//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: Waltz of Two Hearts // by Misty Meadow //------------------------------// Across town, a soft ding resounded around a darkened apartment. On stiff legs a gaunt looking Adagio shuffled through the kitchen, until she reached the microwave. When she opened the door, the backlight cast shadows along the walls and floor, quickly extinguished as she removed her soup and shut the door. Dropping herself into one of the seats at the table, she pushed the mounting stack of dirty dishes away, clearing a space for her latest bowl. She looked down at the red liquid - tomato soup, one of the last vestiges of food in the cupboards - as she had no effort remaining to make the trip to the store. With her meal gone all too quickly, Adagio stumbled back towards her bed, crashing down on arrival. Crawling beneath the covers again, she let the numbness ebb and flow, her gaze focusing on an acoustic guitar in the corner, which was one of the few items Aria had left behind. Aria loved it. Two weeks had gone by since she had moved in with Sonata and Sunset, and it had been the best two weeks for over three years. The only thing that had tarnished her time was her inability to practice her music, as she had left her instrument in the rush to leave. So with only two options, leave it or fetch it, she decided to bite the bullet and go back to the apartment she once shared. As she walked up the stairs, she felt her heart flutter, but it was quickly quashed as memories of Adagio’s behavior surfaced. Instead, she arrived on the right floor with a small fire burning within her, ready to face the elder Siren down. But as the door came into sight, it all quickly changed to worry and trepidation; the door was wide open, but no lights were on. Fearing the worst, she moved as quietly as she could, quickly reaching the door; and then it all became clear. Taped on the front of the door was a large sign in black and red writing: ‘Eviction notice.’ Adagio had apparently fallen behind on the rent and their landlord kicked her out. That struck her as odd, as eviction should have taken longer than two weeks. Stepping through the open door, she found the whole place empty. And not just devoid of furniture, but the place was also spotless - that wasn't like Adagio at all. She walked through to the bedroom at the back, holding out one last hope that her guitar would be waiting for her. But her hopes were dashed as she rounded the door frame; nothing. “Hey!” Aria almost jumped out of her skin. “What are you doing in… oh, it’s you.” Aria regained herself and turned around, finding her ex-landlord standing in the hallway. “Hey Mr. Silver Note. Sorry, the door was open; I was looking for Adagio.” “Something happened between you two, didn’t it?” Aria nodded to him. “Figured as much. She’s been gone about two days now. She stopped paying the weekly rent about two months ago, and stopped answering my calls. So I put the notice up, and a day later she was gone.” “Oh,” Aria rubbed the back of her neck, looking down at her shoes. “Any idea where she went?” “Afraid not miss, she disappeared overnight, no one saw her go either,” Silver note noticed that Aria’s face fell further. “Though she had a fair amount of stuff. Might be worth asking the local van companies and see if she hired one.” Her smile twitched at the possibility of a lead. “Thank you Mr. Note. I’m sorry our stay here ended so abruptly.” “Don’t you worry young miss. The world throws us all curve balls, so I wouldn’t hold anything against you.” With a handshake and a quick hug, Aria found herself on the way out of the building, her phone already out and looking for local hire centers. Wommpf. Aria landed heavily on Sonata’s ridiculously plush couch. “Arrrggg.” Sunset poked her head in from the kitchen. “No luck?” “Nope. I went to all three of the local ones, and the two slightly further out. None of them have been hired to that address or nearby. It’s like she literally vanished,” Aria took a few moments to beat her fists against the cushions she sat on. “I’m never going to see that guitar again.” “I’m going to guess it is worth something more than money, right?” “Mhm. Way back, not long after we lost our powers, we still held an interest in music. Adagio saved for months to surprise me with it on my birthday.” Holding her hands over her chest, Sunset looked like she wanted to melt. She crossed the room and sat down next to the purple haired Siren. “I know it can never replace the one you had, but I can get my old acoustic out of storage if you still want to practice?” “Thank you, Sunset, really. I want to give finding it one last time. Maybe then, ok?” Nodding, Sunset stood back up and returned to the kitchen, the delicious smells already wafting through making Aria’s nose twitch in delight. This was it, her last hope. Aria knocked on the backdoor of the CHS music room, and waited. “Come in.” Complying, she pushed the door open and stepped through into a room she hadn’t been in for a number of years. The room was just as obnoxious as she remembered, the walls painted pastel colors, decorated by cliche music symbols and paraphernalia Towards the front of the room, sitting at the teacher’s desk was the woman she was looking for: Trixie Lulamoon. “Hey Trix.” The blue woman looked up from the papers she had been grading, and blinked owlishly for a few moments. “Well, well, well, first she stops returning my calls, and now she sends you to give me the bad news. Typical.” Trixie scoffed. Taking a few seconds to process what had been said, her face morphed into a scowl. “No, I wasn’t ‘sent’ here, I’m actually looking for her,” The scowl slipped into more of a frown. “Which means my trip here was a waste.” She turned to leave, until a voice called out; “Wait a minute,” Trixie's chair squeaked loudly as it was forced backwards on the floor, and it’s occupant came out from behind her desk. “Aria, stay for a bit, please. I haven’t seen you in almost a year, and now something’s happened; I miss you, and I don’t like being left in the dark.” This caught Aria off guard. Back when Adagio had been working as a teacher’s aid at CHS’s music department, Trixie had always seemed hostile towards her, yet now she was acting like an old friend. Her look now quizzical, she turned around to face her directly. In a tone that was slightly accusing, she voiced her concern, “Ok, what gives? I thought you didn’t like me.” Trixie froze, before her face fell. “No, Trixie does not hate you, she never has.” Spotting a disbelieving look, she sighed. “Trixie… I, was jealous of you for being with Adagio.” ‘Ok, that’s new.’ “How long?” Rubbing one arm with another, the blue woman turned slightly red. “A couple of weeks into her placement here. I found her singing, when she thought I had already left. It was beautiful. Then every week she would talk about you, how ‘great’ you were, how lucky she was,” Trixie looked up again, and back at Aria. “I got so jealous that I kinda took it out on you. It was not one of my best moments.” At first there was a snort. Then a giggle. Then a full blown laugh. Finally, Aria doubled over with uncontrollable laughter. Trixie pouted, but after a good thirty seconds of enduring laughter, she found a smile on her own face, before she too started laughing. It lasted for a few more minutes, the pair both having to sit down on the floor to avoid collapsing. As both of the women got their breathing under control, Aria shooted across the floor, pulling the them both into a hug. Trixie returned the hug, but weakly. “I’m so sorry I treated you so badly.” Rubbing her hand up and down Trixie’s arm, Aria comforted the other woman. “Hey, don’t worry about it. I can kinda understand, and now you’ve apologized, so it’s water under the bridge, ok?” With a big sniff, Trixie shook her head in thanks. Silence reigned for a few minutes before it was broken again. “So what happened between you and Adagio?” Aria sighed, before launching into a brief recap of the events of the last few months, ending with the reason with her visit here. Answering Trixie’s questions as she went, the conversation wound down. “So you really have no idea where she might have gone?” “Aria, I’m sorry, I really am. But I don’t, and if she left any hints I missed them,” Trixie stood up, help Aria to her feet. “But I’ll be sure to let you know if I hear anything, ok?” “Yeah, ok. And thanks,” Aria reached the exit before she spun around one more time. “And don’t be a stranger. I’m certainly up for a night out if you are,” Catching the blue thumbs-up, she slipped out, her mind not sure what to make of her situation. She was no closer to finding her guitar, but she had made a new friend.