Amanda on the Danube: The Sounds of Music (6 page)

“David can sleep in the bathtub. There are extra blankets and pillows. It's probably more comfortable than sleeping on the street. We can bring him food from our meals. There's always way too much anyway.”

“Looks like you thought of everything, Amanda.” Leah rubbed her forehead. “Why do I have a feeling this will all go terribly wrong?”

“I—I don't need to stay and be trouble. I vill leave the boat at next stop.” David blinked to stop tears from escaping.

Amanda glanced at Leah.

“You will be safe with us. Don't worry.” Leah patted the young boy's shoulder. “We are expected for lunch so we should go. Just keep very quiet and don't answer the door.”

“You two must have worked up quite an appetite walking around Passau,” said Amanda's mom when she saw the plates piled high with food from the buffet.

“It's been a long time since breakfast, and we did do a lot of walking,” replied Amanda.

“I'm glad to see you made it on the boat on time,” said Leah's dad. “I didn't see you board.”

“Oh, I saw them.” Amanda's dad jumped in the conversation. “They came on board with a younger girl. “Who is your new friend?”

Amanda's ears turned red. “Someone we met in town.” She took a large forkful of potato salad. “This is soooo good. We should get the recipe, Mom.”

“I'm so pleased you are making friends,” said Mrs. Anderson.

Leah nodded while she filled a buttered bun with cold cuts and cheese. “I'm taking this back to the room in case I get hungry. Dinner is late tonight.” She placed the bun in her napkin and rolled it up.

“Good idea,” Amanda chimed. She piled cookies in a napkin.

“Meet us on the top deck soon. We'll be passing some nice scenery. Bring your camera, Amanda,” said Don Ross. “Perhaps you'll see your new friend again.”

When they got back to the room, Leah turned to Amanda. “Whew, that was close.” She unwrapped the bun and gave it to David. “Are you all right?”

“Someone tried the door. I hid in the closet until they went away.” The young boy eagerly took a bite out of the bun. “
Danke
.”

Amanda handed David her napkin. “Here are some cookies too. We're going on top to watch the scenery with our parents. See you soon.”

The rain clouds had cleared and the sun shone on the bright green countryside. Amanda kept busy taking pictures of castles and quaint farmhouses as the boat cruised down the mighty Danube.

She turned to Leah. “This is incredible, isn't it?”

“Sort of. I'm a bit bored, though. Wish I had my mobile.” Leah's face lit up. “I have an idea.” She ran over to her parents.

“Dad, can I borrow your mobile so I can take pictures of these rad castles and stuff.”

Mr. Anderson looked surprised but pulled out his cell phone. “Sure, luv. Pleased to see you are
enjoying the scenery.”

Leah took pictures from the other side of the boat. When she thought no one was looking, she sent a couple of text messages.

“Are you sending messages to your boyfriend?”

Startled, Leah jumped back and almost dropped the phone. “I didn't see you there, Klaus.”

He stepped closer. “I was wondering, who is your little girlfriend I saw you with earlier? I had not seen her on this boat before.”

“Um, I err, don't know.” Leah glanced around. “Just someone else on the cruise, I guess.”

“Leah, there you are. I've been looking for you. We're stopping at a small place called Aschach to pick up some people who went to Salzburg earlier. Do you want to get off and look around?” Amanda smiled politely at Klaus. “Hello, Mr. Schmidt.”

“Yes!” said Leah, eager to escape Klaus and his questions.

The girls enjoyed an easy walk along the water-front, taking in the charming village of Aschach. Amanda snapped pictures of the colourful homes that looked like gingerbread houses. In the middle of the houses stood a tall and narrow blue church, with a white cross on top of the steel-grey onion dome. The lush countryside provided a perfect background. Amanda, pleased with her collection
of pictures to show her class at home, took a picture of Leah by the church.

Once back on the boat, the girls discovered David was not in their room. They looked in the closet, under the bed and in the bathtub. But he was gone, along with Amanda's purple raincoat.

A
puzzled Amanda stood in the middle of the room. “Where could he have gone?”

“It is strange that he would leave the room when he seemed so frightened,” said Leah.

“We need to check around the boat. He has to be on it somewhere!” Amanda headed for the door.

“If you don't mind, I'd like to stay and have a lie-down. I'm dead tired.” Leah yawned and turned toward the bed. “I don't think we should get involved anyway. We don't know what we're dealing with.”

“Oh, all right. I'll have a quick look around and come back to get you for dinner.” Amanda was annoyed at her friend, she could have been more concerned about the poor boy. Amanda walked down the corridors and peered into open doors. She checked the dining room and the lounge. She went downstairs to the instrument storage room, but David wasn't there either. Deep in thought, she walked past the First Aid station and ran right into Tabeeb.

“Hello there,” he said, almost laughing. “Are you
looking for something?”

“So sorry. I'm actually looking for the young girl we brought to see you earlier. Have you seen her?”

“Yes. As a matter of fact, I saw her leave the boat while we were docked in Aschach.”

“Really?” Amanda knit her brow. “Was she alone?”

“No, I think she was with her parents. I wanted to ask her about her thumb, but they seemed in a hurry.”

