ODE TO SINFONIA

by Susana Reyes and Patricia Soto

It was during the mid 1920s that the world experienced a "morendo", a gradual dying away of music. In a literal sense, the world was subject to one genre of music, operetta. How the world came to be this way can be attributed to Allegro. In the early 1900s, Allegro had been a young, ambitious musician. He treasured his piano more than anything in the world and all he wanted to do was compose and play music. But when he entered music school, he was shot down. His professors criticized his compositions, but secretly, they envied Allegro's raw, ingenious talent. Spirit broken, Allegro dropped out of music school, oblivious to his great musical talent. He withdrew from society and settled down, working in a radio broadcasting tower, connecting the masses across America to music. It was in this seclusion that Allegro discovered the height of his musical ability.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On a sunny morning in Iris, Pennsylvania, Sinfonia was in her greenhouse. It was six in the morning and she was watering her flowers. Sinfonia worked and owned a flower shop. She raised and nurtured the flowers herself. Sinfonia hadn't finished high school, but she had enough passion and intellect to make up for a lost diploma. She knew everything about flowers and truly believed in the myth that flowers grow healthier if exposed to music. So every morning she played jazz for her flowers. It was no wonder Sinfonia sold the best flowers in town. Sinfonia made an honest living and her boyfriend, Andante, was studying to become a music composer at Kapellmeister Electoral University. It was on this day that he paid her an unexpected visit.  

The door to her greenhouse slid open. Sinfonia looked over her shoulder, the hose in her hands, poised for attack.

"I just stole the show off just one hook." Sinfonia's muscles relaxed and she whirled around, spraying Andante with a light shower of mist. He charged forward, covering his face, and grabbed the hose from her. Sinfonia screamed and skipped away, hiding behind a large pot of peonies.

"Quit messing around, Sin" Andante said and tossed the hose aside. Sinfonia giggled and stepped out from behind the pot. Andante stood rooted in place, staring at her with a goofy grin on his face.

"Don't I get any love?" he asked, spreading his arms open. Sinfonia smiled and thrust herself onto him, grasping his middle tightly.
           
"I missed you last night. Where were you?" she asked. Andante leaned down and kissed her.        
          
"I had a final due. So I spent all night working on it."
           
"Due today?"
           
"Yes. In about...oh, an hour or so."
           
"If you couldn't spend the night with me, it must have been something lyrical."
           
"Oh Sin, I'm sorry, babe. But you know how much this degree means to me." Sinfonia picked up the hose again and started spraying the flowers.
           
"I know. I just hope it's worth it. I mean, your professors never seem to approve of your work. And I've heard your work. It's...magical."
           
"They're just being tough on me. They know I can do better." Sinfonia eyed him.    
           
"I envy you" she said and smiled. Andante laughed.         
           
"Why?"
           
"Because you have a gift with music and you don't listen to what anyone says about it. You can take criticism so well."
           
"I just turn a deaf ear to them, that's all." Sinfonia glanced over at Andante, the beautiful boy she loved so much. She smiled slowly at him, and then looked away.
           
"What?" he asked. She shook her head.
           
"I know that look. You were thinking about how much you love me, weren't you?" Andante asked.   
           
"Get to school, silly. You're going to be late."
           
"Wish me luck, doll" Andante said and kissed Sinfonia's cheek.   
           
"Luck" she called out after him as he walked toward the door.       
           
"This one's a winner" he said as he reached the door.      
           
"How do you know?"
           
"You inspired it."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Ok, Andante. Let's see what you have," Professor Forza said dully and rolled his eyes. He leaned back in his chair as Andante came walking down the aisle to the head of the class. Forza exchanged looks with Professor Fuerig and Professor Pesante. His gaze lingered on Pesante's a while longer, her eyes mournfully staring back at him. Forza tore his eyes away from hers and focused on Andante, who was now seated at the piano.
           
"My piece is called Ode to Sin..."

At that moment, the front door burst open with a loud explosion, drowning out Andante's voice. All eyes turned to the uninvited guest making his way down to the front.  
           
