"Sit up straight. You can't play the piano very well if you're slouched all the time." A woman said as she paced the porcelain marble floor.
The young girl who sat on the leather wooden chair did as told, straightening her back and looking towards the keys with her chin held high.
A respectable young lady, she was to be. One who had to let herself be perceived as elegant and refined, everything her father would only allow her to be.
Don't play with that, Myoui Mina. Don't say that, Myoui Mina. Don't slouch, don't chew your food so loud, don't be coarse and unrefined.
Don't bring...dishonor to your family name, Myoui Mina.
You are the next generation that must be successful with all that you do whether it's by career or with whom you marry.
Set your heart aside and let your mind control the power you hold. It is important to be what others have destined for you to be.
But with that, you are no longer allowing yourself to be human. Can you do that much, Myoui Mina?
"You're playing a G-flat, I said a C-sharp. Pay attention Myoui." The young girl's piano instructor said.
The young girl let out a quiet sigh, sitting up and doing as told. Her fingers danced around the keys, playing what was instructed to her.
Like a routine she was playing the same keys, the same notes.
She could be learning Claire de Lune by Claude Debussy but her meticulous piano instructor was grilling her about the notes, the notes she knew all too well and had subconsciously mastered.
So why was she being held back? How could she be great if she wasn't being taught new material?
And what would Myoui Mina be if not great? According to society and the pressure of others, she would be no one.
Nothing. And a member of the family cannot be such.
"We'll go over the composers of the eighteenth through the twentieth century. Starting with Mozart. Tell me what year he was born and what pieces he composed." Her instructor said, standing tall with a blank expression on her face.
Mina thought for a moment, her mind was pulling information like a file.
When she had gotten what she needed she simply cleared her throat and tapped her chin.
"Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart born in the year, seventeen fifty six in Salzburg, Austria. He composed compositions such as the Flute Concerto No. 2, Loca Dr Cairo, Fantasia No. 3 and many more before he died in seventeen ninety one." Mina said.
She played an A-flat and looked at her teacher. The woman nodded and thought of another composer. So her pupil had been studying, she was mildly impressed.
"Chopin." She simply said and waved at Mina with a swift hand.
Mina once again thought about the composer and what she had read about him. She had no time to dwell, thinking quickly about some facts.
"Frédéric François Chopin, born in the year eighteen ten in Poland." Mina grew silent as she realized she hadn't said the name of the composer's birth place.
She licked her lips and looked at her teacher nervously. Surely she would cut her some slack. And that she did, simply telling Mina to continue.
"Some of his notable works are Études, Minute Waltz, Piano Concerto No.1 and many more that were composed while in his time in Paris, France where he later died." Mina said.
She turned in her seat and played once again another note. Her teacher nodded in approval.
"One last artist before I leave you to practice your sheets. Beethoven." She said.
She turned her back to the young girl but let her answer one last time to her best knowledge.
Must she really know everything though? Mina was deep in thought about one of the greatest composers in History.
How his name rings in song, as people of new and old age remember him. Some remark that his work was preeminent and others remark that he was absolutely mad.
Mina wondered...could he hear the music of everyone's divine souls as well? Could that be why he grew mad?
Why was he so reckless? But he was great, great among those with less talents of their own but with mouths filled with criticism.
Would Mina grow to be just as grand in status or would she grow mad as well?
"I'm waiting, Miss Myoui." Her teacher said, although not snapping at her. Mina snapped out of her thoughts and cleared her throat.
"Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist born in seventeen seventy in Bonn, Germany. His many composed pieces consisted of the Triple Concerto, Symphony No.5. And his most popular piece of composition, the Für Elise." Mina said.
Her fingers grazed over the piano keys before soon hitting them softly. Note for note she started to play, her fingers dancing as she did.
She had mastered the great composer's Für Elise and was able to play it with her eyes closed.
Upon hearing this, a smile crept on the Piano teacher's face as she listened. She knew the young woman was simply a prodigy, destined to be glorious.
No one expected less of her, including herself. Here she was playing the grand piano with no hesitation or fret.
She was a master in the making, a talented young girl who would surely create symphonies of her own.
So what could possibly go wrong?
"I'm leaving you for a moment to work on your sheets. Remember to look at the notes and play them slowly so that you're playing them correctly. Understood?" Her teacher asked.
The young girl nodded, knowing the rules and regulations well.
Again, how was she to grow when she was being meant to play the same notes, the same keys over and over?
Her teacher made her way over, gently placing her hand on her shoulder.
