Oxygen (Romance, Completed)

Chapter 1

Author's Note:

If you're reading this note on any site other than W*ttpad, then you're reading a pirated copy of this book. Please choose to read on a reputable site rather than one run by thieves. Writers put in a lot of effort to bring you stories - the least you can do is allow them control of their own work.

I (Elise Noble) do not have an account on the NovelHD site - the people who run it have created a fake account in my name.

And if you are reading on W4ttpad, thanks so much for giving my story a try!

***

My fingers flew over the piano keys as I played Beethoven's Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor through for the third time. Well, the third time that morning. An old treasure, it was one of my go-to pieces when I was feeling down. I'd been playing it more and more often lately.

As I started the second movement, the Allegretto, my mother stuck her head around the door, smiling as always.

"Akari, would you like tea?"

"Yes, please, Okasan."

Drinking tea had become our morning ritual since I moved back to Japan. Every morning at eleven, my mother would ask precisely the same thing, and my answer would never be any different. I'd smile politely, drink the delicately perfumed matcha she poured, then go back to my practice.

I'd just finished my fourth rendition of Beethoven when she laid out the tea-making utensils on the tatami mat on the far side of the music room. My favourite place in the apartment, it was where I spent most of my time and the reason I'd chosen the penthouse in Hiroo in the first place. Well, that and the view. Floor-to-ceiling windows looked out over homes belonging to the rich and famous in neighbouring Azabu, and at times, it felt as if I could see half of Tokyo, the city I'd once thought of as home.

Before I sat down, I checked on my baby, still asleep in his crib in the corner. Although at ten months old, I wouldn't be able to call Hisashi a baby for much longer. Every day, he seemed to get bigger.

At first, I'd worried about playing the piano with him in the room, relying on the damper pedal to take the edge off the volume. But I'd soon found out he didn't mind. In fact, even the more raucous pieces made him drop off faster than if I simply rocked him in my arms. I guess he'd inherited my love of music, which right now seemed to be the only genes we shared. To look at, he was the spitting image of his father, something that made me both happy and sad at the same time. Happy because a small part of him lived on in our son. Sad because every time I looked at Hisashi, he reminded me of what I'd lost.

I hitched up my silk pants and knelt on a mat opposite my mother. Nothing changed—she'd spent years mastering the art of the Japanese tea ceremony while I was a child, and she still liked to practice on me.

"Your playing gets more beautiful every day," she said, sliding a plate of mochi toward me.

The glutinous rice cakes had never been a love of mine, but I shrugged and took one anyway. "It's just practice. I still have so much to learn."

"Is Nomura-sensei coming today?"

I nodded. "At four."

As he did every Tuesday and Friday. Another perk of having money now was being able to afford lessons with the best piano teacher in Tokyo, although I'd give up every dollar in a heartbeat if it brought Hisashi's father back.

"I'll finish cleaning before then," she said. "So I can take care of Hisashi."

"Thank you."

The apartment was spotless, as always. Cleaning formed another regular part of my mother's day. My father insisted on working, even though he no longer needed to, while Okasan was content to stay at home most of the time.