"I'm sorry. Was I interrupting a concerto?" he asked smugly.

He was dressed in black dress pants and a black shirt with a white tie. He was estimated by the others to be around his late thirties. Andante sat at the piano, tense, afraid of this mysterious man who had just walked through the doors. Andante turned back to his professors for instruction and was surprised to see the shock painted on their faces. Pesante's eyes were wide and glossy. Forza's face was twisted in shock and confusion, and Fuerig looked furious. The man reached the front desk and bowed to the professors.    
           
"Professors," he said politely. None spoke. They were dumbfounded and distraught by this man's sudden appearance.
           
"Do you not have any kind words for your former student?" he asked. Pesante was the first to speak.          
           
"Allegro" she breathed. The man, whose name was now known, smiled eerily.                   
           
"Pesante, you were always the sympathetic one. Tell me, did you enjoy any of my pieces?" he asked, cocking his head slightly. Pesante inhaled and swallowed, her eyes filled to the brim with tears.       
           
"I..."
           
"She does not have to answer that!" Fuerig answered hurriedly. He had suddenly found his courage and jumped up from his seat.           
           
"What have you come for, Allegro? Do you wish to add injury to insult? Was your public humiliation not enough?" Allegro's eyes darkened and his smile faded. When he spoke again, the suavity was gone, instead replaced with a cold tone.
           
"I'm here for the Audion."
           
"For what? To broadcast your worthless operettas? There will be riots in the streets if those horrid composures you call music reach the ears of the public. No one will sit long enough to hear them." Allegro's eyes flashed dangerously, but he remained calm and collected.     
           
"Son, would you mind if I used the piano?" Allegro suddenly asked, turning to Andante. Frightened, Andante jumped up and hurried back to his seat.
           
"Professors, if you will," Allegro said and bowed. He walked over to the piano and sat down. He remained on the piano bench for a while, hunched over the piano, as if observing the keys.
            "Forget how to play, Allegro?" Fuerig sneered. Allegro took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and pressed the keys. It was the last sound any of them heard.

It was the middle of the day when Sinfonia noticed something was not right. Andante hadn't come by the flower shop for his lunch break, and that was two hours ago. She knew by now not to fret over something like that, especially now that Andante was nearing completion of his courses. Nowadays, he was also busier with his music. Sinfonia tried to be supportive, but she couldn't fight the feeling that little by little she was losing Andante. She pushed the thought aside and decided to listen to the radio instead. She didn't listen to anything but jazz. She found it not only helped her flowers grow, but it also soothed her soul. As she reached for the knob, she suddenly had an odd feeling of deja vu. Then it hit her. She gasped, stuck headphones into her ears, and ran out the front door.  

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
           

"It is here that the most divine of all can be found. On the edge of the flaming pit."
           
"How can something so divine be by something so filthy and corrupted?" Sinfonia's eyes opened, blinking furiously, as she tried to figure out where she was.     
           
"Do not worry about it being harmed. It is protected." Sinfonia sat up and took in her surroundings. She was in a dark chapel and the voices seemed to be coming from the confessional. She pushed herself up and followed the sound of the conversing voices. All of a sudden, she stepped in something slippery. She quickly gained her balance and looked down. Mud. And tall, wild grass. Little yellow flowers rose up on all sides of the muddy road that led through the chapel. Confused, Sinfonia continued to walk down the path. The voices grew fainter and fainter and Sinfonia assumed she was getting farther and farther away from them. She made up her mind to turn around and head back, to hopefully find the voices again. But as she turned around and raised her foot to step back, she realized she couldn't. The mud had slithered up her ankles and hardened. She was now frozen in rock.
           
