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The gentle glow of her room along with the sweet classical music playing did nothing to calm her heart that beat loudly like a metronome
clang!
her heart skipped a beat as elation radiated off of her. she ran to her door, her hands desperately reached out to push the curtains out of the way. the cool night air blanketed her as she ran to look over the balcony.
there he was. the moonlight traced over his tall frame and his sharp nose. His green eyes glowed like fireflies.
"Elif! Hurry!" his deep voice called out to her.
she smiled and nodded as she hurried to climb down the side railing.
On her way down she felt it. His big warm hands wrapped themselves around her waist. Her stomach did somersaults as he guided her down.
She turned to look at him. He took her hand in his as he led her away from the house.
they made it to a park bench near her house and they sat down.
despite the large space the the bench they sat at the very edge. Her knee against his knee. Her back practically resting on his torso.
That was when he reached for his pocket. Perhaps he brought her a snack she thought. Instead he pulled out a tiny box. She opened it to find a dainty silver butterfly necklace.
"Osman!" she gasped "you didnt have to get me anything"
"I like giving gifts" he replied bashfully
he took the box from her as she pulled up her curly hair.
his warm hands brushed against her neck as he fasted the necklace.
when he finished she turned to look at him. His eyes dropped down to her lips.
It was as if they were magnets drawn to each other until the tips of their noses touched.
"aren't you going to kiss me?" she teased
He laughed, his warm breath fanning her face
"i am" he said breathlessly, " i just feel like my heart is going to explode"
Sunlight streamed through the curtains gently waking Elif from her slumber. Her eyes opened lazily as her ears registered a familiar tune, Schubert's Ständchen rang out from her phone. With a deep sigh she got up and reached for her nightstand. 6:30 flashed from its screen as she turned off the alarm.
Something cold was on her cheek. She reached up to wipe it only to realize that her cheek was wet from crying.
She pulled herself out of bed and headed for the shower. Then she got dressed in a black dress shirt and black dress as is standard symphony attire. She kept her hair loose and reached over to open her jewelry box.
There it was, the silver butterfly. The necklace was cheap compared to all of the authentic silver pieces in her collection. After so much use the original chain had snapped and she had to get a replacement. The silver butterfly showed signs of wear as the tips of the wings had worn down ever so slightly and there were scuff marks from twiddling it in her hands.
Yet something about this old token of affection called to her. She put it on and headed out the door.
Elif pushed open the doors to the practice room to be met with the sounds of the youth orchestra warming up.
"Elif!" called Helena rushing up to hug Elif.
"Helena" smiled Elif hugging her back.
"Thank you so much for doing me this favor." said Helena
"Anything for an old friend from the academy" smiled Elif
"children!" called Helena, getting the attention of the students. "lets give a warm welcome to world renound pianists Elif!"
the students clapped and Elif thanked them. Her eyes landed on a group of students, two boys and two girls in the back that were on their phones seemingly disinterested.
"Thank you for inviting me. It's an honour to be here to give you guys a personal lesson. I wont lie when I say Im very nervous. Ive never taught a class before."
The rebellious group snickered at something as they huddled together. Elif looked over at them. They reminded her of some old friends.
"You four!" yelled Helen "pay attention. How many time do I have to tell you-"
"It's alright" Elif cut her off "you four. What are your names"
The entire class turned to stare at the kids.
One of the girls went wide eyed. She had blonde hair and blue eyes. It reminded Elif of Aşk.
"Im Madeline I play flute. My friend with the brown hair is Susana she plays saxophone. Then Tomas he plays the violin and Peter who plays trumpet."
The rest of the group nodded their head in acknowledgment as Madeline called out their names.
"I'm surprised that you arent sitting in your assigned rows. You four must be very close."
The group nervously played with their instruments.
Elif smiled to herself, "you four come up here"
Their heads shot up before they looked at each other in fear.
"I wont bite I promise." Elif made her way to the piano, "If you can figure out how to play today's piece alongside me I will let you guys sit wherever you want next class."
They got up and made their way to the front. Before they could even put up their stand Elif began to play.
She watched the rebellious teens scramble to set everything up and begin to play.
They struggled at first but quickly picked up the tune almost sight reading the piece.
"watch my hands" She called out "I will give you the signal for the next key change"
The group followed along working like a well oiled machine finishing the piece to the loud applause from the class.
Once the class ended Helena came up to Elif, " I dont know how you managed to get those kids to play. I thought they were a lost cause."
Elif shrugged, "They looked bored. They needed a challenge at their level"
Helena shook her head, " To think that I didnt realize I had that kind of talent in my class"
Helena walked off to go help some other students.
