The Unwanted Ring: A Romance that Stood the Test of Time

Chapter 4: A New Home Part 2

Madeleine was busy pouring the hot water over an English breakfast tea bag when she heard the beautiful melody wafting through her apartment. It was enchanting and perfectly played. Shivers ran through her body, and she blushed. The familiar tune of Chopin's No. 1 in E minor, Op. II - Romanza filled her ears and she got lost in it. It was beautiful and she found her feet following the sounds that were emanating from her bedroom.

"You play?" Her voice scared him, and he jumped, causing the keys to miss and the song to stop.

"Uh, yeah." He rubbed the back of his neck, shyly. She saw his cheeks flush for a second and she giggled behind her hand.

"You play beautifully. Can I hear it? All of it?" Madeleine covered her mouth and felt her cheeks warm. "I mean, that is if you would like to."

Christian sighed and smiled warmly for her. "I would love to." Christian watched as the girl walked over to grab her black office chair and wheel it over to him. "Thank you." He sat down on it and focused his energy back to his fingertips.

Madeleine sat down on the bed and put her hands in her lap. She watched his fingers glide over the keys with ease and pause at the perfect moments. He got lost in the song with his eyes closed and she couldn't keep her eyes off of him. She forgot about her tea and everything around her disappeared, and she was transported back in time.

***

It was January 30th, 1918 and she found herself lying in bed, staring at the ceiling. A collection of Shakespeare sat beside her on the oak nightstand. It was quiet and peaceful inside the room. All of Paris was asleep and the only thing that could be heard were the soft sounds of late-night people in the streets below.

The feel of silk sheets against her skin made goosebumps appear and she felt cool yet luxurious. The quality of the fabric was nicer than any she had seen before. Let alone felt before. A baby grand piano sat within the room and the moonlight carried across its liquid black surface. It was beautiful as was the art that graced the walls. Art of beautifully dressed women with men bowed to kiss their dainty hands. It was at this moment that she knew that she wasn't in her own body, but in someone else's.

She raised her hands to see familiar slender hands that she had been watching along the soft keys of her keyboard. She wanted to go play the instrument, but she was stuck in the frame of time, unable to control what was happening to herself.

A high-pitched whine rang out before a sonic boom. A bright white light flashed, and she sat up in the bed and her hands flew to her ears. Her breathing grew faster, and she froze up. The sounds of buildings crumbling and breaking filled her ears, as the sound faded to ringing. More flashes of light and complete silence. It was as if everything was moving in slow motion.

"Come!" A voice ran out when the ringing faded. She peered over to see a woman with blonde hair reaching out to her. "Come on! Father wants you out of here and into the room with all of us, mon minou."

Her voice was soft and sweet, filling her heart with love. She threw the blankets off and grabbed her hand. Something about this woman's demeanor and the way she felt calmed by her, made her realize it was his mother.

They ran down the stairs and into the room where his father was. She was instantly confused by what was happening. This hadn't happened before, and her heart raced more with each sharp whine and blast. "What is happening?" She heard Christian's voice ring out over the loud crashing sounds of crackling concrete and wood.

"Germany has decided to bomb us, son." His father was a tall lanky man with angular features and very astute glasses on his face. She took in his serious demeanor as she was pushed beneath a well-made desk.

That was when another flash blew brighter than ever before, and she peered out with her knees to her chest to see his frantic mother. She touched his cheek with a warm smile. "You be good, mon minou. Promise me. Promise me that you will go on and have a beautiful family. That you will travel the world and chase the stars."

She reached out and within moments another flash blinded her vision and when her vision came back... she found his mother on the ground, peering at her beneath a piece of the roof. It had collapsed and fallen on her. Blood spilled from the corner of her lips, and she spoke her last words. "Share your dreams with the world, mon amour." She watched her soul leave her eyes and heard Christian's voice cry out in anguish.

***

The keys faltered bringing her back to reality. To the spirit sitting at her keyboard with his head pressed to the keys. He had stopped playing and now he just sat there, hiding in his blonde hair, letting the dark baritones slowly build up through the thick air. Hiding his sadness of losing his mother. His sadness of not being alive.

"She seemed like a beautiful woman." Madeleine finally spoke and he wiped his eyes with the backs of his hands. "Truly an angelic soul, Christian. I'm so sorry."

Christian didn't say anything. He just sat there in silence. She worried her bottom lip and watched him fade away in silence. She suddenly reached out towards where he had sat and yelled out, "WAIT!". But by then it was too late. He was gone.

Tears fell down her cheeks and she held his ring to her chest and tried to push all of her love into it. She knew he was hurting and all she wanted to do was love him. To show him compassion. To show him that she understood what it was like to lose someone you loved, but he didn't come back.

She sniffed and walked over to her crafting area and began to build his ring a special home. One that he could claim as his own. She took a heart shaped wooden box and some acrylic paints. She began to paint the whole box in a deep rich red. Madeleine stuck her tongue out as she worked on it, adding intricate art nouveau designs on the top, in white paint. She then took black soft velvet fabric and began to sew a cushion to put inside of the box. She stuffed it with a bit of polyester stuffing and hot glued it into the bottom. She then painted one last thing on the inside of the lid, Adeline, in an intricate font. Madeleine then walked over to her bed and set the little box on her nightstand, placing his ring inside, hoping that he would come back.