“Gosh, thanks!” Amanda gave the handsome young man a huge smile. When he smiled back, her cheeks turned crimson. She glanced down at her watch. “I'd better get back for dinner.” She turned and raced back to the room, eager to tell Leah what she found out.

She flung open the door and found her friend texting. “Where did you get another phone?”

“It's my dad's. He lent it to me to take some pictures.”

“Leah, we both know you didn't want it for taking pictures.”

“I know. But I needed to explain to my mates why I hadn't been texting anymore. Besides, I'm off that bloke now. My friend texted she saw him at the mall with a girl I dislike. If that's what he prefers, I'm not interested.” Leah screwed up her face. “You look
like you have something to tell me. Did you find David? Is he all right?”

Amanda explained what Tabeeb told her.

“Her parents? Who could that have been? And how did she, I mean he, get out of the room?” Leah rubbed the back of her neck. “This is getting too weird.”

Amanda checked the bottom drawer and found the violin case was still there. Just as well she hadn't told David where it was. She rubbed her eyebrow. “But what has become of poor David?”

The next morning they woke up to a sunny day. Outside their window, on the dock, Amanda saw a sign:

WILLKOMMEN TO MELK

After another hearty breakfast, both families boarded a bus that took them to Melk Abbey. Amanda, worried about David, hardly even noticed the scenery they passed.

Once the group was dropped off in the courtyard of the massive abbey, they met Christian, their tour guide. “The Abbey was originally a castle. On condition that there was a place for royalty to stay when passing through, it was given to the Benedictine Monks by King Leopold III in the eleventh century,”
explained Christian in crisp English with a slight German accent. “In the early seventeenth century, the Abbey went through a huge renovation in the baroque style which is what you see now.” He swept his hand as he turned around.

“The monastery has supported itself since the twelfth century by making its own wine. The monks had a harsh life with no indoor heat, no blankets, no meat and only two meals a day.”

Amanda whispered to Leah, “I couldn't imagine such a life.”

Christian led them over marble floors through the royal chambers. Gold-leaf sculptures surrounded displays of the bishops' heavily jewelled robes and elegant staffs.

Amanda looked up and noticed the ceilings painted with scenes of cherubs floating in the clouds. She stood in awe for a few minutes. Then she asked, “Can we see the monks' rooms now?”

“No. I am sorry, but they are still being used by the monks who live here in the Abbey. You can be sure they are not fancy like these rooms. Would you like to see the library?”

Amanda's eyes lit up. “Would I?”

“Well, then follow me.”

The group entered a room lined with wooden shelves holding books from floor to ceiling. Amanda
gasped. “This is the most amazing library I have ever seen!”

“How many books do you think are in this library?” asked Christian.

Amanda's hand shot up. “Ten thousand – maybe?”

“Much more than that,” replied Christian. “There are over eighty thousand books in here. Some, handwritten by monks, are as old as the year 810.”

Leather-bound books stood like soldiers behind glass barricades.

“Can I look at one of them?” asked Amanda.

“Yes, you may.” Christian opened a door to a room where a hooded monk arranged books on a long wooden table. “If you wish to look at one of these books, you must put on special cotton gloves. The oil from human hands will cause the ancient paper to deteriorate.”

Christian handed a pair of white gloves to Amanda who carefully pulled them on over her hands. She then sat in front of a large book bound in greasy off-white calfskin, the cover painted with ancient music and a language she had never seen before. The first letter of each line was larger than the rest and in blood red. Amanda took a deep breath, opened the first page and gently smoothed it out with her gloved hand, thrilled to be able to touch something
so old. She gaped at the neatly handwritten words in brown ink.

“Leah, you just have to see this.”

Leah sneezed. “I have to leave. It's too dusty for me and my allergies.”

Amanda turned the delicate page and something fell out. She picked up a piece of paper, unfolded it and saw handwriting in the same style as the book, but in modern English.

Don't worry, he is safe
Bring the violin to the Vienna Opera House

She stared at the note in her hand. ‘Is this meant for me?'

The hooded monk approached her and whispered, “I hope you found what you were looking for.” He closed the book and took it away.

Amanda folded the note and put it in her pocket.

She removed the gloves and returned them to Christian. “Thanks so much for letting me look at one of the old books. It was totally awesome.”

“I am so glad you enjoyed the visit to the library.” He turned to the rest of the group. “OK, please follow me to the chapel where you can listen to the music of the grand organ for as long as you like. Then, you are on your own to either take the bus back to the boat or walk down to the village of Melk
and then on to the boat.”

On the way to the chapel, they stopped to view the picturesque town of Melk from a massive balcony. A jumble of old towers and red clay-roofed buildings lined cobblestone streets below them.

The Abbey church dripped in ornate gold. Amanda enjoyed the beautiful music from the huge organ while Leah fidgeted beside her. Amanda pulled out the note, leaned over and showed it to her friend.

“Where did you get this?” Leah's eyes grew wide.

“Shhh. I'll tell you later,” replied Amanda.

They decided to leave the sanctuary. A hooded monk waited at the door of the chapel. He nodded his head in the direction of a half-open doorway in the courtyard when the girls passed by him.

“We are going for a cup of tea in that lovely garden,” said Leah's mother.