Playing the Mysterious Violins

It was twelve at noon already. After finishing his lunch, Eriwan was taking a stroll around the garden in his big mansion. Two bodyguards kept following him whenever he went in the garden. Feeling a bit upset, he turned to the two bodyguards and said to them sternly,

"I've told you I won't get out of this mansion anymore. Why are you still following me everywhere in this garden like my shadow?" asked Eriwan feeling a bit upset.

"This is what Mrs. Columba has asked us to do, Mr. Eriwan. Please understand us… We're just following Mrs. Columba's order."

"She isn't here right now. She won't know if you leave me alone here. I won't escape… Trust me… Go there and leave me alone…"

The bodyguards looked a big agitated. They kept staring at each other.

"I said I won't escape. Please leave me alone here… I want to be alone… I won't tell Mrs. Columba that you aren't with me at the moment." Eriwan repeated again that he wanted the two bodyguards to leave him alone in the garden.

The two bodyguards finally nodded their heads and left Eriwan alone in the garden. So, this time Eriwan could think clearly when he was all by himself.

I won't ever let Delwyn Anderson get those Crudus' violins. He must have been targeting those twin violins for such a long time. He won't ever attain them. Those two violins are our Frias family heritage – from the era of Marvelo and Marius, until the era of Erito and me. They mustn't fall into other people's clutch of hands.

Eriwan looked at the high walls around him again. He kept saying to himself.

I will get out of here shortly… As soon as possible, I'll get out of here and meet Rendy or Pierre who can get me a new passport. I'll fly to Singapore to meet Erito as immediately as possible.

Then, Eriwan began to activate his telepathic communication with his younger brother.

Erito… Erito… Are you okay?

There was no reply. Eriwan called his younger brother once again. Erito… Erito…

It was Eriwan's telepathic calling which woke Erito up from his fainting. Erito slowly grasped his consciousness and he got up from the floor. He walked weakly and a bit breathlessly to the long sofa in front of his bed. He touched and massaged his dizzy head for a while. He still felt very dizzy and his world kept turning him around and around.

Yeah, I'm here, Eriwan…

Are you okay?

Erito smiled faintly. I've told you without you by my side, I'm definitely not okay. How can I be okay right now meanwhile I realize perhaps we won't see each other again?

Just be patient then, Erito… I'll try to find a way to fly to Singapore there to get near you. I'll be by your side as soon as possible…

Erito smiled gently again. I'm very angry. I wanted to destroy everything around me when I knew Dad merely lied me here in order to separate you from me. Yet, I'm too weak to even lift a table now. I am so angry I'm very hopeless without you by my side. I'm so angry I can't do anything to fight for our togetherness, Eriwan. I'm sorry…

You solely need to stand on your spot, Erito. It's enough then… Don't run here and there, so it'll be easier for me to find you. If you keep running here and there, I won't be able to find you easily. It's me who will run to you; it isn't you who will run to me. You get what I mean, don't you?

Okay… I'll be waiting for you here, Eriwan…

Are you okay? You sound a bit dizzy and queasy… Did you drink a lot last night?

No, I didn't… But, it's just the electricity shock has weakened me a lot and has absorbed a lot of my energy. It feels like I don't want to do anything more for today.

You have to eat, Erito. Or else, you will get sick. Have you eaten your lunch yet? Eriwan started to be agitated.

I haven't even eaten any breakfast… Erito replied weakly and in his very low tone of voice.

Hah? You must eat right now, Erito… Please eat something… I know you're sad and upset. But, you have to eat something. Or else, you'll get sick…

Yeah… I'd rather be sick… Erito mumbled his sentence angrily and weakly at the same time.

Please eat something, Erito. You know I'll be very gloomy knowing you're sick, don't you? Please don't make me miserable, Erito…

Erito was also a bit guilty making his elder brother feel sad and gloomy because of him. He tried to walk to the door of his bedroom and opened the door. His breakfast had been stale because it had been put in front of his bedroom door for quite a couple of hours. However, his lunch was still fresh and looked tasty. He picked up his lunch and he got back inside his room again.

Erito… Are you eating right now?

Yeah… Yeah… I'm eating my lunch right now… I don't wanna make you sad because of worrying a lot about me, Eriwan. I don't want you to be sad because of me, Eriwan… Erito tried to put some food into his mouth. But, the food didn't taste any good. The food was blunt and Erito could merely finish a bit of his lunch.

What are you eating right now?

A bit of Singaporean nasi lemak. Perhaps Dad bought it from a stall near the MRT station around here. But it doesn't taste any good, Eriwan. I think I'm really getting sick. Without you by my side, anything won't taste any good. Am I too exaggerating?

No, you aren't… Without you here, everything I eat for breakfast and lunch today doesn't taste any good either. I'm also suffered because I'm really afraid that we won't see each other again, but I want you to know I'll struggle every way I can think of in order to be there with you again.

I know… I know you'll always fight for our best, for my best, Eriwan… Sorry for always bothering you all these times…

That's because I love you a lot… That's because I'm your elder brother, Erito… Eriwan smiled gently.

Eriwan was strolling along the corridor on the second floor inside his big mansion while he was talking to his younger brother via telepathy. He tried to open his parents' bedroom, but that room was locked. He knew already his parents had never left their bedroom unlocked.

