Fantasia

LX

"You going on a trip?"
Theo was glancing on Eddy's screen, which showed the multiple open tabs of different airlines and booking platforms, munching away on a steamed dousha bao. If Eddy was lucky, he'd find himself on a flight to Sydney this evening!
"Yup!"
"Didn't know your holidays are up."
"They aren't! I asked for unscheduled holidays due to personal reasons. Mr. Rogers granted them."
Theo's eyes were so big they almost popped out. Eddy snorted.
"Dude! Really? I never thought he'd do that!"
"Right? Me neither. Gotta be available for calls and stuff though."
"Man, good for you! And what personal matters are we talking about, if I may ask?", Theo grinned mischievously.
Eddy rolled his eyes. "Not what you're thinking."
"What am I thinking?"
"Some sappy romcom movie shit."
Theo laughed. "Am I not right?"
"Nah! Would never travel or take extra holidays for something like that."
"If it's the right person, you would. Believe me", Theo sighed, his half eaten bao being spun around mindlessly, spilling its content here and there.
"S'that how it was with your girlfriend?", Eddy asked. Theo and his girlfriend had been together since forever, as far as Eddy knew. Right now, he was just glad there wasn't someone he had to talk to first before he left the country.
"Yup!", Theo confirmed, "But don't try to change the subject. Where are you going?"
"Back to Australia for a bit. Wanna visit an old friend of mine in the hospital. He's in a coma."
The shocked intake of air was audible through half the office.
"God, I had no idea. When did you find out?"
"Like two days ago? Don't remember." With all those realistic dreams in between the "normal" days, Eddy did have a hard time to recall the time of recent events.
"Man, what happened?"
"Overwork probably. But I'm not sure. That's part of the reason I'm going down there."
"What a reminder for us to take it easy from time to time..."
"Yeah, right?", Eddy sighed heavily, scrolled through the new site he'd just opened up and checked the ticket prices. This one looked promising... almost a hundred bucks less than the other offers. He'd have to change planes once, but who cared at this point? And the flight left tomorrow morning, which was perfect. He clicked on the listing to start the booking process.
"Hope you'll find out more then. And all the best for your buddy", Theo said, stuffing the rest of the bun into his mouth.
"Thanks", Eddy mumbled while typing in the numbers of his credit card.

The rest of the day flew by in an instant. Eddy was busy preparing for his absence, informing his clients and updating his co-workers, so they'd know what to do in case Eddy wouldn't be available for a few hours. He even found some time to have a drink with Theo after work, chatting about his upcoming trip and the trouble Theo had with his clients. It was a miracle, that Eddy still managed to get home at a normal hour. He quickly gobbled down some dinner, packed his suitcase and played Brett's piece for a bit, right before ten p.m.. His violin was put away in its case again and placed next to his suitcase. Eddy wanted to make sure he wouldn't forget his instrument tomorrow morning like the many times he had when he was a young, careless soul.
And then, he took a deep breath and looked around his apartment.

It had been a while since he'd gone back to Australia and Eddy was actually feeling a bit nervous about flying back home, or rather, flying to Sydney. How was it going to be? In which hospital should he first look for Brett and if he'd found him, would Brett's family even let him near Brett? Maybe, this whole thing was a futile and very expensive attempt to finally meet his friend in real life again and thus confirm what Hyung had told him. And if Eddy really got to see Brett, what would change? Brett wasn't going to wake up just because Eddy suddenly appeared next to his bedside.

Nonetheless, all of these questions didn't really matter. It was the most logical thing in the world for Eddy that he simply had to go see Brett. That Brett deserved him flying down there and look for him and nothing less. Every fibre in his body told him to do so.

"Just wait for me, Brett", Eddy said, to the one hopefully not anymore, but probably still lying on a hospital bed and the one waiting for Eddy in his dreams. And with this thought and Brett's melody still occupying his mind, he went to sleep.

The very same tune welcomed Eddy on the other side, when he opened his eyes and found himself in that big hall again where he'd gotten his dream-violin. Warmth immediately flooded his system, enveloped him from head to toe and he sighed.
There had been a tiny part of him worrying about if Brett would try to destroy his violin again. However, after them playing together, Eddy had been pretty sure that it had been enough to keep Brett from doing something stupid. And he'd been right.
Eddy sat up and saw the other standing across the hall, eyes closed and immersed in his playing. Between them stood, propped up again, Eddy's instrument. He got to his feet, quietly made his way to the wooden masterpiece, took the violin and the bow next to it and joined in Brett's melody. Startled by the sudden appearence of a second violin's line, Brett's eyes fluttered open. A smile spread throughout his features upon seeing Eddy and together, they picked up where they left off, soaring high.

"Wow!", Brett made, when the piece came to an end. He lowered his violin and beamed at Eddy, who grinned back.
"Wow indeed! You good?"
Brett nodded, his glittering eyes brighter than Eddy had seen him since they'd met here.
"Real good. Playing this piece with you, man! That's really something else. I haven't felt so alive for a very long time."
Eddy's grin widened. "Good!"
"Yeah..."
"I felt the same. I feel like in a different world when we play. Like we're flying."
Brett nodded again, more vigorously this time. "Totally! After you vanished, I just kept on playing! Can you imagine? I didn't stop until you've come back."
"You love playing the violin. See?", Eddy exclaimed, his own instrument raised to emphazise his statement.
Brett's smile softened. "I guess, I do."

It took a short moment for them to touch ground again, come back from their high.
"So, this melody really could be the key, huh", Eddy repeated his suggestion from the night before.
"The way it triggers things, I reckon it is..." Brett scratched the back of his head, ruffling his hair in the process. "But where do we go from here? It's not like I'm awake now, am I?"
"Maybe you're more awake than you've been the past few years?", Eddy said with a wink, trying to relieve the tension a bit. Brett bumped into his shoulder with a chuckle. "You know what I mean. But..." He gave Eddy's shoulder another small bump. "You're probably right. And it's thanks to you."
"You made me realize stuff first, so we're good. And as you've said, you're still stuck here."
"So if playing it together is not enough, what else could we do?"

Eddy's brain went into analyzing mode, much like whenever he had to figure out why his clients were losing money. It didn't take long for a tiny thought to enter his mind.
"Brett, the empty score..."
The shorter's eyes widened in surprise, and maybe with a hint of panic.
"The one I... I ripped apart you mean."
Eddy's shoulders sagged down when he remembered the fatal state the expensive scores had all been in. "Yeah, that one. You recall those two musicians playing a variation of your melody?"
"Of course!"
"Maybe this time, we have to develop something together based on your theme. Maybe that's what the empty score was for."
"I destroyed it though..."

Eddy's hand found Brett's on a whim.
"Let's go back!" He started a brisk walk, pulling Brett with him, who was too stunned to put up any resistance. Only a confused "Where?" escaped his lips.
Eddy's grip around Brett's smaller hand tightened. "To the music scores of course, where else?"