Fantasia

LIX

Brett's face lighting up told Eddy, that they had to be on the right track.
"That's it...", Brett mumbled, blankly staring at his friend.
"You think so too?"
"I've no idea if I think so. But..." Brett swallowed hard, "This piece... Man! You could be on to something!"
"Should we just try playing it?", Eddy asked, even though there was small part of him still afraid of having to play next to a professional musician. If it helped Brett though, he was more than willing to risk sounding horribly in comparison to Brett.
Brett's eyes glittered. "Yes! Let's!"

If Eddy would have known that bringing Brett to play the violin again would be this easy, he'd suggested doing a duet way earlier. Then again, "his" violin had only just appeared. He positioned it on his shoulder, expectantly looking at Brett. The smaller lifted his bow and together, they were off.
As the first notes soared through the big room, Eddy almost instantly found himself thrown back to more than a decade ago. Brett and him, two young teens, playing duets at their homes or in practice rooms, busking together on the streets of Brisbane, learning to listen to each other, accompany each other, bring pieces to life they only could when playing together. It seemed, even with so many years in between, the countless times they'd played the violin together didn't go to waste.

After a while, Brett changed the notes and began to play another melody, accompanying the main theme. He threw in some soft pizzes, drew some incredibly clean artificial harmonics out of his instrument which highlighted bits of the piece and played double stops in fast semiquavers. Eddy got lost in the music that filled the hall, quickly forgetting any fear of fucking up that might have been looming over him. And when Brett started to play a second melody, it was like they got teleported into another dream world, full of flowers rustling in the wind, petals in soft hues swirling around them and high above them blinking stars appearing in a darkening orange evening sky. Eddy felt free, filled with passion and a slight melancholia for what he'd had missed out on for so many years... but most of all, he felt a deep connection to his best friend. An understanding of the other which didn't require words or explanations. The music Brett played conveyed everything and Eddy equally tried to put all his heart and soul into his playing so Brett could hear, could feel, could understand.

However, as near perfect playing together with Brett was, Eddy sensed that something was missing. Something that should be adressed, brought to light. Something that hurt, but also had the power to show them the right path. Eddy tried to put a name on that feeling and immediately got reminded of a scene of him on the other side of the mirror...

The piece came to an end way too fast. The wind died down, the flower petals covered the high grass and when Eddy opened his eyes, he found himself back in his bed, his mind peaceful, his heart still singing the melody which had filled the end of his dream.

It accompanied Eddy when he swung his legs ouf of bed, when he got ready for work without his morning run yet again because he'd overslept big time, when he sat through the fourty minute bus ride to work, and when he stepped into his bosses office first thing before he'd even turned on his own computer.

"Chen? Good morning." His superior looked him up and down with surprised eyes.
"Good morning, Sir."
"What's up? Do we have a meeting scheduled? I haven't looked into my calendar yet..."
"No, Sir. I want to take a holiday."
"Okay? Why tell me? Just tell the personal department if you have holidays left..."
"I would like to take them now. Two weeks. It's a personal matter."
Now, Mr. Rogers frowned. Eddy gulped. There was still the melody in his heart though, urging him on to do the right thing.
"Chen. You know you have to sign up your holidays on time, right? You can't just tell me and then leave."
"I know, Sir. But someone I know is in a coma. Back in Australia." Time to bring out the big arguments. Eddy knew what he did wasn't according to the office's policy.
"Oh", his boss made, "sorry to hear that."
"Yeah. That's why I'd like to go down there as soon as possible to go see and visit him."
"I understand... but what about your clients, Chen? They need you to work on their investments and portfolios."
"I can do some work from there. The time difference is not big either, so that shouldn't be an issue. I also think, most of my clients are in a stable enough position for me to take some time off."
"They have spoken highly of your work recently", Mr. Rogers nodded slowly. Eddy could see a glimmer of hope rising up at the horizon. His superiour stroked his chin, mindlessly flipped through a stack of papers on his desk before he finally announced, "Alright, Chen. You can have your holidays. Two weeks max, I expect you to be available for online calls at least during the morning office hours and to check on your clients every now and then."
"Of course!", Eddy thused, eyes wide and bright for he never would have thought his boss would actually give in this easily. His hard work for this place did pay off, apparently! "Thank you so much, Mr. Rogers! I'll be available for calls and will check my emails daily."
"Good. You'll be working today to get your things in order. Inform your clients. And then, I'll see you in two weeks?"
"Yes! Thank you so much!" Eddy bowed a little and was on his way to the door, when Mr. Rogers added, "And Chen!"
Eddy turned around.
"I hope your friend is going to be okay."
He nodded as a response. "I hope so too, Sir."