Contents
CHAPTER 57
Overview
After Simone’s triumphant recital, a late-night assault at the Fedder shatters the calm. Three drunken men steal Ellen’s hat, try to dump her bicycle, and brutally beat her. Simone intervenes and suffers a broken hand while his cello is destroyed. Theo witnesses from his balcony, pleads for mercy, falls, and is found bleeding on the sidewalk.
Summary
Restless after Simone’s celebration, Theo dozes in his chair near the open balcony and unknowingly misses Ellen’s quiet vigil at the Fedder. Three drunken young men approach, fixate on Ellen’s hat, and turn their prank into harassment. One snatches the hat; another seizes her bicycle to throw it into the fountain.
Ellen explodes in fierce defense, clawing the vandal until he answers with savage punches, leaving her bloodied and barely conscious. Simone charges from the shadows to stop the beating, but the trio restrains him, pummel him, stomp his hand, and toss him into the fountain.
From his balcony, Theo wakes to the chaos and begs them to stop. The attackers ignore him, open Simone’s case, and smash the cello against the bench, pitching splinters into the water before fleeing. In the commotion, Theo leans far over the low rail; moments later, a young couple at Ponder House screams at the sight of a crumpled, bleeding figure on the sidewalk.
Staggering to seek help for Ellen, Simone crosses to the couple and discovers the fallen body is Theo. Shocked and injured, Simone recognizes the gravity of Ellen’s wounds, his own shattered hand, the destroyed instrument, and Theo’s collapse, as the scene pivots from celebration to emergency.