"The Violin Player" by Don Anelli

The Violin Player

by Don Anelli

It had been a near-perfect day. Eric, his husband Darren, and their friend Julio had spent the afternoon antiquing and managed to gather some impressive items. Eric and Darren had scavenged a special set of dinner China featuring an ornate watercolor pattern that they both liked, with matching utensils to go along with it, while Julio had picked up a table lamp and stool that was modeled after his favorite cartoon. While they could’ve spent more time in the store, especially with its vintage pulp paperback section that all three wanted more time to spend in, the three friends decided they needed to save money and left the store with their goods.

It was the instant the group left the store that they heard it, or at least they thought they did. It was unmistakable, an ethereal violin cutting through the noise of the outside world and being blasted straight into their ears. The melody was unrecognizable, but it was haunting, eerie, and almost sad to hear. This stuck out distinctly from the hustle and bustle of the world around them.

By the time everything was placed inside the car trunk and they left the store, the sound was gone. No more violin placement around them, just the traditional hum of the car and other running motors of the passing vehicles elsewhere on the road with them.

Heading home, Darren flips on the radio to get some soundtrack playing for the drive, but all it plays is the same haunting violin sound as before. Because it’s from the car stereo instead of the inner workings of their head, all three can hear it at the same time. The inability to ignore it means that they have to confront the song for the first time and deal with the strange sound that is at the front of their minds.

After a few beats, Eric nonchalantly changes the station, mentioning he must’ve hit the button that put that on instead when they first went into the store, saying how weird it was when it came on, but not thinking much else about it. Darren and Julio look back and accept what he says, seeming like a reasonable answer, even with something between them that indicates they knew where the song came from.

After no further incidents the rest of the way home following the strange violin bit at the beginning, Julio is dropped off at his house with his belongings, which allows Eric and Darren to return to their home for the day.

Agreeing that they must throw a party to celebrate the occasion and use their new China, they start going over the guest list and seeing who they can invite, from Julio to Rachel and Emily, Bryan and Michael, Brandon and Vince, and Michael and whoever he’s dating that week. The rest of the day is spent with the two coming to terms with the rest of the designs and party favors.

With everything set up and ready to go, the two begin to raid their closets for the supplies they’ll need when the violin starts up once again. Same as before, the sad, haunting, lilting tune played out from an ethereal violin playing in the distance, where they can hear the playing but not know where it’s coming from. The song carries the eerie, haunting tone that is unmistakable, but right when Eric and Darren are about to start looking for the source, the faint outline of a figure holding a violin materializes out of nowhere. He begins playing the tune one more time, only now with a more vicious, angry energy rather than the sad, emotional melody that had been playing.

As if on queue, the figure disappeared, just in time for the contents of the closet behind them to magically come flying out at inhuman speeds, knocking into Eric and Darren with enough force to fall forward. It’s enough to draw blood from the back of Darren’s head, forcing Eric to cover him as the objects from inside continue flying out and landing near them.

Confused, shocked, and in panic, the duo looks to see where the shadowy figure went, but are unable to spot it anywhere around them. Seeing their only chance is to dash through the front door, Eric keeps his hand over the wound as he leads them to potential safety when the ghostly violin player reappears and plays another sharp, violent tune, angrier and more intense than anything he played before. This new tune shatters the glass windows around the living room, creating a sea of shards covering the floor.

Desperate to get out, Eric and Darren move through the glass and reach the front door, exiting the house, where almost immediately the violent violin sound stops. It’s normal, quiet, everyday suburbia the moment they step on the porch and are not inside the house. They look at each other, breathing heavily, and trying to make sense of what just happened.

That’s when Eric’s phone rings in his pocket. Answering it, he gets a call from the antique store they were at earlier in the day, saying there was a mistake with their shipment. One of the orderlies set out the China he purchased by accident, stuff that was set aside to be used in a paranormal ghost-hunting show.

The very same people were at the shop looking for the collection to determine if it was haunted.