The Lost Opera

Jared receives a call from Julianna, and it’s clear something significant has surfaced. She’s found what she believes to be the original pamphlet for Mortuus Messis, along with a set of letters written by Dahlia Fleming around the time of the opera’s premiere.

Jared takes a step toward self-soothing, purchasing a cheap boombox to combat the unsettling silence in his hotel room. The device hums with local radio station noise, nothing special, but it provides the constant background sound he’s been craving.

Jared’s tone is strained as he confesses to the mounting tension in his life. His conversation with Lily today has left him feeling more vulnerable than ever. She’s concerned about him—about how distant and distracted he’s become—and her worry has begun to weigh on him. He admits that she’s right, that his obsession with the research, particularly the mysteries surrounding "Mortuus Messis," has consumed his every thought.

Jared’s voice carries a sense of unease as he reflects on the unsettling dream from a few nights ago. He’s still haunted by the vivid imagery—the three moons, the ancient vessel, and his bronze hands—and a deep, gnawing sense that these symbols are more than just figments of his imagination. They feel familiar, as if they are fragments of a forgotten memory, something he should know but can’t quite place.

Jared's voice trembles with the rawness of his recent experience. He describes waking up from an intense, vivid dream that left him drenched in sweat and shaken to his core. The dream, which he can hardly grasp, felt more real than anything he's ever encountered before. He is desperate to record it while it's still fresh in his mind, as the details swirl in his head.

Jared details his call with Dr. Nasir Takrani, which he describes as a deeply insightful conversation that lasted nearly two hours. Dr. Takrani helped Jared understand the rare and significant role Dahlia Fleming’s background in maqam singing would have played in her performance of Mortuus Messis.

Jared shares his excitement upon receiving a reply from Dr. Nasir Takrani, a specialist in Arabic and Persian music. Dr. Takrani expresses interest in Jared's research and has agreed to a phone call later in the week. In his email, he introduces a few intriguing points that deepen Jared’s understanding of maqam music, a central element in Dahlia Fleming’s heritage.

Jared details a phone call with Dr. Cortez about the "banned in Boston" reference he found in the City Archives regarding Mortuus Messis. Dr. Cortez explains the historical context of the phrase, which was commonly used to describe works that were deemed too controversial or provocative for Boston's conservative culture. She shares examples of other banned works, like Eugene O'Neill's Desire Under the Elms and Bertolt Brecht's The Threepenny Opera, highlighting how city officials, religious leaders, and moral watchdogs would censor art that touched on taboo subjects, such as politics, sexuality, or moral decay.

However, Dr. Cortez is puzzled by the lack of details in the Mortuus Messis article. The vagueness leaves both of them wondering whether the opera’s ban had to do with its content, its orchestration choices, or some other reason entirely.

Jared reflects on a challenging conversation with Dr. Sutherland, his advisor, who expressed concern about his deepening focus on the supernatural elements of his research. She believes he is becoming too entangled in the unprovable aspects of the story and is losing sight of the academic rigor required for his PhD. She emphasized the importance of sticking to the facts, history, and tangible evidence.

However, Jared struggles with this advice. How can he ignore the strange occurrences—such as the unsettling music he heard—and the eerie connections he's uncovered? The boundary between history and folklore is becoming increasingly blurred, and Jared feels that dismissing these experiences would be a disservice to the truth.

Jared recounts a pivotal phone call with Julianna Jenkins, the great-granddaughter of Dahlia Flemming. After days of waiting, Julianna agreed to speak, but with clear boundaries: the conversation would remain unrecorded, and nothing shared could be made public without her explicit consent. Jared, adhering to research ethics, agreed without hesitation. The call revealed a deeply complex and tragic family history.