Nastya and Tobi

Showing Nastya that Lise and Rosalinde were real would be the easiest way to convince her. I know I promised to show her but was that even possible? I had made a large promise and I did not really know if I was going to be able to keep it. I hoped they knew of a way to make it happen or Nastya would from now on always look at me as if I was some kind of freak who thinks she can talk to ghosts.

The quickest way to get Lise and Rosalinde's attention would be playing Fur Elise, Lise’s song. That always stirred a reaction in Lise. But this time, Rosalinde and Lise remained quiet. Why didn’t they answer me? Couldn’t they see that Nastya needed our help?

Suddenly a hand on my shoulder stopped my bow. “Thank you for guiding me back.” Then Nastya hugged me. I could feel that she had been scared and was crying, so I put my hand on her head and patted her. Nastya slowly recovered. She took an embroiled cotton handkerchief from her purse to wipe the tears from her eyes. I found myself staring amazed at her while she kept her stylish composure, even when she was crying. “They told me everything. They are quite the pair.” Nastya then said forcing herself an amused smile on her face.

“Y-you saw them?”

"They brought me to a place they called limbo."

So, I gave up a chance to see Lise for this. I started to feel down. Who knows how long it would be before I could see her again?

“It seems like papa has become dangerous, but there might be a way to save him. But a lot of it will depend on us both.”

“So what do we need to do?” At least we achieved our main goal and managed to consult with Lise and Rosalinde.

“You will have to teach me how to summon my father. They told me you can teach me how to make him finally notice me.” Nastya looked at me with upturned eyes. Like I could give her what she always wanted.

“M-me? Teach you?” Nastya was at least at the same level as me. Our focuses were different, but it would be presumptuous of me to think that I could teach her.

“Yes, is that so strange?”

“I really don’t know if there is anything I can teach you…”

“You can do something I can’t, so you will have to teach me.”

I let out a little sigh. “I’ll try but I won’t promise anything. Without your father’s sign, it might be impossible.”

“Sign? My father used to ramble on and on about signs…”

“Yes, something that signifies a connection between the two of you. It’s needed to summon the ghost. Otherwise, you won’t be able to interact with him. For instance, for Lise, it was “Für Elise, played on a big stage. Because it was something I promised I would do for her.”

“So that’s why there are always such powerful emotions present when you play that piece…” Nastya softly whispered to herself. “So how do I find that piece?”

“I don’t know. The only thing I can tell you is that each time I found a sign, I felt an enormous attraction to playing that piece and I felt completely connected to that person while playing it.”

“You mean you did this more than one time?”

“My mother… I got a chance to say goodbye to her.” I felt a little sad, thinking of the fact that I would never meet mom again. I quickly wiped a tear away, and got myself together, because, at the same time, I felt grateful for that last moment we shared. She helped me in that last moment to connect to Aunt Christina and the world of the living again.

There was a bizarre silence hanging between the two of us. It wasn’t awkward. It was more solemn. But I did not want Nastya to think I was keeping things back. So, I added “If you play like you play when we played together, it should be alright. You need to load your music with vibrant emotions but instead of toward me, you will need to connect to your father and the memories you shared with him.”

“V-vibrant emotions toward you? What on earth are you implying?”

“Just that I always feel a strong connection with you when we play together. I assumed you felt the same?”

“How do you say that kind of stuff with such a straight face!”

“Isn’t it normal for friends to feel a special connection when they play music together?”

For some reason, Nastya was blushing heavily. Maybe she was feeling unwell from all the stress. I put down my cello and sat down on my bed and patted the spot next to me to show she should come and sit next to me. “Please come and sit. I know going to that place can take a lot of your energy. And all this talk about ghosts might be a bit stressful. It might be best to sit for a little while.”

A bit weary Nastya sat down on the bed next to me. I let myself fall with my back on the bed and said while staring at the sealing “Relax! We’re in this together. I’m sure we’ll be able to do it.”

Then something I wasn’t prepared for happened. Instead of letting herself lay down on her back too, as I expected she would, she lay down on her side and put her head on my belly. My heart was beating like crazy. What was she doing?

But then I could feel her start sobbing. She was crying again. “I’m not sure I can do this. I could not connect to him while he was alive. Why would I be able to do it now that he’s dead? And he’s done all these terrible things. He used to be so gentle.”

I decided to comfort her and put my hand on her head a bit hesitant at first due to the situation I found myself in, but seeing that it was calming her down as soon as I did it, I quickly became less hesitant.

“I’ll help you as much as I can. You won’t be alone. We’ll make him listen.”

Nastya looked up and said “You promise? You promise you won’t leave me alone?”

“I’m your friend. We’re in this together. I won’t go anywhere.”

She hugged me a bit tighter in response. I felt like we had gotten a little closer.

