The Nightingale of St. Petersburg

Chapters 3-4

Chapter 3

For the longest while the two of them remained sitting there. I stood in the doorway, silently observing them. Part of me said that I ought to leave but a desire to find out what will be the outcome of the story kept me where I was.

At last he pulled away and gently ran his hands over her face again, brushing away a thin little strand of hair that had fallen over her face.

“Where, how, how did you find me?” Marina asked in a broken voice as she made him sit in the chair that was opposite hers. He kept her hand in his, almost as though he was afraid that should he let go, she would disappear again.

“You wrote me a letter,” he replied.

“You got it?” Marina was surprised beyond words. "But that is impossible! The letter was never meant to get into your hands. I wrote it simply to get it all off my chest, I never ever meant for you to actually read it. I simply tossed it out my window, figuring the elements would destroy it before long. I never meant for you to read it.”

“Don't worry, I didn’t read it.” Alexander replied with a little laugh. “Remember,I I can't read. I had a friend read it to me.”

“That's not the point I was trying to get across. What I am trying to say is it was never suppose to get to you."

“But it did get to me. By a miracle of God it found it's way straight into my hands. One of my fellow musicians found it and brought it over. It was all meant to be a joke. You addressed the letter simply to Alexander and he stumbled upon it in the streets and seeing as I was someone who was the least likely to get a letter, he thought he would bring it to me. Once I read it I knew I had to find you. Why would you want to hide from me? Why wouldn’t you tell me the full truth? Did you honestly think that I would care about what you looked like? Did you honestly think that it would make any difference to me?”

Here he broke off and the cough he had been controlling for so long burst free in all its fury. His shoulders shook and he gasped for breath. He was faithful to keep his mouth covered and when at last he calmed down and removed his hand from his mouth I heard a gasp of horror come from Marina Not only was the poor boy’s hand covered in blood, some of it had smeared across his mouth.

Marina pulled out her handkerchief and as with a gentleness that I didn’t know my usually clumsy goddaughter possessedsheleaned over and wiped the blood from his mouth, the proceeded to clean his hand. “Your cough is worse!” She spoke in a worried voice. “I was so afraid that it would get worse and how my fears were confirmed.”

“It’s really not that bad,” he said in a careless voice.

“Not that bad? Sashinka, dearest, (oh, she called him “Sashinka”, and “dearest”!) you’re hand is covered in blood. Don’t you realize that you are coughing up BLOOD!”

He only gave a bit of a sigh and shook his head. “How do you like your new home?” He changed the subject.

“It’s very nice though the view is not what it once was. All I see is the street in front of me. What I missed having you come over.I was so sure I would never see you again.”

“But Providence made sure you did,” he said with the kindest smile. At this point the clock struck and he half rose, cocking his head in the direction of the noise. “

I must go,” he said in a rather sad voice, “I have to get to the public ball house, soon it will be time for me to work. I’ve stayed longer than I should have.”

“You can’t go work today!” Marina reached out and grabbed his other hand. “Sashinka, you are sick, you’re deathly pale, you are in no state of health to go to work, you need to stay and rest!”