My Lie in April

Chapter 4

"We're here!" I exclaim, "Let's do this!" I grab Friend A's shirt and drag him as he reads the sheet music in his hands. "Thank you!" I wave to Watari and Tsubaki.

The contestants go up one by one. Friend A sitting on a bench, waiting to be called backstage, sweating like a madman. He has a worried look on his face. I would expect nothing less. He's tapping the sheet music as he reads it, almost as if the sheet was the piano. As if he can hear it.

"I'm ready!" I tell him. He ignores me, too deep in his own thoughts of worry. I grab his tie and knock his head into mine to grab his attention.

He holds his head in pain. "What the hell! What was that for!" he hisses.

I grow closer to his face. So close our noses almost touch. "Look at me. Look up, and look at me. You're always looking down. That's why you're imprisoned inside that cage of music scores." His eyes grow wide as he stares at me. "Don't worry, I know you can do it. You were listening to it in the halls of the school. The music scores were always somewhere in sight. I know that you and I can do it." I back away from his face. "Mozart's telling us from the sky, 'Go on a journey. A man away from home need feel no shame.' Let's go out there and shame ourselves until we can't anymore! Together."

"Number fourteen, Kaori Miyazono, please get ready to go on," the competition manager calls.

I grab his hand. "Let's go!" I run as I pull him behind me, my hair waving back and forth. I am on a journey right now, with no clear destination.

"You are freedom itself," he says in awe.

"No, I'm not. Music is freedom," I correct him. He looks at me with surprise. Every single person here... is waiting for us. "Come on, let's go on a journey."

We take our first few steps on stage. The crowd applauses as we bow to them. I take in a few deep breaths, "Elohim, Essaim. Elohim, Essaim. I implore you." I look back at Friend A. "Your face is totally frozen," I laugh.

Friend A begins to play, then I do. My whole body swaying as my arm goes back and forth. Good job. You're doing good. Keep going just like that. I play to the score as usual. Everything is going smoothly. Then, I play the piece my way. Friend A, caught off guard, panics. I can feel his tension. I'm showing my true colors, but leaving him behind in the process. I know you can do it. I can feel it. I can feel him sinking down to the bottom of a dark sea. I'm doing this to him. I am making him suffer again. He pounds the keys. He wants to hear the notes so badly. Come back to me Friend A... Come back to me. I'm here! You aren't alone. You aren't in that sea! You are here with me! Come back, please! I can't hear the piano anymore. He has stopped. I wish I could just send my thoughts into his head. Keep playing. I believe in you. Please. I bring my hands to my side as the sound of the violin fades into the air and take a deep breath.

Don't worry. I know you and I can do it. You still have to play. I'm going to play with everything I've got. So the people who hear me tonight will never forget me. I turn around and look into Friend A's eyes. "Again!" Maybe there is only a dark road up ahead. But you need to believe and keep going. Believe that the stars will light your way under your dark sea. Don't forget that we are on a journey.

I start off at the beginning of the piece. Friend A isn't playing. Come on. Please. Please don't let me do this by myself. Don't leave me. Plea-- Yes. There it is. That's the sound. Thank you. Keep playing, even if we are out of sync. I honestly don't care if we are, just play for me. Know that I am with you. Know that I won't give up on you. Ever.

He's playing so good. It's almost as if we're brawling against each other. The song is almost over. We play the last notes and stand side by side to bow to our audience.

The crowd goes crazy. Screaming, yelling. They loved it. This is what I wanted, to live in their hearts. I look up to the lights, sweating, breathing hard... and fall.

April will be ending soon.