Secrets Of Spring | Shigatsu Wa Kimi No Uso ;; Watari Ryota |

Chapter Eighteen

Maika

The lights begin to dim once again, telling the audience that the show will resume shortly. Everyone settles down into their seats and stops their conversations to let the contest begin.

Once the house is silent, Emi walks onto the stage, her heels clicking on the wooden floor echoing throughout the entire hall. She straightens out her dress before sitting down on the stool and rests her fingers on the keys. As her fingers press down on the keys, a soft melody emits from the piano, calming my nerves a little bit.

"The song is so... Peaceful. Doesn't match her at all..." I think to myself.

I was totally wrong, it wasn't what I expected at all. She takes off with overwhelming confidence in every note she plays. Her intensity and fierce composure makes the air stand still and takes everyone's breath away. If you look closely, you can see the colors swirling around the once black and white auditorium. Reds and yellows surround the audience, like autumn leaves blowing in the wind. I can hear it all. Represented behind the notes, her feelings and emotions. Her anger and loneliness.

She throws her right hand up to signal the conclusion to her piece and the starstruck silence of the audience is now interrupted by cheers and applause.

"She's always been better than me, she just didn't believe in herself..."

Another intermission takes place and I open my purse. As I grab my phone, I see the school brochure for the ballet academy in Italy. I pull it out and skim through the pages regretfully. I wish I could attend, but of course, I can't. I have to let them know now but a part of me still has hope that it's possible in the future for me to dance again. Even if I didn't have this disease, would I still go and leave everyone? Knowing that I might find my calling there instead? The possibility frightens me, I don't know how I could leave everyone behind.

"Whatcha looking at?" Watari asks and glances down to the booklet.

"Um, nothing..." I say and shove it back in my purse.

"It's that dance school, right?"

"Yeah..."

"So shouldn't you be excited or something?" He asks.

"I should be, but I don't know if I can go,"

"Why not? You worked so hard, what would be the point of you competing if you decide not to fly out there?"

"Uh, tuition and tickets are too expensive and if I was going my mom would want to come but work wants her here." I lie. Tuition and plane tickets are already paid for through the contest organization and my mom travels a lot for work already, her job also allows her to be remote and work from wherever but that's what I could make up in a couple seconds.

He's about to reply when a girl passes by our row. He stands up and starts admiring her from afar and then soon starts searching the crowd for hot girls. Typical Watari.

"Is your whole life centered on girls?" I ask.

"I would say yes but you would probably scold me," He answers.

"Hm, you know me well," I comment jokingly, hiding my jealously.

The lights dim again and the contest resumes. A couple performances pass as I hear Tsubaki nervously counting down to Kousei's turn after every song ends. After what seems like forever, Kousei appears from the wings. Tsubaki becomes more nervous and clutches the arm rests to her seat. As he treads halfway to the grand piano, he pauses and stares at it blankly like someone pressed the pause button on the TV.

"What's he doing?" I whisper.

After a couple seconds, Kousei begins walking again. He sits on the stool and places his fingers on the black and white keys and begins playing his piece. It's perfect. Not a note out of place and the melody is clear like the sky. However, after the score goes on, a sudden change occurs like a tornado just blew through the room. The notes become jumbled together and he's sprinting ahead of the original tempo like he's being chased. As he speeds through the song, the audience members whisper about him. Some are concerned, some worried, most are judging him. It sounds as if he's going to fade away at any moment.

I was right.

He comes to a stop and his hands fall to his sides. It's over now. He really blew it just now. Suddenly, after a moment of doubt, Kousei lifts his hands up to the keys once again and begins playing from the top. But this time it's different.

The first time around, the beginning was extremely precise like a robot, it was almost too good. Then, it became reckless and messy, a huge mess of notes flooding out of the piano into the crowd and drowning us all in chaos. Now, he sounds calm and relaxed. The concert hall around us disappears and I can imagine the music room at school. Him playing at the piano as Kaori sleeps leaning against the window. A smile makes it's way to Kousei's lips as he continues the song, he's escaped from here as well to go to his comfort place--the music room where Kaori resides in. Looking at him on the stage like that, he really does shine like a star. Like Kaori said he would.

Kousei comes to his feet and bows properly, but everyone is in shock of what person he changed into during that performance. He truly showed at least three different types of people in this performance. Scattered applause fills the auditorium that are filled with confusion and uncertainty. However, we clap confidently for him, because we know the struggles that he endured to get back on this stage, to become one with the piano again.