The Mysterious Professor

Liora plays the melody during practice, unaware that someone is listening. Elias Varion, a reserved and enigmatic music professor, hears the familiar tune and is visibly shaken. He approaches her with cryptic questions about how she found the song. Liora, both intrigued and annoyed by his secrecy, feels an odd familiarity about him but brushes it off as a coincidence.

A steady drizzle fell outside, tapping softly against the arched windows of the conservatory. Liora sat in the near-empty lecture hall, absently tracing the rim of her coffee cup as Professor Elias Varion stood at the front, his presence commanding yet distant.

His lecture on baroque compositions had been thorough, yet his voice carried a strange detachment, as though his mind was elsewhere. Liora's thoughts mirrored his distraction. The events of the previous night haunted her, the way the music had wrapped around her, the unshakable sense of déjà vu, and most of all, Elias' cryptic warning.

Her fingers itched to play the melody again. The song had settled into her bones, an old Mutter refusing to be silenced. Even now, its notes hummed faintly in her mind, tempting her to defy caution.

"…the motif found in Bach's Chaconne carries a cyclical theme, much like fate itself." Elias' voice cut through her musings, pulling her attention back. His amber eyes flickered toward her, lingering a second too long before he continued addressing the class. "Musical phrases that repeat across compositions often hold hidden stories, memories encoded within each note."

A chill ran through Liora. His words felt deliberate. Did he know she had played the song again? Had he been watching?

The thought unsettled her more than she cared to admit.

When the lecture concluded, students filtered out in hushed chatter, but Liora remained seated. She tapped her fingers against her notebook, waiting for the last of her classmates to leave before rising from her seat.

Elias was already gathering his papers when she approached. "Professor Varion."

He paused, glancing up. His expression was guarded, unreadable. "Miss Everhart."

She hesitated. The library's dim lighting had softened his features the night before, but here, under the bright fluorescents, the sharp angles of his face were more defined. There was a quiet intensity in his gaze, something that made her uneasy yet inexplicably drawn to him.

"I need to ask you about last night," she finally said, voice steady despite the unease curling in her stomach.

His hands stilled over his papers. "I advised you to leave that song alone."

Liora crossed her arms. "And I asked you why. You never answered."

A tense silence stretched between them. Then Elias exhaled, setting his papers down. "Because some songs are not merely compositions. They carry weight beyond what you hear."

She frowned. "That doesn't explain anything."

He studied her for a long moment as if measuring how much he should say. Then, he leaned in slightly, lowering his voice. "Music has power, Miss Everhart. More than you realize."

Her pulse quickened, but she didn't waver. "You speak as if you know this from experience."

Did something flicker in his expression, regret? Pain? It was gone before she could place it.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." He straightened, closing his briefcase. "Let it go. That's the best advice I can offer."

Frustration flared in her chest. "You don't get to decide that for me."

His jaw tightened. "No, I don't. But I can warn you." He turned to leave but stopped just before the door. Without looking back, he added, "Be careful what you seek, Miss Everhart. Some melodies never fade, no matter how much time passes."

The door clicked shut behind him, leaving Liora alone in the empty lecture hall, heart pounding.

She knew one thing for certain, she wasn't going to let this go.