26 years before…
Apollo Frias was in the middle of the snowy mountains of the Alps. Five members were in his team. They were hiking the mountains as one of their expeditions. They had been far away from home for nearly four months. Now, they were still stuck there, in the middle of the freezing snowy mountains, with the amount of their food and drink which were getting less and less.
"I've told you already… There's nothing here…" said Simon Vallas, a Chinese-Indonesian mixed blood young man.
"From where did you hear that there's a valuable artefact here, Apollo?" asked Hansen Huang, also a Chinese-Indonesian mixed blood young man, who had been working under Apollo Frias' team for more than three years, also travelling everywhere together with Apollo Frias to find and collect ancient artefacts.
"Is it just a rumor?" asked Deddy Timmy Sinulingga – a Bataknese handsome young man in his early twenties.
Apollo kept silent. He didn't say anything. He began to give up actually. He had been travelling around the Alps and he was sure he had explored every inch of the mountains but there was nothing to be found.
"From a legend in the internet… It said there was a young musician named Crudus. He loved his woman a lot, deeply, and madly. Her name was Evelyn. But, he also heard a rumor that Evelyn actually didn't love him. Evelyn merely got married with him because Crudus was a quite famous musician at that time and Evelyn's parents very much hoped that their daughter would get married with one of the most musicians in their country. So, yeah… their wedding took place in Crudus' big mansion." Apollo Frias began to tell his members the legend he had read from the internet.
"Okay… So, what's the connection between this legendary story with the two violins which you would like to find?" asked Olivio Clementius Lee – a Chinese who had been born in Malaysia, but he spent his teen years in Indonesia and he had been staying in Indonesia since then.
"I've not finished yet, Olivio…" said Apollo Frias a bit irritated.
"Go ahead then…" muttered Olivio Clementius.
"After their marriage, Crudus heard that Evelyn had an affair with another man behind him. He heard that his wife had betrayed him. Moreover, he also heard that his wife had been cooperating with that man to snatch and grab away all his money and wealth. Therefore, Crudus was much suffered knowing his wife actually didn't love him at all. He prayed to the gods so that he could find a way to prove that Evelyn actually didn't love him."
"Why did he need the proof that Evelyn didn't love him? He just needed to prove that Evelyn had had an affair behind his back, didn't he?" mumbled Xavier Ottoman – also a Chinese-Indonesian mixed blood who had been staying in Indonesia for quite a long time.
"He couldn't catch them with their hands in the cookie jar. He just heard rumors everywhere about his wife having an affair with another man behind his back. Therefore, he needed to show to everybody that actually his wife didn't love him, so he could propose the divorce lawsuit to the court."
"Oh, I see…" muttered Hansen Huang nodding his head continuously.
"At that time, Crudus had designed his two new magnificent violins. He was about to sell those two violins to a rich and wealthy family who were keen on music as well. However, at the night previously, Crudus got a dream that a very beautiful young goddess told him there was a magic in the two new magnificent violins he was about to sell." Apollo continued his narration about Crudus' two new and magnificent violins.
"There's a magic in the two new violins you've just designed, Crudus… You can prove whether Evelyn loves you or not from those two violins…" said the beautiful goddess.
"I was just about to sell them to a rich family who are also keen on music, Goddess… What can I do with those two violins? What can they do in order to help me prove whether Evelyn actually loves me or not?"
"Evelyn can also play violins, can't she?"
Crudus just nodded his head silently.
"Therefore, you can ask her to play the violin with you. Both of you can play the violins. If those two violins produce the melodious and harmonious music, that means both of you possess a deep and intimate love towards each other. But, if there's no sound or music coming out from those two violins, that means there's no love between both of you. That can mean Evelyn doesn't actually love you these times around."
Crudus nodded his head and began to put what the goddess had told him under his plans.
"So, both of them played the violins later on?" asked Deddy Timmy Sinulingga.
"Yeah, of course… Crudus held a big feast in his big mansion one lovely evening. He told the guests he and his wife would like to play a beautiful classical music. They played the violins in front of all the guests attending the feast," said Apollo Frias.
"Did the violins produce any music?" asked Simon Vallas curiously.
Apollo Frias nodded his head enthusiastically. His five members chuckled in amazement.
"Yeah… It turned out that Evelyn really loved her husband. There was a man who loved Evelyn as well. Yet, of course Evelyn didn't love him. She loved her husband very deeply. This man hated Crudus a lot. He would like to kill Crudus using his sword. In the middle of their fight, Crudus got injured very badly. Evelyn watched that fighting scene. She rushed in front and hugged her husband when the sword stabbed her at her back. That's the end of the story when Evelyn died in order to protect her husband. When their kids had grown up, Crudus also died and he would like his body to be buried under the same tomb together with his wife." Apollo Frias ended his long narration.
"So, based on that legendary myth, you take five of us here in the Alps to find those two mystical legendary violins?" asked Olivio Clementius a bit cynically.
"Yeah, there have been quite a lot of witnesses saying they have seen two mysterious violins in the middle of the endless snowy land in the Alps… I have collected quite a few articles listing those witnesses. I sent them to your emails two weeks before our expedition. Do you still remember?" asked Apollo Frias sipping his hot chocolate milk.
"Yeah… But you know… I can't be bothered to believe that this kind of legendary story is true," said Simon Vallas.
"Yeah… Legendary stories tend to be only legends and myths… It's a kind of bedtime stories to make your children sleep well in their cozy bedrooms…" continued Deddy Timmy Sinulingga.
"Therefore, we're here to prove whether that story is true or not. Suppose it turns out to be not true, so we can go home then…" mumbled Apollo Frias in his relaxed fashion.
"Yeah, you must go home as quickly as possible, Apollo. Columba has been missing you for a couple of months. Don't you miss her as well?" Xavier Ottoman tried to tell some jokes to his team leader. He burst out in laughter after that.
"Yeah, I miss her a lot as well…" said Apollo Frias with his gazing stare.
"Perhaps, after you've found those two violins, you would like to play them together with Columba…" continued Simon Vallas. All the team members burst out in their laughter.
"Columba and I don't have any basic in music. We can't play any musical instruments…" said Apollo Frias short.
"So, how about Queenie Qamra? She loves you like hell, doesn't she?" asked Xavier Ottoman.
"She's just a woman chosen by my parents as my first wife. All of you know the woman I love very deeply is merely Columba. I don't possess any feeling to Queenie Qamra."
"And you slept with her that night…" continued Olivio Clementius a bit cynically.
"That night I was drunk… I fancied Queenie Qamra as Columba… All you know that obviously, don't you?" protested Apollo Frias a bit irritated.
The five members were silent for quite a moment.
"Then, does Columba forgive you after that?" asked Hansen Huang.
"Of course she does… It took me quite a couple of weeks to talk to her, to assure her about my sincerity and love. Finally, she slowly understands that although I slept together with Queenie Qamra that night, all inside my mind was her, not Queenie Qamra. I'm missing her a lot actually…" said Apollo Frias again with his gazing stare.
"Then, we can finish this expedition quickly. If we find nothing in a couple of days ahead, we can go home, can't we?" asked Simon Vallas enthusiastically.
"It doesn't show that you want to finish this expedition quickly; it turns out that you want to go home and meet your girlfriend as soon as possible," mumbled Apollo Frias raising his eyebrows up and down meaningfully.
The rest of the members burst out in their laughter.