Yet in another grocery store...

It was nice and sunny day in spring, a mild breeze blowing through the rich green of the trees, making the young leaves rock and sway like crowds of little people dancing in time with the music that emerged from the nearby manor. Behind the large white windows, the young Austrian was sitting at his beloved piano, eyes gently closed, letting his gifted hands fly over the keys in a fashion that could only be described as elegant. Clear, gentle notes escaped the musical instrument, forming a soft melody that filled the brightly lit room completely before vanishing into sweet nothingness. Chopins Nocturne Op. 9, No. 2. A real masterpiece of which he knew every note, every passage by heart.

Suddenly, without warning, the music stopped. Violet eyes looked up at the filigree ornamented door that separated the music room from the hallway, observing it for a moment. A constant knocking could be heard now the room was completely silent again and the young man cleared his throat before he answered.

“Please come in, the door is open.”

No answer nor the opening of the door followed. But the knocking didn't stop either. Roderich frowned. He cleared his throat again, speaking a bit louder this time.

“Please come in!”

Still nothing happened. The brunettes calm and relaxed features vanished and were replaced by something that could have been annoyance. If this was one of Gilberts jokes again he wouldn't be fooled. He tried to ignore the irritating noise and turned back to his piano. The first notes were already filling the room again, when the knocking became louder. Unbearably louder. Roderich pressed his hands onto his ears.

“What in God's name...?”

He stood up, still able to hear the deafening knocking, and approached the door. One hand slowly reached for the handle and pushed the door open. Then, everything went black.

The next thing Roderich could remember was a heavy throbbing pain in the back of his head. He slowly opened his eyes, trying to become accustomed to the dull light. Where was he? He had been in his music room just seconds before, right? And why did his head feel like it was ready to explode? Questions like these were racing through his brain and tried to reconstruct how he had come to be here. Then again, where exactly was he?

One hand holding the back of his head, Roderich sat up, noticing his glasses were missing. In a slight attack of panic he looked around, calming down when he found them lying beside a heap of bananas. Although he didn't need them, for him they were a very important part of his appearance, maybe even his self-confidence. Putting them back on his nose, the Austrian reached for the edge of one of the counters, at least he thought they were counters, surrounding him and got up.

Finding himself in what looked like the fruits and vegetable section of a grocery store wasn't really what he had hoped to find. How did he even get here? He couldn't remember going out for grocery shopping, nor would he ever go to a store that looked like... this. The Austrian wrinkled his nose at the sight that presented itself to him. The goods and products lay everywhere but the places they belonged to. The counters were a real mess with stains Roderich not even dared to ask what caused them. A cold shiver ran down his back and his aching head was now joined by a nauseous feeling in his stomach. He looked at the floor, which wasn't exactly the best thing to do in his situation. Not only had he lain on a pile of squished cherries, and everyone knew how difficult it was to get cherry stains out of their clothing, but also on a pile of goo which really didn't look healthy at all. The smell did nothing to make the situation any better.

Roderich closed his eyes again and tried to keep his body from throwing up. He tried to ignore the constant throbbing in his head and thought about what had happened to him, because clearly he didn't get here by himself. He would never voluntarily enter such an establishment, not even if he got offered money for it. And then he remembered the letter. The letter! The Austrian searched his pocket with one hand, quickly finding what he was looking for, eyes racing over what was written there. He had been on the way to the World Conference in this deserted town. He wanted to enter that strange building where the meeting should be held and then... nothing. He couldn't remember what happened then.

Sighing Roderich rubbed the bridge of his nose. Great. Simply great. He was alone in what had to be the grossest grocery store he had ever seen in his life with no idea how he got there in a town where not a soul seemed to live. If he even was still in that town. He wasn't even sure of that. Another sigh escaped his lips. Now he wished he was still dreaming. It wouldn't make the situation any better, but at least he had a piano to play back then.