Mathias was dreaming. Reliving past experiences, aware that he was dreaming, but unable to wake regardless. A variety of scenes appeared then faded again. One eventually stuck, the outlines beginning to coalesce.
Needless to say, he recognized it right away.
It was the first time he’d met Rita.
Mathias was playing in a courtyard overflowing with green. Bright sunlight shone down. In the middle of the courtyard stood a fountain, a symbol of wealth. His father, Jörg, was chairman of the Kramer Merchant Association and one of the richest men in Quinta.
A man, still young, appeared in the hallway alongside the courtyard. Mathias felt his spirits lift. It was Henning, the district apothecary. He fashioned remedies for Mathias’ mother and made regular visits to deliver them. She had been ill and confined to bed for the last few years. Although he usually came alone, this day was different.
A young girl stood by his side.
She looked around Mathias’ age. Seven, perhaps eight. She was clinging to the hem of Henning’s garments, and she looked scared. At the same time she seemed entranced by the flamboyant build of the courtyard filled with greenery.
This had been their first meeting. At the time, Rita had worn her blond hair down below her shoulders.
Henning noticed Mathias and smiled and called out a greeting. He would have been around twenty-five at the time. Somehow he had the air of an artist about him.
Mathias returned the greeting: “Good day.” He was following his father’s teaching: Members of the Kramer family must never forget their courtesy. Even with the laboring classes.
“This is my daughter.” Henning glanced warmly down at the girl to his side. “Your father was kind enough to suggest I bring her.” The girl remained half-hidden behind her father, and he prodded her gently forwards. “Now, Rita, what do you say?”
The girl opened her mouth but couldn’t manage any words. Her face grew increasingly flushed until, finally, her eyes fell to the ground and she again sought refuge behind her father’s back.
“A little shy, this one. Think you could be friends?”
“Yes, of course,” Mathias supplied another perfect answer. He turned to face the girl─to face Rita. “My name is Mathias. It’s nice to meet you.”
“H…H…Hello,” the girl just about managed a response.
Very well done, thought the young Mathias. He’d heard that some of the laboring classes lacked even the concept of greetings. He couldn’t say the girl was gracious, not by any standard, but she was at least making an attempt to be friendly.
✦ ✦ ✦
A couple of seconds later the girl added, “Ri…ta,” a little flustered.
It took Mathias a moment to recall that this was in fact her name. Perhaps she’d realized that, as he’d introduced himself, she needed to as well. He felt more and more taken by the girl.
“I should see your father first,” Henning said, lifting his eyes to the second floor. “Then it’s your mother’s checkup. Would you mind keeping Rita company for a while?” Henning’s eyes flicked back to his daughter.
“Of course. I can give her the tour.”
It was a phrase his father often used: Let me give you the tour.
Henning’s smile broadened. “Impressive, very becoming of the heir to a merchant association. Rita, make sure to pay attention to what Mathias shows you.”
The girl looked apprehensive but gave her father a sharp nod regardless.
At that point the outline of the world began to lose cohesion. Mathias found himself coming close to calling out Rita’s name.
The remembered scene receded, to be replaced by another.
As before, they were in the courtyard of the Kramer mansion.
Mathias and Rita were mostly unchanged, but there had been a shift in mood between them. Rita had already made a number of visits. While still a little deferential, she had become for the most part able to converse without hesitation.
“It’s this way, in the corner.”
Mathias crossed to the edge of the courtyard, but only after a careful scan of the surrounding cloisters. An afternoon sun inundated them. Apart from the two of them the mansion was empty─Mathias’ father and his retinue of servants were away.
Mathias crouched next to the roots of a tree and used his hand to clear some of the dirt. As he did, a metal handle came into view.
“Watch this.”
He hooked his fingers around it. With both feet planted firmly in the ground, he tipped his weight backwards. A square line appeared, rising slowly as an iron cover. The dirt and sand piled on top just trickled away. Rita stared in blank amazement.
“Mathias, what─”
“Just a second. I have to be careful, so it doesn’t fall.”
Keeping hold of the handle Mathias circled around and rotated the cover a half-circle before letting it gently down on the far side. Where the cover had been was a gaping hole a meter long and wide. A brick staircase led downwards.
“Come on then. There’s treasure I want to show you.”
“But…are we allowed? Without permission?”
“No, not really. I suppose Father would be mad if he found out. He doesn’t know that I know.”
“Well, maybe we shouldn’t…” Rita fidgeted with her hands and looked warily around.
“I’ll deal with him if he finds out. I’m pretty sure he’ll let it go if I say sorry. I can tell him I found it by chance and went in because I was curious. Come on.” Mathias lowered a foot down onto the first step and held a hand out towards Rita. “It’s a little dark, but it’s not scary if we leave the cover open.”
“Okay.” Rita, still hesitant, held out her hand. Their fingers made contact.
For some reason Mathias’ heart was beating hard.
Even though he’d explored the basement room any number of times before. Even though he knew there was no reason to be nervous.
Then he realized: It was the first time he and Rita were holding hands. Maybe that was why he was getting so worked up. He had heard that men became excited when they touched women.
Rita was still peering nervously around, apparently of two minds, but there were flashes of anticipation, of excitement, in her eyes. It seemed unlikely, however, that being in contact with Mathias was the cause.
Together, they carefully treaded down the stairs. Rita’s hand felt amazingly warm. It was trembling a little and had a faint sheen of sweat.
The layout inside was nothing complicated. The stairs led down to a single underground room about five meters on each side. An adult might have found the ceiling a little low, but it was nothing to concern Mathias and Rita at the time. A collection of holes where the walls joined the ceiling filtered light into the room. Mathias knew they were positioned to lie in the shadows of various columns and the fountain.
Their eyes quickly adjusted to the penumbra.
“W-Wow!” Rita gasped.
Arranged neatly against the walls were objects of all sizes: sculptures and pots, shields, suits of armor that bore intricate motifs. An almost complete lack of dust attested that they were all well looked after.
“Father’s treasures. He keeps a few in his study, upstairs, but there are more here.”
“I-I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“They’re called artworks, apparently. Worth a king’s ransom.”
“A king’s ransom!”
“I think that’s why he keeps them hidden. People might frown if they thought he had too many.”
It was something Mathias’ father Jörg often repeated. That members of merchant associations and the royal government belonged to the privileged class. That the privileged were able to live extravagant lifestyles. In exchange, they were duty-bound to serve the laboring classes, to devote themselves to society as a whole rather than to personal gain.
However, they were not to flaunt their lifestyles without reason. There were people who didn’t understand the interplay of authority and duty, and it would not do to agitate them unnecessarily. Of course, even they were to be served. At the time Mathias had yet to develop a full understanding of such ideas. Even so, he had an intuitive grasp of why it was important not to “flaunt their lifestyles.”
“It’s why he prefers to savor them in secret, by himself.”
“Savor?” Rita walked up to a naked sculpture of a man. She moved her head in to study the detail, but seemed to lack the courage to actually touch it.
“To see and enjoy. To savor such things is to refine one’s soul. That’s what Father always says.”
“How? You can refine your soul?”
“I’m not really sure, but he says it does wonders for his state of mind. If that’s true, though, I think Father should display them for more people to see.”
“I want to show my dad, too.”
“You can’t. Remember, this place is secret.”
Rita gave him a sincere nod in response and replied, “Sure.” She sucked in a deep breath, as though she was trying to absorb as much of the sculpture’s refined air as she could.
Watching this Mathias said, “We can come here again.”
“Really?!” Rita spun around, joy on her face.