What are you doing, Erito? Have you finished your lunch? Eriwan heard Erito stop eating and begin to stand up from his seat.

I heard something behind this cupboard, Eriwan… Hold me a moment… Erito began to approach the source of the little mysterious noise he heard a couple of seconds before.

Eriwan just nodded his head. He moved to the next room beside his parents' bedroom. He tried to open the door. A bit astonishingly, the door was opened. Eriwan stepped inside the room. It turned out to be the room where his father hid and kept some of his artefacts which he didn't want to display to the public or which he wanted to keep for himself or his family.

Eriwan saw some of the ancient Chinese, Egyptian and Russian daily-used eating utensils. He also saw some traditional musical instruments played during the ancient Chinese, Japanese, Korean and some of traditional Indonesian musical instruments. Eriwan just looked at all those artefacts with awe. He didn't dare to touch them as he was afraid he would ruin them and bring them to damage.

Meanwhile, Erito got nearer and nearer to a little cupboard at the corner of his bedroom. There was a little cupboard over there, which he had never paid attention to all these times. He tried to open the door of the little cupboard but it stuck a little bit because it had been left unopened for quite a long time. Erito had to push out his last little extra power so that he could open the little cupboard at the corner of his bedroom.

Meanwhile, back there in Jakarta, Eriwan also saw a little cupboard in the corner of the room. He frowned his forehead and he began to approach the little cupboard. There had to be something important inside because the little cupboard was cornered to the edge of the room, and was somewhat hidden among other bigger boxes and other bigger furniture.

Both Eriwan and Erito – in two different places – began to open the little strange and mysterious cupboards. Inside the cupboards, they saw two quaint, old, queer, and mysterious violins, with their playing sticks next to them. Although they were quite old, the two violins had been furnished well, so both violins looked really perfect. The strings were in good condition as well.

Look what I've just found here, Erito…

Look what I've just found here, Eriwan…

Both brothers spoke to each other simultaneously.

You go first… What have you just found? Eriwan asked.

The so-called Crudus' violin which would be stolen away by those Helen Angsani and Renata Limidius, and which have been moved to nowhere by Dad and Mom… Correct me if I'm wrong…

No, you're not wrong… You're right… Guess what I have just found…

What?

Also a violin… An old violin… The partner of the Crudus' violin which you've just found, Erito… Can I say this is our destiny? Eriwan chuckled in his exhilaration and exuberance.

Erito also chuckled in his exultance and jovialness. Both of us have just found the Crudus' violins, which have been moved to two different places for quite a couple of moments, haven't we? Both of us have also found the Crudus' violins simultaneously, haven't we? Are you kidding me?

No, it's not a joke… Destiny can sometimes be a kind of mystery… Just the same with Marvelo's and Marius' destinies, here we are, with our destinies, Erito. By this discovery, I swear I won't give up fighting for our togetherness, Erito. How about you?

Yeah, the same… I won't ever stop fighting to be together with you, Eriwan. If the world even opposes our togetherness, I think I'll just continue my struggle to death. I don't think I can survive any longer without you in my life.

Eriwan said nothing more. He just picked up the violin, but he hadn't started to play it.

What are you doing? Are you trying to play it again? We do know that these violins can't produce any sound if they aren't played by two people who have their deep and sincere love towards each other. Do you still believe in that myth?

Of course I still do… Perhaps it's just a myth… Perhaps it's not… I want to play a song… One of the songs we used to play together when we were in our senior high school. Do you still remember?

Yeah, of course I do… Wanna start now? One… Two… Three…

To their astonishment, the violins started to produce a very beautiful and melodious song. The two brothers played their violins really well and perfectly. The song they were playing was sent to each other via their telepathic world. Although they were at two different places, it looked as though they were in the same spot, they could see each other, they were playing their violins for each other, and they could hear each other's song.

The song finally reached its closing part.

Glad to play this song again with you, Eriwan… After being separated like this, I begin to regret why I've not been playing music together with you again for such a long time. I miss those moments, Eriwan.

I miss them too… I miss you a lot… But, we can see each other again soon, Erito… I'll promise you… Trust me…

Erito nodded his head. I want to continue my lunch first, Eriwan. I think my lunch has gone cold. Erito laughed crisply.

Okay… Eriwan responded in short. He put their telepathic communication to an end.

Erito put the violin back into the little cupboard, and so did Eriwan. Out of a sudden, Erito began to feel a great dizziness again striking his head. His head felt really and really awful. His world began to turn around and around. He tried to close the door of the little cupboard with his last little power. His world surrounding him was turning around more and more quickly. Erito couldn't even decide whether he was still standing or he had already lain down on the floor. Shortly after he had closed the door of the little cupboard, he fainted unconsciously to the floor.

Eriwan suddenly began to feel something strange happening to his left chest. He seemed to have got a kind of gut feeling inside his mind and heart that something bad had occurred.

Minutes by minutes passed by. Eriwan also began to feel a kind of terrible pain right on his left chest. He clung to his left chest very strongly. He began to be breathless. He tried to absorb as much oxygen as he could. His eyesight also began to be blurred. He couldn't see really clearly anymore. He began to squat down and try to hold on his breathless lungs and heart. Slowly and slowly, his world around began to grow dark grey – to be more and more grey, to be more and more dark. Finally, Eriwan's world surrounding him turned to an endless pitch black world.

Eriwan also fell unconsciously to the floor.