"Miss Myoui, I am proud of you. You're already achieving so much more than my other students. You're a born prodigy and don't you forget that. I'm very proud of you as your parents would be too. Keep up the good work. I'm stepping out for a moment." She said softly.
Mina felt the woman remove her hand and with every step she heard the woman's heels fade away as she walked.
She turned her attention to the keyboard once more and let out a sigh.
She's achieved so much because of what was simply expected of her. What was new?
Minutes passed before the young girl found herself stopping, resting. She closed her eyes, having grown tired.
She couldn't tell you why she was tired. She had gone to sleep and woken up by routine, having had enough rest in the process.
Could it be she was simply tired of the life laid out for her?
If she wasn't playing the piano, she was taking classes at the ballet school a few blocks down.
In her spare time, whatever that may mean to her was completely different from her parents, she was working on studying instead of playing with other children.
Myoui Mina, a grand star in the making wanted nothing more than to just be human.
Was it too much to ask to let her feel vulnerable, to let her feel free to play with whoever and whenever she'd like?
She felt trapped in this prison of expectations and she figured when her piano teacher wasn't around, she was able to be Mina, the little girl who daydreamed.
This particular day however, the sky was crying, roaring with thunder and the world became gloomy.
She wanted to rest her head against the piano keys and just nap as the rain soothed her, but she was interrupted by a sudden sound, more like a tune.
With her eyes still closed she heard a melody invade her ears, but it was somber, gloomy with every note.
It couldn't be from the piano...her fingers hadn't been moving for about a minute.
As Mina fluttered her eyes open, she slowly lifted her face and looked about the room.
Where was it coming from? The song? Where was the feeling, the emotions that were being emitted?
Who was carrying this burdening symphony? Mina's eyes wondered about the room, her eyes then scanning the glass window.
There her eyes stopped as they caught sight of a girl across the street, standing in the rain.
She was a silhouette, so Mina couldn't see big brown eyes staring back at her with sadness as deep as the sea.
Mina heard it, a tune she had not heard before but the notes played, a G, then a B, then an F#.
Her ears listened to each note played, the somber mood turning even more despairing. More notes, D, C#, F#, then back to the beginning at G, then a B, then an F#.
Why was she hearing such a song? Why was this little girl emitting such a sad tune? Was she perhaps desolate herself?
Mina could only hear and listen to the song being played in the silence around her. Was anyone else hearing this?
Could anyone hear the music and could they help the girl below?
Mina couldn't fathom what was going on as she suddenly saw the notes appear before her, showing themselves before disappearing in thin air.
She wanted to play the keys and know for herself the song that was being played, magically.
But the question remained, why was the little girl releasing such emotions that seemed to set into motion their destiny?
Was this fate? It only lasted a few minutes before Mina's gaze was interrupted by the abrupt retrieval of the younger girl down below.
She was screaming as a woman grabbed her by the ear, dragging her away from the building and through the rain.
The notes began to fade quicker and quicker before they, along with the music itself, had disappeared.
Mina parted her lips as she snapped out of her thoughts. Had she just imagined the whole thing? The notes and the sound of the music? Was it all real?
Suddenly she heard the sound of drums, percussions as her music teacher stormed into the room.
"Myoui! I was told you were asleep when you should've been practicing!" Her teacher snapped.
Mina jumped and gasped as she turned to face her piano teacher. The look on the woman's face matched the beat of the drums.
She could hear the sound of a storm brewing inside of the woman, as she was quite angry.
She expected much from Mina, expecting her to be playing until her fingers bled.
She wasn't being paid by her parents to let her be a lazy girl.
She was destined to be a prodigy, one who would bring honor to her family. And how could she be like such if she wasn't being pushed?
"That's enough for today. Do it again and I'll tell your father you're not focusing. Grab your things and head downstairs. Your driver is waiting for you." Her teacher said sternly.
Mina frowned, but did as told as she gathered her things. It wasn't truly her fault.
But she came to realize that the older woman hadn't heard and couldn't hear what she hears when it comes to hearing the music.
She hurried down stairs and was met by her driver who was holding her umbrella.
"Right this way young master." He said and bowed.
The Japanese young girl bowed back and followed him to the car.
As she made it out to the street, the girl she had seen before had disappeared.
There was no remnant of her having been there. No notes to lead a path to her, simply nothing.
Mina sighed, soon accepting the reality as if it were just a fleeting moment. As if she would never hear the music of others ever again.
But how wrong you are, miss Myoui Mina. You may not hear it now, but you will soon hear every song ever composed and you will drown in the great noise.