Isolde
The sun lies hidden in our breast,
stars of bliss shine smiling.
Tristan
Gently enfolded in your spell,
sweetly melting before your eyes...
Isolde
heart to heart,
lip to lip...
Tristan
bound together
in one breath...
Both
my eyes grow dim,
blinded with ecstasy,
the world and its vanities fade away...
Act II, Scene II
Tristan und Isolde
Libretto and music by Richard Wagner
Washington, D.C.
November 11, 1994
6:35 P.M.
For the second time in roughly the same number of days, a slim red-headed woman walked down the fourth floor hallway of an ancient apartment building. Finding the door of apartment number 42, she stopped and turned to knock. Muffled sounds coming from inside the apartment made her hesitate. Putting her ear to the door, the woman heard somewhat exaggerated moans and screams of pleasure coming from a man and woman, accompanied by a quasi-Jazz piece that consisted of a saxophone and electric guitar. He couldn't be... she thought. She soon realized that the sounds were too tinny to indicate any real activity between two people. With a devilish smile, she decided to knock on the door.
"Who's it?" a man called from inside the apartment, his voice cracking.
"Scully," the woman replied.
The tinny-sounding man and woman stopped in mid-moan, as did the musical accompaniment. "I'll be there in a minute." Within that time, the woman could hear some footfalls, a rattling belt buckle, and the mechanations of a VCR ejecting a tape before Fox Mulder opened the door. "Hey, Scul..." He stopped mid-greeting, looking into the woman's bright blue eyes. "Melissa?"
"You disappointed?" Melissa asked.
"No, no. Just wishful thinking, I guess. How is she?"
"Dana's been better, but still recovering." Melissa peered into the doorway, looking over the damage done by the men who also brought harm to her sister.
Mulder looked back into his apartment. "They got it pretty bad."
"So, aren't you going to invite me in?"
"Oh. Sure." Mulder stepped back, letting Melissa through the doorway. "Sorry about the mess. I've also got some mildew. Nothing a little Lysol can't clean. What brings you here, anyway?"
Melissa started looking around Mulder's apartment. "Just to tell you that Dana's okay, see how you're doing."
"I'm fine."
Melissa nodded. Moving next to the television, she continued to survey Mulder's domicile. "I would like to help you cleanse your home, too."
"I say 'clean,' you say 'cleanse.'" Mulder contemplated the difference for a moment. "Is this some New Age thing?"
"If you want to call it that, yes. But a 'New Age thing' might make this place feel like a home again."
Mulder shrugged. "This is just a place for me to crash. If I had my way, I'd save my money and stay in the office. It just doesn't have a shower or a sofa to sleep on."
"Or a VCR," Melissa added.
Mulder looked away from Melissa.
He felt her touch his left arm.
"Fox. Look, I didnt't mean that." Mulder turned around. "I haven't kept in touch with my family much the past few years. I thought they had issues with me, but I think some of it was on my side." Melissa sighed. "With my father's death several months ago, and Dana coming close to death herself, I realized that I had to at least start making peace with my family."
"Détente works better for some families," Mulder commented.
"You've already met Mom a few times, but I don't know how much Dana has told you about the rest of us. From what she has told me, I can tell that Dana has a great deal of respect for, and trust in, you. When you decided not to seek revenge against the men who harmed her, you further affirmed her trust by just coming to her side. She hasn't said it, but to me it shows that you found Dana more important than them. I think that's what brought her back to us, and that's what has given me a chance to start reconnecting with my little sister." Melissa grabbed Mulder's right hand. "That's why I'm here. To thank you for what you did..." Melissa paused a few moments before adding, "As a friend."
As Mulder's eyes drooped, his mouth formed a slight smile. "I want to believe that I helped."
"I know you did." Melissa squeezed Mulder's hand three times and let go. "Have you eaten yet?"
"Oh, I was gonna have a TV dinner. Hungry Man meal."
"Is that what you really want?"
Mulder gave Melissa a quizzical expression. "Well, I'm a hungry man."
"And what's a hungry woman to eat?"
"Uhhh... Hungry Woman meal?"
"I don't think they make those. I do know of a good restaurant we could go to, just a few blocks from here. My treat."
"Melissa. You don't have to..."
"Please accept it as a gift, Fox."
"What about the... cleansing?"
"We can do that later. I'll need to get a few things beforehand, though."
Mulder removed a black pea coat from his coat closet and put it on. "Where are we going, anyway?"
"Namasté."
"I don't think I've heard of it."
Walking out the door, Melissa said, "Vegetarian restaurant. No Hungry Man meals there."
"I had my heart set on Salisbury steak."
"Keep setting your heart on Salisbury steak, and it'll get clogged with the fat of dead animals."
Mulder smiled, recognizing the same tone from one of Scully's more sardonic moments. Closing the door to his apartment and locking it, he said. "I think I know what I want already." Mulder and Melissa started walking down the hall.
"But you've never heard of the restaurant."
"'I'm gonna have the alfalfa sprouts and a plate of mashed yeast.'"
Melissa lowered her head and let out a small chuckle. "I have fond memories of that movie. It was one of the first ones I saw when my parents let me start dating. I didn't get all the humor at the time, though."
"Neurotic man gets together with quirky, pretty woman, they have some good times, and then they drift apart. Kinda like life. A little sad, a little funny."
Melissa pushed the down button when they reached the elevator. "Seriously, though, Namasté has less ascetic fare than that restaurant. It has a range of Asian-inspired dishes."
"Alfalfa sprouts in sweet and sour sauce?"
The elevator doors opened. "It's actually more Indian than anything else."