Elif's eyes drifted across the room until she saw the group of friends. They were smiling, laughing and showing off their instruments. She couldn't make out what they were talking about but she was sure that they would grow into even more talented individuals.
she checked her phone. 12:30.
It was time for her to leave.
Elif sat in a café indulging in some sweets as she flipped through her sheet music. With one hand she ate and the other she marked her pages.
Distracted by her work she didn't notice her food slip from her spoon until it landed on her pages.
"shit" she mumbled to herself. She looked around and couldn't find any napkins at her table. Thats when she spotted some two tables down.
There was a man sitting at the table. Elif froze and she held her breath. The man was turned away from her but she clearly was tall with broad shoulders and slender frame. He had olive skin and black hair that was neatly combed in a middle part. He wore a skintight long sleeve sweater and he was eating ice cream with peanuts sprinkled on top.
It couldn't be him. She thought to herself. It would be crazy if it were him.
What were the chances that he would be here in this small café in Vienna.
Maybe he was here looking for her. Maybe he hadn't forgotten her and had come back for her.
Elif's hand reached for her necklace. His name played in her mouth.
Should she call out to him? What would she even say to him?
That was when an elegant tall slender blonde woman approached his table.
Elif's heart raced.
The man got up and greeted the woman with a kiss.
It wasn't him.
Elif turned back to her pages. Her face grew warm and tears welled up in her eyes.
"breathe" she commanded herself.
She closed her eyes and grounded herself.
"He's not here." She told herself.
This wasn't the first time this happened to Elif.
She would see someone wear something he would wear, hear a familiar laugh, catch a whiff of his perfume and she would swear that he was nearby.
It was worse when she first moved to the city. It lessened over time but she never really got over the aching feeling that he was close by or that she had just missed him.
Her therapist had told her that it was limerence and she had accepted it as much.
He was never coming back for her.
Nighttime arrived and Elif sat in her dressing room finishing the last touches to her makeup. She changed into a flowy cream coloured dress reminiscent to the one she wore at her debut recital.
She looked at herself in the mirror. Everyone always told her that she had a baby face. She believed them more now than ever.
It was like she had returned to being 18 years old.
She reached up and played with her necklace.
No matter how many times she had performed, she hadnt been able to shake off the pre show jitters.
A nock came at her door. She opened it to see the stage hand standing by.
"They are ready for you Miss Elif"
"Did they fulfil my request?"
"Yes miss. We placed what you asked for on the piano."
Elif stepped out under the spotlight. The crowd was covered in darkness and silent.
She made her way to the piano and saw her bowl of raisins. She sat down and ate one. As she relished in their sweetness all the memories flooded back to her making her heart ache.
Her hands reached for the piano and began to move on their own.
Perhaps it was last nights dream of being in his arms; wearing his necklace, the orchestra kids, the man at the restaurant combined with the fact that she was playing the Hungarian Rhapsody No2 but now more than ever she missed him.
Every key she pressed, every note played cried out to him to come back for her.
That night was forever cemented in history as one of Elif's best performances.
Many spectators said that that they saw the Maestra Elif be surrounded by a halo of light and tears that gleamed like crystals run down her face. Many even claimed to have felt the presence of their long lost loves calling out to them.
Without a doubt there was not a single dry eye in that theatre that night.
The crowd roared with thunderous applause and a weight lifted from Elif's shoulders.
She headed back to her dressing room, opened the door and was greeted by a sea of flowers.
Its perfume brought a smile to her face and she raced over to admire each and every one.
Elif's phone buzzed on the counter. She picked it up and saw the called ID.
"Hello father"
"Good evening Elif. Your mother and I are just calling to congratulate you on today's performance. You did excellent as always. We would have come to the back to congratulate you personally but we have a gala to attend."
"I understand father. Thank you for coming to the show."
"of course. Your mother and I will always be there to see you shine. I will get going now. Make sure to get enough rest."
"I will. I promise."
She hung up the phone and placed it down.
"Miss Elif?" The stage hand opened the door,"would you like me to get the crew to send the flowers to your apartment?"
She nodded and in flooded a bunch of people, picking up the vases they emptied the room in seconds.
The door closed leaving her all alone again.
Her phone buzzed again. She turned it over absentmindedly glancing at it and looked away.
Her head shot back down as she snatched the phone.
Osman's name glowed on her screen.
This had to be a joke or perhaps like most geniuses, she had finally gone mad.
The phone continued to buzz.
Blood crashed like waves in her ears, her hands trembled.
Her thumb hovered over the answer button.
she answered and put the phone to her ear,
"Hello?"