Fantasia

LXXVIII

Now with both violinists dressed up, Brett and Eddy picked up their instruments and left the generous changing room, not without first checking if the mirror really wasn't a portal to another world, like the outside one for example. They had no such luck, of course.

"If there's one thing I've learnt as a musician, there is no way around performing", Brett sighed, eliciting a laugh from the other.
"And now? Where to?", Eddy asked, his voice booming through the hallway.
"Up, I'd say. Let's see if there's another mystery door."
"Understood! Lead the way."
Brett did and they climbed up staircase after staircase, the colours of the lights changing with each new floor they reached. It wasn't until they got to the fifteenth floor, when another door appeared.
"God", Eddy huffed, "reminds me of a Chinese poem I had to learn as a kid."
"Which one?", Brett wheezed, a free hand on his propped up on his knee.
"The 更上一層樓, you know that one? It basically says if you wanna see more, you gotta climb up another floor."
"Do I look like I was the type of kid who learned Chinese poems by heart? Very fitting though, I gotta give you that."
He shook his head a bit, inhaled more oxygen to feed his burning lungs and took long strides towards the wooden door. Eddy followed suite.
"You asked which one! But I should have known it was suspicious. I remember your Chinese abilities. They sucked."
Brett slapped Eddy's shoulder when the taller catched up.
"Hey! It's not that bad!"
"真的嗎？(Really?)", Eddy winked and gave Brett an amicable pat in return. Brett grinned, clearly amused, but when they stood in front of the wooden entrance, his expression changed.
"What will we find, you reckon?"
"Only one way to find out", Eddy stated and this time, it was him who pressed down the handle, a nervous heart beat chasing his pulse up.

It was a room Eddy was sure Brett had seen a thousand times.
The smaller frowned. "A dressing room?"
"Typically comes before the stage, no?"
"Yeah, but we're dressed already. We're ready!", Brett exclaimed and for the first time since they'd started composing the Adagio, Eddy detected an impatience in Brett's voice. He looked at him from the side.
"Maybe we have to warm up?", he suggested, hoping to calm Brett down a bit. Brett closed his eyes, seemingly trying to compose himself.
"Yeah, maybe. Let's play through it again, see if there are any fine tunings we need to do."
"My violin is tuned, I think. Perfect pitch, remember?", Eddy winked, causing Brett to snort loudly.
"You know what I mean", Brett jibed, thrusting his elbow into Eddy's side.

They positioned themselves in front of those giant mirrors which were framed by huge light bulbs and started to play some scales to warm up their fingers. Then, a short look at the other's reflection, a nod and they launched into their piece, a melancholy instantly filling the room.
"Again?", Eddy asked after their first run-through.
"Mhm!", Brett just made and they were off.
They got to the middle of the piece and just when the transition was about to start, Eddy sensed how first his violin, then Brett and then the whole surrounding started to turn faster and faster, until all was a blurr and he could do nothing than call out Brett's name in despair...

"Shit!", Eddy muttered when he shot up from the damp sheets, his heart beating as fast as when he was on his most intense runs. He took in huge gulps of air, hoping he'd calm his pulse a bit.

God damn it! They had been so close! So close to performing their piece and thus ending Brett's misery, calling him out from his deep sleep. And of course, that's when Eddy had to wake up and ruin everything!
"Next night, Brett...", he mumbled into the heavy silence, already throwing the cover to the side so he could get ready.

Dawn was just starting to paint subtle, dark golden stripes on the sky in the east when Eddy left the hotel and made his way to the hospital in long, fast strides. He couldn't get to Brett fast enough. Hell, now that he'd finally found him physically, every second he wasn't able to stay by his side, be it in the dream or the "real" world, hurt. The longing he felt when Brett wasn't in his presence tore him apart and commanded every cell in his body to get to Brett as soon as possible. Luckily for him, the streets were free from other pedestrians due to the very early hour and it was the fastest he'd made it to the hospital ever.

"Hey", Eddy breathed when he entered Brett's room, the regular beeps welcoming him. Brett's cheeks had a slight blush on them, letting him appear more lively.
"How was your night? I think we'll soon make it Brett. What you reckon?"
Brett's head turned itself a teeny tiny bit in Eddy's direction. Eddy's eyes widened.
"Yeah! Exactly! What else is there to do, right? Other than performing it!" He took Brett's hand into his as he sat down next to his best friend. "It's gonna be great when you wake up. I don't care if you'll remember anything about our dreams or not, just focus on coming back, okay? We'll figure out the rest. I'm gonna tell you all our stories. What you've went through, what we played to each other, how we noticed you're not just a product of my imagination, how you forgave me in your incredible kindness, how you've almost destroyed the whole place... don't worry. I'll make it less dramatic for you."
A small, almost indiscernible smile graced Brett's features, making Eddy's heart flutter and a tear threaten to spill over.

"Yeah, it's gonna be fine, Brett. You're going to be alright."
Because Brett had to! He simply had to!