Melomania

III. Queen of Rain

(Sonja)

Water dripped from her straight, black hair. Her footsteps merged with the pouring rain, moving like one, sounding like a beautifully mysterious nocturne by a melancholic composer dying heartbroken. The Serbian girl looked around, finding the hallways of the Academy too empty for her liking and something inside her started stirring.

Sonja Nikoliç climbed a flight of stairs and continued her way with small, insecure steps, as if slowly but steadily creeping inside a beast's den. The sound of rain was hypnotic, mesmerising, the only thing in motion in this static world of past and present. She paused in front of a window, resting her elbows on the windowsill and breathed in the aroma of rain. She felt something else there: a sharp smell of cologne. She turned around in a flash and saw a young man sitting next to her, watching pensively out the window.

Sonja could only mouth a surprised greeting, as her voice was so fade that it was muffled by the falling rain. Did the air around her turn colder all of a sudden? The young man looked at her with the corner of his eye and smiled warmly and charmingly. Without a word, he turned around and took a few steps away from her.

Sonja felt compelled to join him, even if deep down in her guts she knew that something was off and she felt a bit uneasy. However, her legs began to move on their own and, soon enough, they were walking together. There was a thick silence between them, broken only but the sound of the falling rain.

Sonja stopped and took a deep breath. "I..."

The young man turned around and smiled. His sea green eyes were glistening. Sonja had a feeling deep in her guts that she must have seen him somewhere...

"I... I think I know you..." Her voice cracked. She stared into his eyes, unable to break the eye contact, as is she were into some kind of trance-like state.

He only chucked. "We're bound to meet again, Sonja Nikoliç. I wish you good luck in your endeavours." He then turned around and disappeared behind the corner, leaving behind nothing but silence and falling rain.

"Wait! H-Hang on!" Sonja ran after him, but no one was there.

* * *

The piece ended in a wonderful clear note as the young man who had accompanied her rested his hands mid air, like a bird frozen in flight. Sonja fidgeted with her scarf absentmindedly and her expectant gazed was fixed upon Sir Czerny as he was making various notations on his notepad with a quick strike of his pen.

"Flawless as always, Lászlo." He said without raising his gaze as the young man finally let his hands fall gently on the keys, closing the lid with aristocratic finesse. "As for you, Miss Nikoliç..."

He stood up with calculated steps, letting his notepad rest on the piano. Sonja's hand froze on her scarf as soon as the examinator locked eyes with her. She opened her mouth to speak, yet her voice was so fade that she was unsure whether he had heard her:

"Well...?"

"I can say you're in." He sighed. "While we're more focused on instrumental practice here, there's surely room for a rising soprano here..."

Her hand lowered slightly and her shoulders relaxed. Her whole face, once contorted in stern and nervous concentration, turned bright and cheerful in an instant. "Then I passed! I passed! I..." Her ecstatic cheer was cut short as Sir Czerny nodded just slightly. "Oh, I... I got a bit ahead of myself..."

"Understandable. After all, you certainly gave your very best..." Unphased, he glanced over at the sheets on the piano. Sonja could see a slight chance in his expression, yet she was unable to read it.

She turned her gaze to the room she was in, a room with lots of chairs around a black piano, relatively large, with windows framed by long, velvet curtains swaying in the breeze. It resembled a classroom only slightly. As she looked through the window, she saw Budapest below and her mind raced towards pictures of walking pedestrians passing by the glittering Danube as speedy boats broke through it's waves. Her eyes closed slightly as she imagined the bridges arching tiredlessly over the river as waltzes and jolly songs were carried into the night amongst the glimmer of stars and city lights.

As she was lost in thought, she caught a glimpse of Lászlo in the reflection of the glass, resting against the doorframe, his gaze following the looming storm clouds over Hungary's capital city. Sonja was startled. His gaze was cold and unsettling, yet strangely familiar, as if she had seen it before. The young man stood like he were posing for a portrait or a daugterotype. She tried to shake off the feeling, but as long as she and Lászlo stared out the window together but separately, she couldn't help but be caught by his reflection and otherwise unnerving appearance.

"So, you're free to go." Sonja turned her head in a flash, awakened from her reverié as the young man put a hand on her shoulder. Probably the effect he was aiming at was just that. Yet she found herself unable to move.

She looked around slightly and found out that she and the boy were alone. "Wh-"

"You seem lost in thought. Probably some fresh air would do you good."

"Who wants to go for a walk in the rain?" She shrugged it off awkwardly, not liking how she carried on the conversation. "You'll get soaked."

Lászlo gently went to the window and opened it wide and the curtains began to swing faster. Sonja was hit by the cool air and watched as sheets, music scores and leaves blew outside and inside the room.

"Isn't this about singing in the rain?" He said, leaning over the window sill. Sonja saw that his hair was slowly dancing in the wind, much like the curtains did.