Trio of Passion

Rough Raph(1)

(Background: Night of March 29, 1794, Edith changed her mind and went into exile with Raphael.)

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With a jarring and quivering sound of the bowstring, the impassioned music abruptly ceased. Edith awakened from the dreamlike melancholy, her eyes fluttering open and closed, as hot tears welled up and streamed down. Her heart felt empty, yet a sense of relief washed over her.

Unconsciously, she approached Raphael, her lips shivering, wanting to plead for him to continue. But the violin suddenly crashed to the ground; the bewitching melody of this elegy all at once overwhelmed the despairing performer, who finally couldn't contain himself any longer, burying his face in his elbow.

His agitated state frightened her, yet also infected her soul, making her unable to resist the urge to draw closer to him.

Suddenly, Raphael cast aside the bow in his hand and forcibly embraced Edith in his arms, pressing her bosom tightly against his chest, kissing her lips in a frenzy.

"Raphael!" she cried out in alarm, but was immediately enveloped by the scorching heat of his lips.

She reached out to push his shoulder, but her efforts were feeble. Like a drowning man gasping for his last breath of faint air from the surface, he greedily and hopelessly drank from her lips and tongue, blind to everything else.

Their noses collided as his hand pressed her turning head towards his own lips like mad. Edith tasted the salty bitterness of their mingled tears, her mind becoming even more disoriented and bewildered.

"Raphael!" She finally regained some strength, her voice taking on a calm tone of persuasion.

This time, Raphael didn't struggle anymore. He allowed her to push him onto the writing desk, tilting his head to the side, the expression on his face resembling someone who had just committed homicide. A strand of disheveled golden hair from their previous passion hung over his forehead, concealing his blue eyes devoid of all luster.

Edith stood in place, initially glaring at him annoyed, but as she saw this state of him, her eyes gradually softened with pity.

"Forgive me," he murmured in a barely audible voice after a while, his gaze still fixed on the void before him.

"Forgive me," he repeated. Then, he hastily grabbed his belongings and stumbled out of the dimly lit room, leaving Edith behind.

Edith remained there for a while, until the flickering candlelight was extinguished by a gust of cold wind, plunging the surroundings into utter darkness. Slowly, she followed out, but the young man's figure was no longer visible in the foyer.

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Edith watched his forlorn figure, and in that instant, her heart became as clear as a mirror. Raphael's premonition was right — today, once he left, it would be an eternal farewell! If she let him go like this, she would lose him forever.

Without thinking, she impulsively dashed out the door, disregarding her anxious friend, Charlene, calling out to her from behind. With a loud voice, she shouted the name of the person who meant so much to her at that moment:"Raphael! Raphael!"

In the darkness of the night, his desolate and solitary form finally merged with the blonde youth she had just envisioned on the edge of the cliff in that dreamlike melody.

Raphael halted his steps in surprise, then let out a bitter smile without turning around."Why must you chase after me again?"

"If I let you go like this, I will regret it for the rest of my life," Edith firmly spoke.