The Madness Between the Notes
Chapter 3 : Bienvenue à Paris (Welcome to Paris)
The trip to Paris took longer than Roderich had hoped for. In his mind he played through scores and various symphonies, songs to tick away time. The carriage ride at times wasn't relatively what one would call smooth and many times times Roderich's mind slipped into a state of being that caused him to panic. His head would swim, his pulse would run rampant, and his stomach turned into an acid sea rocking mercilessly and violently here and there. At the very climax of his panic Roderich concluded he was most certainly going to die. However, as much as his mind swam in circles and collapsed in on itself, no one ever noticed. Not even Francis, who sat on the other side of the leather seating with his nose stuck in a book of ideals or writing down ideals of his own. Just as the city of Paris came into view, Roderich thought to himself that his decision to take this trip was definitely a mistake as he felt his body slipping out of his control as it had so many other times before along the journey.
"Bienvenue à Paris, Mr. Edelstein!" Francis closed his journal of scribblings and smiled upon seeing his home town. "First we'll stop at your apartment, and then, if you're up for it, I'll show some of finest gatherings in the city."
"That sounds quite nice, thank you." Roderich replied clutching at the fabric of his clothing in an effort to calm himself down.
"Good." Francis winked as they entered the city's cobblestone streets.
The very streets themselves resembled Vienna, cobblestone that seemed to click and scratch upon being walked on, but the air was different. The composer knew it would feel different, but he never expected it to be as nerve wracking as it was.
After some time riding along the busy mid-morning streets, the carriage came to a stop at a building that seemed to blend in like all the others in the city. However, Roderich noted that from building to building, they all had different colors for shutters. This building just happened to have a very lively shade of crimson.
"This is where you'll be staying for our time together, Mr. Edelstein." Francis spoke as he opened the carriage doors. "I'll be showing you your apartment, so please come with me."
Roderich nodded and then sighed. He climbed out of the carriage and grabbed his suitcases, only two of them, one for his clothing, the other for his composing tools and a book or two, and walked to the front of the building. Francis grinned at the building as though it held the answers to pure truth and walked up to the door. Opening it, he beckoned Roderich to follow him.
"Your apartment is on the third floor and is 22A, it's the first one you see after climbing the stairs, so it should be easy to remember. I must warn you, it's not the largest, but it should be at the least comfortable." Francis spoke as he guided Roderich up stairs that seemed murky and could use a cleaning. At last they arrived on the third floor and Roderich spotted 22A quickly and some found himself with a key in hand, supplied by Francis of course, and standing in front of the door. The door and the hallway it was on had a brownish red color, and it was as though it was painted the same color as the shutters outside, but had had faded over time. The composer put on the key into the lock and turned it, completely forgetting about the Frenchman standing behind him.
When Roderich stepped into the Paris apartment he was, to say the least, astonished. It was small, with a bedroom and a sitting area, a small corner table, and a piano by the window. The furnishings had elegant patterns and looked as though no soul had ever used them. The one room itself seemed like the embodiment of an upper class lifestyle. Even though Roderich surrounded himself with the higher class, he was never blessed with it's essence.
"It's amazing, I thank you for such a fine place to stay in." Roderich spoke as he set his suitcases down and walked over to the grand piano by the window and ran his index finger along the keys.
"Play something! Make sure it's to your liking! I searched for the finest piano I could, and this is it. If you don't like it, I'm sure I could find you another." Francis walked to Roderich's side with a small smile, he was quite pleased and relieved with the composer's reaction to the apartment.
"All right. I'll play a short piece." Roderich sat on the piano bench and flexed his fingers. His ran through his mental archive of pieces and remembered one very short one he created when he was just a boy of five years old. He smiled to himself as nostalgia trickled into his mind like droplets of water.
He played through the very short piece and then added a few things here and there to add to it's longevity. He then added a fanciful flavor to it and concluded with a small smile directed at the Frenchman. "How was that?" He asked.
"Lovely! Exquisit! What was this piece?" Francis asked with curiosity lighting his eyes.
"It's a fairly old piece, one of my first. I wrote when I was a small boy around five. At the time it was for my mother and when I was small I titled it "For Mother" but over the course of the years I added to it and did revisions and I retitled it "Mother Dearest"." Roderich sighed and ran through his years and the ones he spent with his mother. A hint of remorse washed over him and he remembered her funeral and the pieces he wrote for it. The compositions themselves he burned afterwards, but they never seemed to leave his mind and haunted him every now and again.
Francis put his arm around Roderich's shoulders as he could see the sadness arising in his eyes, but wasn't aware of why. "It's beautiful. There something in your eyes that express melancholy. Let's diminish that, shall we? There's a great cafe down the street that serves the best pastries and coffee of Paris."
Roderich smiled a smile that expressed appreciation and walked with Francis to the cafe. It's layout was similar to that of the cafe in Vienna, which made Roderich think of the very friendly and blushing young waitress the he encountered there.
Francis and Roderich sat down at a table by the window and both ordered coffee. Roderich intently focused on the bustling life on the other side of the glass and thought deeply about various things, including his mother. Soon fresh pastries came and the two started a conversation.
"Can you please tell me where the nearest cathedral is? I'd like to attend mass." Roderich asked, taking a sip of his coffee. He wasn't the most religious person to be actively practicing Catholicism, but he did like to attend mass and sacraments and always felt comforted with knowing he could go the church when needed.
"Ah, yes! Perhaps tomorrow you and I can attend mass together? I do not quite recall the location as it has been a long while, the carriage driver knows and he can take us."
"Alright. Tomorrow for the morning mass then?"
"Certainly. Then we can discuss the requiem together."
"Sounds like a good idea. I better go back to the apartment to unpack. I'll be seeing you." Roderich gave a slight smile and arose from the cafe table.
"Farewell!" Francis called back without moving from the table. He thought it would be best if he let Roderich go on his own, for a reason unknown to him. Francis wanted to ask if Roderich to see some more places around town but knew that he wouldn't be up for it. He had become fond of the composer along the journey to Paris, and even though their relationship had started with a pretty argument that didn't matter anymore. Francis hoped the relationship would remain pleasant and friendly as it had grown to be.
Roderich walked along the street and turned the corner, searching for the building with the crimson shutters. He looked up at the sky to see that it was mid-afternoon. Eventually he came upon the apartment building and climbed the stairs to 22A. He felt content with the plans of attending mass in the early morning. It had been a long while since he had done so, since it had taken quite some time to arrive in Paris. He unpacked his suitcases and placed his composing sheets by the piano with his favorite ink bottle and pin. Roderich sighed and laid on the couch with the elegant engravings and spoke to himself. "Paris is more pleasant than I thought it be, but anxiousness is what still dwells in my soul."
Author's Note:
Hello again! I just like to thank all the follows and feedback I've gotten from this piece! I really appreciate it and really means a lot to me to see that people are enjoying my work. 3 Anyway, I know this chapter took a bit longer than usual. I was making a habit of posting a new chapter every Friday or Saturday, but I got sick and couldn't really focus on writing for a few weeks. Sorry about that! I don't want to be a writer that only updates once every eon. xD I'm trying to keep it as regular as possible, but that may not always be so due to school and other things so please bear with me! :)
I hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading!
-Yuripee