MY FIRST AND MY LAST S2 (HAMBEBE AU)

A song from the past

                   PRESENT TIME

It was a quiet afternoon, and the soft hum of the air conditioner was the only sound accompanying Sari as she worked on her lesson plan at the dining table. Papers were scattered around her, her pen gliding across the page as she concentrated on preparing for her upcoming classes.

Life had become a steady rhythm for her and her daughter, Miyuki. The chaos of the past was now a distant memory or so Sari tried to convince herself.

Suddenly, the sound of piano keys drifted from the living room, breaking her focus. The melody was soft at first, hesitant, as though the player was testing each note. Sari paused, her hand frozen mid-sentence as the tune became more familiar. Her heart skipped a beat. She knew that song.

"When the rain is blowing in your face..."

It was "Make You Feel My Love" the song Gio used to play for her late at night, back when everything felt perfect, back before everything fell apart.

Sari stood slowly, her body feeling lighter as if she were floating. She followed the sound, her heart heavy with memories she had tried so hard to bury. As she approached the living room, she saw her daughter, Miyuki, sitting at the small piano they had placed by the window.

Her tiny fingers pressed carefully against the keys, playing the song with a surprising tenderness for a six-year-old.

Miyuki didn’t notice her mother standing there, frozen in place, as she played. Her eyes were focused, her lips moving as she quietly hummed the words. She looked so much like Gio in that moment her posture, her concentration. It was as if Sari were staring into a ghost from her past.

Tears welled up in Sari’s eyes, but she quickly wiped them away, not wanting to disturb Miyuki’s performance. The song flowed from the piano, each note unlocking emotions Sari had kept hidden for years.

Her heart ached, remembering the nights when Gio would play this very song, holding her close, making her feel like the world outside didn’t exist.

But that was before. Before Gio left. Before everything shattered.

Miyuki finished the last note with a soft, sweet flourish, her little fingers lifting from the keys like feathers. She looked up then, finally noticing Sari standing in the doorway, her big brown eyes wide with curiosity.

“Mommy, did I do okay?” Miyuki asked, her voice innocent and pure. “I found this song in one of the books. I like it.”

Sari swallowed the lump in her throat, forcing a smile as she walked over to her daughter. She knelt beside Miyuki, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear. “You did beautifully, sweetheart,” she whispered, her voice thick with emotion. “That song… it’s very special.”

Miyuki beamed, pleased with her mother’s approval. “It makes me feel happy and a little sad at the same time,” she said, looking down at the piano keys. “Like it’s a memory I don’t really know but still feel.”

Sari blinked back tears, amazed at how much Miyuki could sense, even at such a young age. She leaned in and kissed her daughter’s forehead, holding her close for a moment longer than usual, trying to hold onto this moment, even as the past threatened to pull her back.

“It’s a beautiful memory, Miyuki,” Sari whispered. “One that’s very close to my heart.”

Miyuki smiled, hugging her mother tightly before looking back at the piano. “Maybe you can teach me more songs, Mommy. You know a lot of music, right?”

Sari smiled through the tears that she had finally let fall, nodding. “I do, anak ko. And we’ll learn together.”

As Miyuki ran off to grab another music book, Sari sat for a moment longer at the piano, her fingers gently grazing the keys, the echoes of the past still fresh in her mind. Gio had been gone for years, but in moments like these, it felt as though she had never left.

With a deep breath, Sari composed herself, knowing she couldn’t stay lost in the past. She had her daughter now, and that was enough. Yet, as the last note of the song lingered in the air, she couldn't help but wonder what if?