YOUR LIE IN ETERNITY

Melody of The Violin

Kousei felt his heart drop at the sight of Kaori's name inscribed on the headstone. It has been 25 years and yet the feeling was just the same as the day he had received the letter from her parents standing in the middle of the graveyard. He resented her so much for leaving behind such atrocity until he realised that he wouldn't have it any other way.
Her grave had already been cleaned and watered, offerings had been meticulously placed on the altar. Kaori's parents had already left before they arrived. Every other year they pass each other on the steps and greet with a respectful bow.
Ryota placed a bouquet of flowers in front of the offerings and bowed. He knelt down and whispered loudly, "I met a great girl. She's a violinist too. She reminds me of you. I think you will like her too." He caressed the altar one last time and stepped back.
Tsubaki placed the cake and spoke, "I hope you still have your sweet tooth." She tugged at Misaki's arm, "and look who finally decided to pay you a visit!"
Misaki stepped forward and bowed. She placed her music sheet on the altar and uttered gently, "I have been working on those for a week. The competition is next month. What do you think?"
Tsubaki crouched down to reach for a rock to place on top of the sheet to prevent it from getting blown away by the strong winds. She closed in on the headstone and muttered, "I still wish you were here. If only.." Words got stuck in her throat as she lifted herself off the ground and cried silently.
It was finally Kousei's turn to pay his respects. He stepped in front of the grave and bowed deeply. All this time he has been trying hard to hold back his tears. He reached in his pocket and took out a folded piece of paper. The paper was old and stained with the tears of grief Kousei shed over the years while reading the last letter that Kaori left behind for him. His eyes were glossy behind the thick rimmed black framed glasses he still wore, making it difficult for him to read, but it did not matter as he had memorised each and every word, character and stroke.
Tsubaki and Ryota gave him space as they walked away. Misaki followed.
For the second part of the ritual Kousei started reading the letter. It starts with 'Hey, you!..'

Tsubaki spread a sheet of cloth under a tree and the group sat down and opened their lunchboxes. She had made rice cakes with salmon filling and tea. Misaki finished having her lunch and remembered something. "Can we go to the music store on the way home? I need to buy some strings.", she requested.
"Of course we will!", Ryota grinned. "It will be my present.", he added.
"Really?", Misaki jumped in excitement. "Oh! I need to collect my music sheet. I will be back.", she informed and left.
"You don't have to..", Kousei told Ryota.
"Come on! I want to!", Ryota declared, cutting in.
"After we stop by the cafe, we can make a small detour to the store.", Tsubaki joined the discussion while checking on her phone for directions.
"Don't worry. I know the way.", Ryota said, "technology is gonna be the doom of us all!" He chuckled.
They wrapped up after them and packed the bags back into the car. The group drove to a cafe and went in. They have been coming here every year as a part of Kousei's third and final set of ritual, the exact same cafe where Kaori sang the English version of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and he played it on the piano along with a kid. Sadly, the piano has been long gone. He stared at that corner reminiscing their time together. The cafe has been renovated several times in the past years but the space of the missing piano has always been kept empty for reasons unknown.
Misaki was slightly saddened by the fact that she could not eat any sweet things as she was strictly watching her weight. She finally settled down with the smallest slice of hazelnut chocolate cake available.
The next stop on their day trip was a musical equipment store. Misaki went in and looked around in awe. It was the biggest store in town. She asked a storekeeper to show her where she could get strings for her violin. Her heart fluttered in excitement as she passed down the violin section. She picked up a vintage five-string violin and ran to her father. Kousei raised his eyebrows when she presented the violin to him.
Tsubaki mimicked playing a violin with her hands standing behind Misaki. He understood the assignment and asked the store manager for permission.
Ryota gave Misaki a big thumbs up while Kousei nodded slowly on receiving permission from the kind manager.
Misaki then placed the violin on her shoulder and her chin on the chin rest. She started playing a few warm up notes. After a few calibrations, it was ready to create music at the hands of an exceptionally young and talented violinist.
Kousei did not take long to recognise the composition Misaki was playing. It was the violin symphony of the beautiful solo piano piece, Chopin's Ballade No.1, but it was not what he had expected. Moreover, a symphony should never be allowed to be played without accompanying without the piano.
Meanwhile, a huge crowd gathered around Misaki as she danced around in the blissful melody of her father's tragedy.
Kousei felt his body move on its own.  He took his position in front of the grand piano and let his fingers run their magic.
Everyone let out a gasp of shock on hearing the piano. Misaki turned around and grinned from ear to ear to find her father behind the origin of the brilliant synchronised tune.
Tsubaki smiled through her tears. She might have been the only one who comprehended the secret essence of the situation. Her husband was comfortably sharing his most precious symphony with someone other than his first love. He was finally ready to let go.
She uttered a silent, "thank you."