"I have to go back to find the voices" she thought, still trying to break free. As if by fate, something ahead began to glow. Sinfonia squinted and tried to make out the glowing objects. She had a desire to pursue the glow and, as she felt this, the mud liquefied and slid off. She continued down the path, still unable to hear the voices, but convinced the glow would lead her to them. As she got closer, she realized the glowing objects were musical notes. How peculiar! Once she came to this conclusion, they disappeared with a poof. She was now at the confessional. She stepped in and a deformed face stared back at her. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Outside the secure confines of Sinfonia's flower shop, there was total chaos. People were rioting in the streets, destroying cars and looting stores. Sinfonia tried her best to get by unnoticed. She noticed, however, that the people were stealing radios, transmitters, and wires, and leaving other goods behind. She didn't understand what was going on, but she knew something was not right, and it involved Andante. She reached the town's chapel and was relieved to see it had not been destroyed. She burst through the doors and immediately saw the priest seated at the front pew, praying.
           
"Father Acciaccatura!" she called out, taking off her headphones, and running down the aisle toward him. He turned around and looked at her with one eye. The other was missing, a large scar running down and across his face.        
           
"Are you here hoping to be saved too?" he asked.
           
"Do you know what's going on outside?" she asked. Acciaccatura glared at her with one eye.
           
"It's all over the radio but considering your status...I won't let you listen."
           
"What do you mean?" Sinfonia asked, confused. 
           
"The masses are being brainwashed. By Allegro's operettas." Sinfonia was still confused.   
           
"Who's Allegro?" she asked.      
           
"Apparently an evil genius hell bent on making the world his."       
           
"Through radio? Through music?" Sinfonia asked. Acciaccatura nodded.    
           
"How?"
           
"Worldwide broadcast. From the Kapellmeister Electoral University." Sinfonia's heart sunk. That was why Andante hadn't made it to the flower shop; he was either being held hostage or...
           
"Please tell me he hasn't killed anyone," she pleaded.     
           
"No. He's only taken complete control of their minds."
           
"There has to be a way to reverse this, to put an end to the madness!" she cried, tears streaming down her face. She feared for Andante's safety, for his well being, for his life. Acciaccatura looked down at the ground.
           
"There is one way, but I vowed I would never let myself do that again."       
           
"Father, please tell me. I must save my boyfriend. If what you say is true, then he is trapped at the University." Acciaccatura glared up at her.
           
"The reason for your concern is a selfish one," he said and started walking away.   
           
"You're being selfish for not telling me the cure!" she called out after him. Acciaccatura stopped walking and whirled around. He limped back to her, a furious look in his eye.  
           
"Little girl, the cure for all this mess did this to me!" he yelled and pointed at his missing eye, his scar, his hideous deformity.
           
"I experienced something that nearly destroyed me. I don't know how I ever survived. I would rather let the government stop Allegro than see another human being hurt like me. Or worse, killed!" Sinfonia looked at the man pleadingly.
           
"You don't understand what Andante means to me," she whispered. Acciaccatura looked down, and exhaled.
           
"It is here that the most divine of all can be found..."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sinfonia had reached the top of the mountain and was now at the mouth of a cave. It had taken her a week to reach the peak. By now, Allegro had taken over most of the world and the people had become his mindless zombies. Sinfonia hoped and prayed that Andante had not been killed. Breathless, tired, and on the verge of quitting, she walked inside, only to fall through the unstable ground. Falling, she screamed and clutched wildly for something to grab on to. A firm grip grasped her wrist and she was pulled up. Looking down, she saw the rocks that had given way were now plunging into the molten lava beneath her.
           

"State your business." Sinfonia, startled, turned around, and saw a fairy. She was dainty, delicate, and pink. Delicate wings prodded from her back and fluttered lazily.
          
"My name is Sinfonia and..."
           
"I did not ask your name" the fairy said.
           
"Well, you see..."
           
"I am Muta. Who are you?" the fairy asked.
           
"Sinfonia."
           
"Why have you come here?" Muta asked.
          
"For the dolce voce." Sinfonia soon realized that Muta only answered to direct statements, not explanations. Muta was silent now. She appeared to be sitting in thin air and she had her finger pressed to her chin in thought. Sinfonia slowly started to get up; she had been on all fours on the ground.
           
