ht moon sorrowfully faded into obscurity behind the dark clouds; the chilly autumn wind howled in her ears, causing the ghostly silhouettes of the trees to sway, scattering their branches and leaves.
Involuntarily, the maiden stood up from her seat, clutching the shawl tightly around her chest. Through the thick layers of mist, she seemed to catch a glimpse of the tall figure with flowing blonde hair in the distance. He stood solitary at the edge of the cliff, swaying dangerously with the tumultuous tempest, on the verge of tumbling down into the devouring tide of terror below, erasing any trace of his existence.
Fear gripped her heart. She yearned to call out to him, but when she opened her mouth, she didn''t know whose name to utter. The music encircling the entire world had transformed into a requiem, wailing for the fatality of a young life cut short.
With a jarring and quivering sound of the bowstring, the impassioned music abruptly ceased. Edith awakened from the dreamlike melancholy, her eyes fluttering open and closed, as hot tears welled up and streamed down. Her heart felt empty, yet a sense of relief washed over her.
Unconsciously, she approached Raphael, her lips shivering, wanting to plead for him to continue. But the violin suddenly crashed to the ground; the bewitching melody of this elegy all at once overwhelmed the despairing performer, who finally couldn''t contain himself any longer, burying his face in his elbow.
His agitated state frightened her, yet also infected her soul, making her unable to resist the urge to draw closer to him.
Suddenly, Raphael cast aside the bow in his hand and forcibly embraced Edith in his arms, pressing her bosom tightly against his chest, kissing her lips in a frenzy.
"Raphael!" she cried out in alarm, but was immediately enveloped by the scorching heat of his lips.
She reached out to push his shoulder, but her efforts were feeble. Like a drowning man gasping for his last breath of faint air from the surface, he greedily and hopelessly drank from her lips and tongue, blind to everything else.
Their noses collided as his hand pressed her turning head towards his own lips like mad. Edith tasted the salty bitterness of their mingled tears, her