff...
"Bro! So it worked? He contacted you? You talked to him?"
"Yes! And he still knows me..."
A deep breath to still his erratic heart.
"... and you."

Brett gulped visibly. "He does?"
Eddy was well aware that he must appear gloomy, worried. And he knew Brett could tell and thus probably guess that Hyung didn't tell Eddy how great their mutual former friend was doing.
Eddy nodded once. "You did concertmaster Brett. At the Sydney Symphony. And you still live in Sydney."
"Concertmaster...", Brett mouthed, his eyes shining. Eddy hated that he was going to take that glow away, that he was going to be the one extinguishing it. "That's good! Isn't it?"
"It would be! I'm super proud that you made it this far. But what I'm going to say..." The tears suddenly pressing underneath the surface were not helping. He couldn't wail! Not now! Not in front of Brett! He needed to be strong for him. So he willed them away, locked them up for when he was awake, and alone.
"What?", Brett said, his tone cold, distant, his eyes locking with Eddy's.

"You collapsed", Eddy pressed out in a whisper, "During a concert. Mahler 6, Hyung said."
"... And now?"
"You fell into a coma, Brett."

With a clonk, Brett's violin hit the marble floor.

None of them moved an inch. No falling on their knees to see if the violin was damaged. No picking it back up. Instead, Eddy desperately looked for some kind of sign in Brett's features that he wasn't gone completely.

"Brett?...", he tried after what felt like forever. He grabbed Brett's shoulders and shook him gently.
"Brett?..."
"A coma...", Brett finally muttered. Eddy let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.
"Yeah... but... we're not even sure if you're still in a coma. Hyung said he hasn't heard anything from your parents, but it doesn't mean..."
"That's why I'm here?"
"... I hate to say it. I really do, Brett. But I think so."
"How long..."
"About six months. That's as long as I've been having these dreams by the way. I think me dreaming about the mirror for such a long time and you being in that state is somehow connected."
There was some life coming back into Brett's demeanor. Eddy wasn't sure if desperation was better than numbness though.
"That's why I never wake up.", Brett stuttered, a single tear running down his porcelain white skin. Eddy nodded, withstanding the urge to brush that tear away.
"But why...?"
"We don't know why. No one outside your family does, or maybe not even them. They took down all the information concerning you and didn't let any media report about what happened. That's why I couldn't find out anything about you."
Brett burrowed his face into his palms.
"God..."
Yeah. If there had ever been anyone who'd wished for a miracle, it would have been Eddy right at this moment.
"But... Brett. You're not gone! There is still hope", Eddy tried weakily.
"You don't believe that, do you", Brett hissed, his face still hidden from the world.
"Of course!", Eddy exclaimed and fell down on his knees so he could look up to Brett, his hands firm on Brett's upper leg, grounding him.
"Listen to me! We will get you out of here! There is still hope as long as your heart is beating. And as I said, I don't think that me being here with you is a coincidence! There must be something we can do."
"But what?", Brett now sobbed and he sounded so, so lost all Eddy wanted to do was to close him into his arms and rock him back and forth, or maybe take back everything he'd revealed to Brett so the other could spend his life here, carefree, playing the violin...
"There is absolutely nothing here! No puzzle, no secret path we should explore... Just some dumb hallways and endless staircases! How is there a way out?"
"You have your violin!" The violin which fell to the ground, Eddy just remembered with horror. He instantly took the instrument lying next to him where it had landed and quickly checked for cracks. Luckily, he only spotted a thin, black line on the side of the violin he wasn't sure if it had been there before.
"It's fine! There is only one tiny split, Brett. You can still play on it."
"And what good is that gonna do, Eddy? I've played for months now! Half a year, apparently, and I couldn't escape this God damn place, could I?"
"I don't know. But if that's the only thing you've taken with you to this place, it's gotta mean something."

It took a moment, but then, Brett gazed at him and sniffed. "You really think so?"
"I do! And we'll figure something out, okay? But please, please don't lose hope just yet."
"I'm trying, Eddy. I am! But it's just so hard not to!"