The Visit
The autumn wind whispered through the tall windows of the old mansion, carrying the scent of fallen leaves into the vast music room.
A woman sat alone at the grand piano.
Her fingers moved gently across the ivory keys, playing a melody she had known for as long as she could remember.
But tonight, something was different.
She reached a particular sequence of notes—and suddenly stopped.
A strange melody had slipped beneath her fingers.
She stared at the piano.
She didn't remember learning those notes.
For a moment, the mansion seemed unnaturally quiet. Even the ticking of the grandfather clock in the corridor felt distant.
Then—
“Madam?”
She turned.
Her assistant stood at the doorway, slightly out of breath.
“Dr. Lee has arrived. He's waiting for you in the hall.”
The woman's expression changed instantly.
“Dr. Lee?”
Her assistant nodded.
She remained still for a few seconds, as if the name itself had awakened something she had tried very hard to forget.
Then she rose from the piano.
“Take me to him.”
She walked through the long corridor toward the main hall.
The mansion was ancient, its walls covered with countless vintage paintings—portraits of stern-faced men and women from generations past. Their eyes seemed to follow her as she passed.
Heavy curtains swayed gently beside the tall windows.
Outside, golden leaves drifted across the stone courtyard.
Inside, Dr. Lee was waiting.
And the moment she saw him, she knew something was wrong.
Because Dr. Lee had not come to visit her.
He had come to tell her something.
Ivory entered the hall.
Dr. Lee stood near the fireplace, dressed in a dark coat. Beside him stood an elderly woman with silver hair and a calm, almost unsettling expression.
Ivory stopped.
“Lee.”
He smiled faintly.
“It has been a long time.”
“Too long,” Ivory replied.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
They had been classmates once—years ago, when Ivory had still believed that music would be her entire life.
Lee finally broke the silence.
“I came because of Professor Adrian.”
Ivory's expression hardened.
The old professor had died exactly one month ago.
“I heard,” she said quietly.
Lee took a small envelope from his coat.
“He left something for you.”
Ivory didn't take it.
“What does this have to do with me?”
“The academy wants you to take his position as professor of music.”
Ivory immediately shook her head.
“No.”
“You haven't even considered it.”
“I don't teach anymore, Lee.”
“You haven't touched the piano professionally in years.”
“Exactly.”
Lee looked at her for a moment before sighing.
“There is someone else you should meet.”
He stepped aside.
The elderly woman beside him approached Ivory.
“Professor Ophelia,” Lee introduced.
Ophelia studied Ivory carefully.
Not her clothes.
Not her face.
Her eyes.
Then she spoke softly.
“Your past is not completed, Ivory.”
Ivory's fingers tightened.
“You don't know anything about my past.”
Ophelia smiled.
“Oh, I know enough.”
Ivory felt a strange chill pass through her.
“What are you talking about?”
Ophelia glanced toward the staircase leading to the upper floor.
“Did you play the piano tonight?”
Ivory froze.
“How did you know?”
“Because Professor Adrian told me that one day, you would hear it again.”
“Hear what?”
Ophelia's expression became serious.
“The lost melody.”
Ivory stared at her.
Behind them, somewhere deep inside the mansion—
a piano key suddenly sounded.
One single note.
Ivory turned toward the music room.
Her heart began to race.
She hadn't touched the piano since she left it.
Ophelia looked at Ivory for a long moment.
Then she turned toward the door.
“If you change your mind,” Lee said, placing his card on the table, “call me.”
Ivory said nothing.
Lee and Ophelia left the mansion, their footsteps slowly disappearing down the long corridor.
The door closed.
Silence returned.
Ivory remained standing in the hall, staring at the card in her hand.
Your past is not completed.
Ophelia's words kept repeating inside her head.
What past?
And why had Professor Adrian left a message for her?
Most frightening of all—
how had Ophelia known about the melody?
Ivory walked back toward the music room.
The grand piano stood exactly where she had left it.
She looked at the keys but didn't touch them.
For years, she had convinced herself that her life with music was over.
Yet one strange melody had returned tonight.
And now, someone was asking her to return to the place where it all began.
She didn't know how long she stood there.
Eventually, she picked up Lee's card.
Her thumb hovered over the number.
Then she dialed.
The call connected almost immediately.
“Ivory?”
She took a slow breath.
“I'll accept the position.”
There was a pause.
“You're sure?”
“No,” Ivory admitted. “But I'll do it.”
Lee's voice softened.
“Then I'll see you tomorrow.”
The call ended.
Ivory placed the phone down.
She thought she had made a decision.
But that night, sleep brought her something she had not expected.
A memory.
Or perhaps a dream.
She was standing inside a room filled with warm sunlight.
There was a piano beside a large window.
And someone was standing in front of it.
A man.
Ivory couldn't see his face.
She didn't know his name.
But somehow, she knew him.
She walked toward him and wrapped her arms around him from behind.
He didn't turn.
Instead, he continued painting.
Ivory looked over his shoulder.
On the canvas was a beautiful painting of a woman standing beside a grand piano.
The woman was her.
Ivory stared at the painting.
“Why are you painting me?”
The man said nothing.
She tried to see his face.
But the moment she moved around him—
everything blurred.
The room began to fade.
The painting disappeared.
And the melody returned.
The same melody she had played that evening.
Ivory suddenly opened her eyes.
Morning sunlight streamed through the curtains.
She sat upright in bed, breathing heavily.
For a few seconds, she couldn't remember where she was.
Then—
Ding. Ding.
Her phone rang.
Ivory looked at the screen.
Dr. Lee — Appointment Interview
She stared at the name.
The dream was already fading from her memory.
But one thing remained.
The painting.
And the man whose face she couldn't remember.
Ivory answered the call.
“Hello?”
Lee's voice came through.
“Good morning. Are you ready for your interview?”
Ivory glanced toward the bedroom door.
Beyond it, somewhere in the old mansion, the piano waited.
“Yes,” she whispered.
“yes , iam ”