"Stay there" Muta commanded.
           
"Who sent you?" she asked.
           
"Acciaccatura" Sinfonia answered. Muta's green eyes widened and she laughed with delight.
           
"Yes, I remember Acciaccatura. I ripped him a new one." Sinfonia drew back at this comment, but she continued to press the fairy for the dolce voce.
           
"Where can I find the dolce voce?" she asked.
           
"Why do you want the dolce voce?" Muta asked. Sinfonia figured she had gained the fairy's trust, since she appeared to now be capable of a decent conversation. The delight of scarring Acciaccatura must have triggered her trust.
           
"To stop Allegro from taking over the world with his operettas."      
           
"Operettas are beautiful pieces of music. Why would you want to stop their production?"
           
"He's used them to brainwash everyone and turn them into mindless zombies! Including my boyfriend."
           
"Did you ever stop to think that maybe the people are content being zombies?"
           
"Well...no. But..." Sinfonia started, trailing off. It would take a great deal of reason to convince the fairy to give her the dolce voce.
           
|"Then why do you wish to obtain the dolce voce?" Muta asked.
           
"Because..." Sinfonia decided it was best she answer in the simplest manner she could; with the truth.
           
"Because I love Andante." Muta peered at her curiously.
           
"Love is your reason for wanting this flower that is dangerous to mankind?" Sinfonia swallowed and nodded. 
           
"Are you really willing to risk everything for Andante?"
           
"Yes."

Muta gazed at Sinfonia a while longer, then sat up. Her feet touched the ground. She turned around swiftly and set off without another word. Sinfonia followed closely behind. When Muta reached the end of the cave, she raised her dainty hand up to stop Sinfonia.

"You cannot follow where I am going. Wait for me here," Muta said and disappeared. When she returned, Sinfonia saw that her wings had been burned to the crisp. Muta walked up to her, her hand behind her back. She looked Sinfonia in the eyes and spoke.       
           
"Once you lay a finger on this flower, there is no turning back. Any regular mortal, as Acciaccatura demonstrated, will be destroyed by it. If you wish to save the world and your boyfriend as you told me, you must be fully prepared to make and accept all sacrifices." Sinfonia exhaled deeply and nodded.
           
"Because the contents of this flower are maddeningly shattering to the human psyche, you must exchange something in order to use its power."  
           
"Exchange what?" Sinfonia asked nervously. Muta's eyebrow rose.           
           
"Do you know what the dolce voce does?"
           
"No."
           
"When in bloom, and upon contact, it emits the most divine of melody. Melody heard only in heaven. Melody sung only by angels. Because divine love is beyond human reasoning, it is inconceivable to the human mind."
           
"I don't understand," Sinfonia said.
           
"If you want to use the full extent of the flower, you have to give up your sense of hearing. Otherwise, the flower will destroy you." Sinfonia's world came crashing down the moment she heard that. She had to give up her hearing?
           
"And I would never be able to regain it?" she asked quietly.
           
"No." Sinfonia bit her lip, and thought about Andante.       
           
"I...I accept" she stuttered and shut her eyes, tears streaming down her cheeks.
           
"Open your eyes, Sinfonia, and accept the divinity of the dolce voce." Sinfonia opened her eyes and saw the most beautiful flower she had ever seen. Muta took her hand, and placed the flower in her palm. A loud explosion rang out through Sinfonia's ears and then there was silence.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Acciaccatura had told Sinfonia that in order to stop Allegro and reverse the effect of his operettas, she had to go to the University and get the dolce voce's music broadcast. This would break the spell. Sinfonia now stood outside the doors of the University. She had had no trouble getting back. It was as if the divinity of the flower had protected her. On her way to the school, she had witnessed the transformation process of a young man. The other zombies had pinned him down and had held a radio up to his ears. What Sinfonia had seen was something she hoped to erase from her mind.

