Sad Romance.
"Ah sir! Are you sure, you want to buy this mansion?" asked a plump, middle – aged man. He was wearing a formal black suit and a red tie. He was trying to persuade the young man not to buy the mansion. However, the man was unperturbed about his decision.
"I said I will buy it. If you want I can pay you double the price." Said the man with straight, black hair and small, red eyes. He was wearing a black frock, tailed coat with a black tie. He had worn white gloves and a black, silk top hat. "I am constant as the northern star." He said. "You don't understand sir." The old man replied. "It's not that I don't want to sell you this house. It's just because …" the man abruptly stopped. "It's just because?" The young man asked.
The plump man hesitated and then slowly began, "There are bad rumors about this mansion. People say that they hear eerie sounds. Many say they have even seen dark, mysterious and evil shadows. Some even claim to have seen a girl with black hair playing a violin. It is a haunted mansion sir. Therefore, you see. It will be wise not to buy this house Mr. Sebastian Michaelis."
The man called Sebastian laughed and when he finally stopped laughing after a few minutes, he said, "Oh forgive my indecency. But you see it's all nonsense. Folks and legends say several things like fairies, unicorns and stuff like that." He then came closer to the man's face and said, "But tell me how many prancing fairies have you seen in your life my good man?"
"None sir. None." The man said obviously scared.
"Exactly. I don't believe in them and you should not either if you want to prosper as a good estate manager. You understand?" Sebastian said with a scornful look.
"Yes sir. Yes." The man said almost shaking out his shoes by now.
"Good. Here's your money and there's my house. So long!" Sebastian said putting a briefcase in the hands of the man. He walked towards the huge mansion.
This young man is Sebastian Michaelis. He is a rich English gentleman. He is a famous violinist with a good sense of art. He invariably praises every piece of art and this mansion, being in his words 'ridiculously old yet fashionable' caught his eye. He loved music. He strongly believed that music had the power to console even the fiercest of beasts.
This mansion was situated on top of a cliff. It was a gothic building with a huge spire banded with lozenge decoration. There were spire like pinnacles and ballflower decorations on the top of the mansion. Below that were blind gabled arcs and octahedral turrets. There were rows of blind arches filled with trefoils. Moreover, another huge gable sticking out in the front with an octafoil and cinquefoil molding. There were blind lancets and flying buttresses on either side of the front façade wall. On either side were naves lined with staggered triple lancet windows. There were 3 floors and over 300 rooms. This mansion was bounded by a six feet tall brick fence and there was a huge Spanish style gate in between. There was also a garden. It was surrounded by forests on one side and a lake on the other side. Sebastian happily looked around his mansion and chuckled. He then said, "A spirit, evil shadows, eerie sounds? Ha! Nonsense! Complete nonsense! There is not a soul in this place except me. Guess I should move my things in."
For the next one month Sebastian spent his time arranging the house and moving his things in. He stayed in a nearby restaurant until his things were arranged. After the work was over, Sebastian was quite pleased with himself. He decided to take a look. He roamed on the first floor and the second floor. He marveled at his own sense of style. However, while roaming on the third floor, he saw a closed room. Out of curiosity, he opened it. He saw a window, a table in one corner and a painting on one side of the wall. A strange force drew him to the picture. He saw a girl playing a violin. The girl had snow – white skin. She was wearing a long, red Lolita dress. She had long, black hair that was left loose. Her eye lids dropped on her eyes like curled rose petals. Her lips were red like the cherries ready to pluck. Her delicate hands were skillfully playing the violin. It was as if she was completely immersed in playing it. A smile adorned her pretty face. Tears were pouring out of her eyes. And the way the violin seemed to 'cry'. It was as if the violin was playing a sad tone. It seemed that the violin was conveying the girl's sad feelings. Her beauty, her grace and the violin were imprinted in Sebastian's mind. He stared at it for sometime and then went away. A fluttering feeling filled his heart. The entire night, he thought of the girl with black hair. Since the day he had seen the picture, he went to the closed room everyday. He would stare at it for hours together. He had literally fallen in love with that picture. He was so madly in love with it that he wished that the girl would come to life. Sebastian knew his heart was not his anymore. It had been taken by the lifeless picture. Never once did the girl's image leave his active mind. Sebastian – the practical man had madly fallen in love. Ah! How much he wished that such a rare order of dazzling beauty would truly exist.