Even though the heavy talk was over, we talked a little about what happened while she was taking care of Aleksei in the hospital. Just laying on the bed with her like this felt very warm and cozy. I felt so relaxed while we were talking away and noticed that Nastya was feeling much better than earlier.

When she heard about my fiasco with Tobias, Nastya burst out laughing.

“With Tobi out of everyone? I can’t believe it.”

“You know him?”

“He participated in almost all the same contests I did. The classical world is a small one. You always meet the same people everywhere. In contests, he came always in second after me. Because of that, he got it in his head that he needs to beat me. Although he acts tough, he is a really sweet pushover. You probably completely crushed his feelings. He is one of my childhood friends. We really go way back. I promise I’ll sort that problem out of you.”

Nastya suddenly got up and straightened her uniform. The place where her head just warmed my belly suddenly felt empty and cold, and I could not help but feel a little disappointed. She looked into the mirror, and quickly retouched her makeup. Then she took my hand. “Come. Let’s go talk to him!” She seemed to have recovered and was full of energy now. I was glad for that, but facing that boy again... Now? Seeing her enthusiasm, I guess I had no choice in the matter.

I got dragged along and a few seconds later we stood in front of Tobias’ room.

When he opened and saw the two of us together, I could see him grow pale.

“Hi Tobi, I heard you tried to gain an advantage while I was away…” Nastya said with a teasing voice.

Tobias’ face grew instantly pale. “Y-you told her?” He said, looking at me. Duh. What did he think? That I would protect a complete stranger’s reputation from my friend?

I shrugged in response.

“Then why are you here?”

“Because you are going to join the ensemble that she conducts, where I will play the first violin,” Nastya replied in a tone that clearly implied her superiority. Nastya was completely overwhelming him. He seemed like a worm crawling in the dust in front of her. I could not help but admire how she dealt with him. Apparently staying friendly and listening to what people had to say wasn’t the best way to deal with everyone. I could learn from her... Although I did not see myself ever do what she was doing...

He looked at me and then he got fire in his eyes and became all haughty. “No. I won’t. Not unless she apologizes in public. There is nothing in it for me right now. Not after that public humiliation.

“Like hell, I have nothing to apologize for. You almost hit me in public. If anyone should apologize it’s you.” I answered.

“You really did that Tobi?” Nastya said in a disappointed tone. “Apologize. NOW!” I was surprised by the power she was exuding. I could see Tobi grovel in front of her and he started apologizing in a stuttering voice. “I-I’m sorry I lost my temper.”

But while he was looking at me, I could see he got some fire back in her eyes. He clearly did not react in the same way to me as he did to Nastya. It was clear I rubbed him the wrong way. “But that does not mean I will join the ensemble. There is nothing for me to gain from it.”

“Well, you did lose face in public…” Nastya said understandingly. Was she taking his side now? “Tsk, I had hoped to resolve this without having to go this far…” She whispered softly under her breath.

“How about a date in exchange? You know that I can make it happen. Unless your interests are no longer the same?” She then offered to Tobias.

I felt a deep sting in my chest. Was she really offering to go on a date with that arrogant prick?

His eyes and demeanor changed. “Now we are talking. OK, I’ll join after that date.”

“I’ll text you the details later,” she said. She even had his number… I still did not have hers… They were clearly a lot closer than I realized. It was only normal that Nastya would be dating boys, but this guy… Really? The idea alone made me want to vomit. I felt like I should have protected her.

After we left the room, in the hallway, I immediately asked “Are you really going to go on a date with him? You should not have gone that far for me?”

Nastya got a wicked smile on her face and said “Jealous?”

“Don’t tease me. I’m just worried about my friend. You met Lise…” I answered probably a little angrier than I should have. But in the end, that was all there was to it. We had grown closer as friends, and friends should watch out for each other, should they not? I could see that my words had quite an impact on her and the emotions behind her eyes changed the second I mentioned Lise.

“Well, what is done is done. I have some business to attend to. I’ll see you later.”

It was clear that my outburst hurt Nastya, so I grabbed her sleeve preventing her from leaving.

She looked at me with a haughty questioning look.

“I’m sorry. I should not have gotten angry at you for helping me. I am grateful you know. You’re an amazing friend.” I said rather desperately. I did not want things to get awkward between us again.

“Don’t worry. I’m not angry.” Nastya replied. I looked into her eyes. The gaze in her eyes was a lot softer again. I think I managed to clear the air. At least I hoped so.

The fact that Tobias had her phone number and was texting her was still playing in my mind. As a matter of fact, it was really bothering me. If I am really her friend, we should at least be on a texting level, shouldn’t we? Was Tobias really closer to her than I was? I gathered my courage got out my phone and said, “In that case, I think we should exchange our Line ID’s so we can text each other.”