Standing outside the doors, she took a deep breath and burst through. It was a strange world she had walked in to. She saw thousands of zombies dancing, swaying to Allegro's operettas. None of them turned around. They continued dancing. And at the front of the hall, seated at a piano, she saw who must have been Allegro. He was leaned over the piano, playing furiously.
           
"He must enjoy it so much," she thought and was reminded of Andante. Night after night she had spent hours watching him sit at the piano and play chords and notes and rhythms. His music had filled her soul with joy and enlightenment. Listening to his music was like being on a level above and beyond her own. As she thought about this, tears filled her eyes. She would no longer be able to hear Andante play his beautiful music. Sobbing, she dragged her feet down the aisle to the Audion, the broadcast device Acciaccatura had told her about. Nobody moved or seemed to notice her, and she realized why. They all had their eyes closed. So did Allegro. And that's when she spotted Andante in the first row. Tears rolled down her cheeks. She had always loved watching him sleep.  Now, he was frozen in an eternal sleep. He swayed to the music, his eyes closed, drowning in Allegro's powerful operettas. Sinfonia walked up to him and studied him. She reached out to touch him, but withdrew. She looked over her shoulder at Allegro, but he was still immersed in his playing. She turned back to Andante, her heart bursting with emotion.
           
"I love you," she whispered, feeling the vibrations in her throat, but hearing nothing. She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. All of a sudden, she was thrown back. She landed on the floor and looked up, startled. The zombies had stopped swaying and Allegro loomed over her. His lips moved, but she could hear nothing.
           
"I can't hear you," she cried and got up, still clutching the dolce voce. Allegro's lips moved again, and then his eyes set on the flower in her hands. They widened and he shouted something. The zombies were now moving toward her. Sinfonia was trapped; there was no way to get to the Audion now. She buried her face in her hands and began crying. She had failed. She had let down the world. She had lost her hearing for nothing. She sat sobbing in the corner, the dolce voce wet with tears, awaiting her demise at the zombies' hands. When nothing was happening, she looked up. And to her surprise, she saw that Allegro was sprawled on the floor, clutching his ears, his face twisted in a screaming agony.
           
"The flower" she thought and looked down. It was in bloom! Her tears must have aroused it. The zombies were still swaying, but they were losing their dazed look. She quickly got up and ran to the Audion. She set the dolce voce on it and collapsed in front of it. It was done. The world was saved. Sinfonia felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and looked up at Andante. He smiled down at her, his beautiful eyes vibrant and alive. Sinfonia dreaded the moment his lips would start moving. As he began speaking, Sinfonia burst into tears and thrust herself on him, clutching his knees. He knelt down beside her and spoke again.
           
"Andante, I can't hear a word you're saying. I don't know if you remember any of it, but you were brainwashed by Allegro's operettas..." At this, she turned to look at Allegro and saw that his brain had exploded in his cranium and was now oozing out of his ears.
           
"And the only way to reverse the effect was to obtain the dolce voce. But in order to get the dolce voce, I had to give up my hearing! Oh Andante, I love you so much! I'm so sorry," she cried and buried her face in his chest.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
           

"Andante, if you would play your piece for us now," Professor Fuerig said. Andante got up and headed to the piano. Before he sat down, he looked out across the crowd, searching for Sinfonia. He spotted her and caught her eye. She smiled at him and he sat down on the bench.
           
"It's called Ode to Sinfonia.” He cleared his throat, tapped his foot in rhythm, took a deep breath, and began playing. When he was done, the crowd roared with approval. Smiling, he stood up and bowed. He kept looking over at Sinfonia, whose eyes were shining with tears. He was perplexed as to what could be their cause. He got off stage and headed behind the curtain toward backstage. He saw Sinfonia running toward him. She hugged him tightly and gazed at him with shining eyes.
           
"It was beautiful," she whispered in his ear. Andante was confused. Sinfonia had lost her hearing when she got the dolce voce to save humanity. Sinfonia noticed the confused look on his face and smiled.
           
"Remember when I told you your music was magical?" she asked. Andante nodded.
           
"I meant that." And she began humming the melody to "Ode to Sinfonia".