One night, when the moon was in her full glory and every creature had left for the land of dreams, a tune shot out from the darkness. Sebastian awoke at this sudden outbreak of music. He was surprised at this. But he was even more surprised when he realized that the tune was coming from his own house. Sebastian was the only one who dwelled in that mansion. He slowly went in the direction of the sound. He realized that it came from the third floor. As he advanced, he reached the closed room. He slowly opened the door just to find his dream come true. He saw the very girl, the black – haired girl standing in front of the window. She was playing the violin wearing the same red Lolita dress. Sebastian was awestruck. The image, the words of the estate manager and the violin – these things were sprouting in his mind like mushrooms. He stood their listening to the tune. The tune was the 'Thao Nguyen Xanh'. He kept staring at the divine beauty. His wish had come true. The one he loved, the one he dreamt of and the one who had imprisoned his heart – was standing in front of him.
Sebastian was completely l0st. The girl had not noticed him. She was lost in her own world of music. She was playing the violin with such passion and perfection. The music hit Sebastian's heart like a dagger hitting ice. Then the ice had begun to melt. Similar was the condition of Sebastian's heart. The sad yet warm music was enough to fill his heart with a strange sorrow. As the music was going on, the sad feelings of the girl became more profound. The tune enveloped Sebastian and soon tears flowed down his cheeks.
The night was cold and as the music was coming to an end, a breeze blew through the open window and played with the girl's long, jet – black hair. The music came to a halt. The breeze stopped blowing. Sebastian marveled. The girl finally opened her eyes. Her black eyes met with those of Sebastian's red ones and in a fraction of second, she put the violin on the table and clung to Sebastian's neck.
"I knew you were alive! I knew you would come for me!" the girl exclaimed in happiness.
Sebastian was baffled. Yes, he loved the girl but he did not know her. Moreover, here she was getting all cuddly with him. He stood their stupidly gaping at her. After a few minutes, he pushed her away and said, "I am sorry miss. But I don't know you."
The girl was taken aback. She said in a choked voice, "Claude! You don't remember me. I am Octavia."
Sebastian responded, "I am sorry madam but my name is not Claude. It's Sebastian Michaelis."
The girl named Octavia was on the verge of breaking into tears. She looked at Sebastian's eyes and said, "True. Claude's eyes were golden brown not red. I am sorry sir. I did not mean to surprise you as such."
Sebastian looked at the damsel in distress and said, "Not to be rude madam, can you tell me your name please?"
"Octavia Heartfilia, daughter of the aristocrat and the famous lawyer – Raymond Heartfilia." She said.
Sebastian could not believe his ears for the entire Britain considered that each and every member of the Heartfilia family was murdered in cold blood. He was trying to figure out what was taking place. And almost at once Octavia replied, "I see you are pretty much confused sir. I can explain."
For courtesy's sake and because of his love, he said, "Why not rest here. I will have a room arranged for you Miss Heartfilia. You seem tired. We can talk about it tomorrow." Octavia conceded and both of them went to bed.
The Heartfilia family was a renowned family in Britain. But in the year 1848, in the great revolt of the farmers, their entire clan was wiped off from the face of the earth by the angry weavers. It was 5 years ago. For a young girl to have survived the mass killing was practically impossible. Sebastian's mind was filled with questions.
The next morning, Sebastian and Octavia sat in the front hall after breakfast.
"So then Miss Octavia, to begin with, tell me about your family." Sebastian asked.
"You must be aware of the 1848 revolt. Many aristocratic families were assassinated. Heartfilia was one such unfortunate family. But I managed to survive due to Claude."
"Would you please elaborate?"
"Claude was my butler, my friend and a playmate." Saying thus Octavia's face lit up with one of the most beautiful smiles Sebastian had ever seen. Octavia continued, "You resemble him a lot sir that's why I thought he had come back. He went to protect my parents. He promised he would return but he never returned. But I still believe he's out there somewhere and he will come back. He has never broken a promise and he never will either." At this, tears rolled down the rosy cheeks of Octavia. It was as if she knew he was dead. That he would not return but she refused to accept the truth.
Sebastian consoled her and after a few minutes, she stopped crying. Sebastian's heart was getting restless. He somewhat hated this Claude guy. He wished Octavia would stop mentioning his name. Yes, the practical man – Sebastian Michaelis was feeling jealous. He further asked, "How did you manage to hide from the world for the past 5 years?"
Octavia replied, "Claude hid me in a secret room to save me from the murderers. I lived their and when I needed to go out, I disguised myself.'
"But where is the room? I do not remember seeing any secret rooms."
"In the mansion of course. The room is behind the portrait. There is a way out of there as well. Pretty clever of Claude, right? Never mind that. He hid me there and on a full moon night, he left me. Claude went away. He taught me how to play the violin and he also taught me to love music."
"I see. But why did you play the violin at night in that room?"
"To scare away people. I don't want any one to come here. This is the place where I have lived all my life. Besides, I want Claude to come back. And the tune - Thao Nguyen Xanh is his favourite piece. I think he will come back if he realizes that I am still waiting for him in the mansion. Claude was a great violinist. He is as good a violinist as you are."
