Snippet time!
Something to cheer us all up in these gloomy times. Enjoy.
“Goddamnit!”
Again the piano music died as abruptly as if Mr. Kirsch had put it to the guillotine.
Garvanos flinched.
Mr. Kirsch looked as if at any moment a blood vessel in his face would burst “You two! Like cats! Bad cats! Here!”
Both of them scrambled to get to him and now Beljajew interestingly seemed to fear Mr. Kirsch's wrath.
Mr. Kirsch, entirely unimpressed by the display of obedience, shuffled though his folio and then threw a few sheets towards the piano. “Play!”
The pianist took a glance at the notes, shrugged and then started.
The notes were low, heavy and grave, reminding of a funeral.
Garvanos recognized it in an instant. And of course he sang “Mia-a-u!”
The music was instantly drowned out by a wave of laughter. Deborah Santelli had both hands over her mouth.
“Ha,” Beljajew sneered, “you're told something about cats and you start meowing?”
“Oh, know already?” Mr. Kirsch asked and handed them their own sheets.
Garvanos didn’t have to look at it to know that it indeed was the Duetto buffo di due gatti.
He suppressed a grin. Especially when he saw the face Beljajew was making, eyes growing wide, shaking his head in disbelief.
“Go! Over there! You practise!” Mr. Kirsch ordered. “Half hour! Is easy, half hour is enough!”
Beljajew's mouth opened in protest.
“Go! Study!” Mr. Kirsch bellowed, “Go!”
Sighing they settled down in the wings. Garvanos decided to be cat number one and he went through his part for a little, but since he was familiar with both parts he had time to watch Beljajew dig into the work.
“You wanna go through it?” he finally offered in an admittedly not whole-hearted attempt to smooth things over.
Beljajew raised his head. Garvanos got the distinct feeling that the boy very much wanted to rip his throat out.
“That’s a no? Alright, I'll... I'll be over there.” He quickly retreated to another corner and sat down, humming the melody to himself, practising how the individual Miau's should be drawn out.
More often, though, he looked up, glancing to Beljajew, who was focused on his own sheet music, mouth moving, head softly rising and falling in an imitation of the movement of the music.
And he was smiling. Grinning, even. His shoulders moved as if he was chuckling.
“Scimia! Alexej! Come here!”
Their half hour was up and they rose and came back out on the stage.
Mr. Kirsch stared at them. “Now then! You two! Sing!”
He waved and the piano music started, the notes dripping through the air, softly collecting and pooling around them.
Garvanos quickly started his first “Mi-iau”, drawn out, serene and soulful, his voice carrying. It would have been suitable for an aria based on Hamlet's great soliloquy, but alas.
(for the full experience - just watch the video below. Just watch it.)
Usually at this point I would comment on how my novel "A song for ghosts" is available as an ebook for 4,49 and put the link here, since, well, I am a writer and I do enjoy writing, but I also enjoy the prospect of someday paying my bills writing.
However, I am not the only one concerned and affected by the corona virus. If anything, since I have a dayjob as an office drone I might be relatively safe from any long-term effect of this.
The same cannot be fully said for small independent bookstores. Prinz Eisenherz, a queer bookstore in Berlin, is still open, but I can't imagine times are easy for them or will be for a long time, even after this pandemic is dealt with.
Willkommen im Webshop des Buchladens Eisenherz, Motzstrasse 23, 10777 Berlin, Öffnungszeiten Montags bis Samstags 10h - 20h
In times like these we need to support one another more than ever and while buying "A song for Ghosts" directly in my epubli shop supports me it supports, well - just me. (and the folks at the epubli service.)
So - pick your local queer or regular small bookstore. Check whether they have an online shop and an ebook service. Buy your books there, not just "A Song for Ghosts", any book that tickles your fancy. (You're killing two birds with one stone, even. You help out a local business AND in case of a print book you avoid amazon's potentially stretched out delivery, since books are "not essential" and amazon is a meddling mega corp).
Please help these independent stores survive though this crisis.
And please, for the love of everything, stay. The fuck. Home.
(By the way in case you wanna purchase "A Song for ghosts" but none of your local bookstores offer ebook services - you can order it here and help out a cornerstone of the queer scene in Berlin. ... just sayin'.
Garvanos Scimia has not wanted to go to Dresden and join the Royal court theatre. But he has been sent away from his home in Milan and now h