"How did you know … "
"I stay enclosed in the mansion. This does not mean that I don't know what's going on. The local people talk a lot about you."
Sebastian thought – why does she always mention that Claude guy. Claude this. Claude that. Curse him.
Sebastian asked, "Tell me, Miss Octavia were you… in love with Claude?" Sebastian expected a no but deep – deep down his heart, he knew his expectations were futile. Octavia nodded her head, which clearly meant a yes. At this point Sebastian was on the point of breaking like glass. His dream shattered into a thousand pieces. His heart was crushed like grass. But he continued the conversation. He asked yet again, "You think Claude is still alive."
Octavia said, "Of course he is. I am sure of it."
"What would you do if I said he isn't alive anymore?" Sebastian asked in an unmodulated tone.
Octavia seemed to get weak at this point. She said, "That's utter nonsense."
Sebastian sat there cross – legged and began, "Year 1848. A year in which the poor were being starved to death. The crop was not good that year due to the cold. The farmers had to suffer while the aristocrats were merry making. While they starved to death, the aristocrats were feasting. While they yearned for warmth, what did they get but punishment? This arose their anger and they attacked them. Their houses were burnt. The doors were broken and the windowpanes shattered. Several people were stabbed. Some were strangled. And many were burnt alive. The aristocrats flew for their life but the farmers left not a single man. Everyone was murdered. Several people were killed and among them was Cl…"
At this point Octavia closed Sebastian's mouth with her delicate hand and almost begged, "Please don't mention it. Please don't."
Sebastian removed her hand from his mouth and said, "See, even you know he is not alive. So why do you spend your life waiting for him? Why don't you marry me? I truly love you. I fell in love with you when I saw your portrait. I knew you were meant for me. I was in fact so mad in love that I did not spend a single moment without thinking about you. Besides, I even look like Claude. What more reasons do you need?"
Octavia was dumb struck. She could not believe her ears. She felt sorry for Sebastian. She knew Claude was dead but that did not mean she would betray him.
"I am sorry. I can't." Was the startling reply. "I can't just betray him. You look like him but you are not him."
Sebastian smiled at this reply and said, "I kind of saw that coming."
Octavia rose up to leave and her last words were, "I would rather jump down the cliff." Then she left the room without another word.
Sebastian too rose up saying, "I have to go to the orchestra now."
He returned at noon from his orchestra. He took lunch but Octavia was not seen at the table. He decided to search for her. He searched the entire mansion and he asked the local villagers but Octavia was not found. He was planning to look inside the secret room but then Octavia's words flashed in his mind.
"I would rather jump down the cliff."
Almost instantly, Sebastian ran to the cliff and he saw Octavia standing at the edge of the cliff. Sebastian stared at her wide – eyed and said, "Octavia don't ..."
Octavia just smiled and jumped down the cliff. However, he managed to grab hold of her wrist. She said," Let me go. I can't live this life of loneliness anymore. Being born in an aristocratic family, I was taught nothing but manners manners and manners. And when I did find happiness, it was taken away from me."
Sebastian however refused to let her go. Octavia was persistent. She took out a gun and with a goodbye, shot herself dead. Sebastian was shocked and slowly he let go of Octavia's hand. He stood up and went home with a sullen expression. By the time he reached home, it was evening.
The sun was now setting and its last rays fell on the windows of the mansion that stood beside a lake. Gentle breezes were playing a game – in at the windows and out at the door. The trees surrounding the house were swaying in delight at the embrace of the playful breeze. The birds, tired from their daily routine were returning to their nests for a peaceful sleep. The animals – the rabbits', the mice, the deer and the tired squirrels' were retiring for their homes as well. Soon the entire area was enveloped in darkness and the moon rose bathing the entire house in its milky light. The green grass had turned silver. The lake faithfully reflected the image of the magnificent moon. In this serene atmosphere, the insects begun their concerto. Except for the arbitrary hooting of the owl and the music of the insects, the entire vicinity and the mansion were at peace.
Suddenly breaking the stillness of the night came a melodious piece of 'Thao Nguyen Xanh'. This piece was being played on the violin. However, it was not just a piece of sheet music. It was a tune full of heart – wrenching sorrow and anguish. As the music began, insects became quiet. The breeze stopped blowing. The hooting of the owl was no more heard. It was as if the entire nature became still just to hear the heartbreaking Thao Nguyen Xanh. The music began with an adagio. It continued softly with allegretto. As it began to end, it was becoming slower. At last, the music ended. Anyone who would have heard the music would have said that the piece was being played with undeniable passion. It was as if the person who was playing it, had lost someone very precious. It was being played appassionato and amoroso.
The tune came from within the mansion.
"Goodbye Octavia." Sebastian said and left the closed room with his violin.