Piano
"What's that?" said Sakura, walking in the door with a puzzled look on her face.
"It's a piano, you play music on it!" Shouts Mokona excitedly, jumping up and down, it's apron flapping . "Play it Fai, play!"
"Alright," I said, and took a seat at the bench. I hesitate a moment, then press a key at random as the sweet sound fills my ears. I just put on an embarrassed smile, and pretend that I have no idea how to work this thing.
"Okay, so I'm not a professional musician..." I say. Sakura and Mokona shoot me disappointed looks and go back to washing dishes. Maybe I'm not a professional musician; but I could be. And I know how to do it.
It just takes a little magic...
After everyone had long since went off to bed, Fai quietly opened the door and, with softest footsteps, walked by the sleeping ninja . He gently eased himself onto the polished wooden banister, and slid downstairs without a sound.
In a moonlit patch of floor stood the reason Fai was awake at this ungodly hour, sliding past his companions on a banister: a piano.
He ran his hand across the shiny black top, Mokona's voice running through his head.
"It's a piano. You play music on it!"
Tentatively he touched one of the cold, white keys. A soft sound floated to Fai's ears, and he pressed the next one. And the next one. And the next one. There was still no sound to be heard from upstairs.
He took a deep breath and began to play notes, entire scales, hitting whatever keys struck his fancy.
Fai remembered this music thing now. In Hanshin Republic, Sorata had shown him something called a radio, which played beautiful sounds. He remembered one song very clearly, and now a bit more used to the sound of the contraption, tried to repeat it on the piano.
It took several tries, but Fai soon found that the piano had an element of magic to it, weaving all those notes together into a picture that played through his mind. His fingers flew across the keys as he did something that he himself didn't really expect. He started to sing.
Sakura tossed and turned in her bed as she struggled to go back to sleep. This tended to be the problem with falling asleep at random points during the day; you pay for it when it's actually dark outside. Deciding that this might go down better with some warm milk, she heaved herself out of bed. Careful not to wake the others, she silently crossed the landing. And froze. Because at sometime past the chimes of midnight, Fai was sitting in a pool of moonlight, by himself, playing the piano. And he was playing it really well!
She felt shocked and a bit deceived, which left no guilt for spying on Fai. (Who had his eyes closed and hadn't yet noticed her) He seemed really focused as his hands danced up and down the keys. Then softly, almost so softly she couldn't hear it, he started to sing. Sakura leaned forward from her hiding place slightly to catch the words which seemed barely more than a whisper.
"Blue
jean baby,
L.A.
lady; seamstress for the band
Pretty eyed,
pirate
smile; you'll marry a music man...
Ballerina,
you
must have seen her, dancing in the sand...
And now she's in me,
always with me, tiny dancer in my hand...
Fai
squeezed his eyes shut just a little bit at that last part. It
reminded him of the other fai, the real fai, back from when he'd
been Yuui. He gave a small flinch. That memory was still acidic to
him. Jesus
freaks,
out
in the street; Handing tickets out for God
Turning back,
she just laughs; The boulevard is not that bad
The
last two lines are delivered with a little bit more confidence from
Fai. For some reason this verse reminds him of Yuuko. The thought
makes him smile, so he sings the next verse a bit louder. Piano man he makes his stand
In the auditorium
Looking
on she sings the songs
The words she knows the tune she hums
Sakura hears his voice raise just slightly. It's a pretty voice she thinks, and one that should be used more often. It' s a beautiful, steady voice, like Fai's piano playing. The piano is a bit louder now too, but Sakura stopped caring when Fai started singing. By now she's totally engrossed in the performance. The lyrics take on a more desolate tone, and she watches him continue to play, intrigued.
But
oh how it feels so real
Lying here with no one near
Only you
and you can hear me
When I say softly... slowly...
Fai doesn't put his heart into much, he's had trouble with that sort of thing in the past. But now as he sits at the piano, the music grows louder, his voice grows louder, and he finds that this part of the song he's truly put his heart into. He drags out the words "slowly , softly" almost lovingly, because this verse really hits home. Maybe he should have picked a different song...
Hold
me closer tiny dancer!
Count the headlights on the highway...
Lay
me down in sheets of linen...
you had a busy day today!
Sakura
watches shocked and slightly awed at the strong tone of Fai's
voice. He's totally past noticing her standing there, as his hands
frantically run up and down the piano, creating an unbelievable
sound. As she slowly moves down the stairs, so as not to distract
him, she thinks she sees him crying just a little, the tears
splashing on the ebony surface.
Fai slows the tempo of the song to wipe his eyes. He's defiantly glad no one is hear watching; no one sees him cry. He repeats this verse over again, but he can't remember what comes after this. His memory is kind of blurry. Fai decides to switch to a different song, a song that still has a similar sound.
I
cant light no more of your darkness
All my pictures seem to fade
to black and white
Im growing tired and time stands still before
me
Frozen here on the ladder of my life
Sakura is standing no more than ten feet away from the piano now. She hears the change in tune, and the more desperate lyrics, which sadly seem to fit Fai even more. She does know exactly how true these lyrics are...
Its
much too late to save myself from falling
I took a chance and
changed your way of life
But you misread my meaning when I met
you
Closed the door and left me blinded by the light
Fai struggles through the lyrics, and he sings louder, plays harder, than ever before. It's a wonder that no one else is awake by now. And a good thing for Fai, because by the end of the next verse he's totally lost it.
Don't
let the sun go down on me
Although I search myself, its always
someone else I see
Id just allow a fragment of your life to wander
free
But losing everything is like the sun going down on me
Sakura can't take this any more. Fai's shaking so hard it looks like he'll fall off the stool. She knows that it's a sad song, and Fai has probably had an equally sad life. Sakura puts her arms around him and gives him a hug, which right now it seems like Fai needs desperately.
"Sakura-chan?..."
"Fai- san, you know that you can play with someone don't you? You don't have to sit down here and play the piano all alone. Because it seems like you've got enough to deal with anyway."
Fai can't say anything. So he just smiles, and lets silent tears run down his face; grateful that she can't see them.
Sakura sits by the piano the next day, holding a few sheets of paper. Fai is sitting behind the piano with a patient smile in the middle of the empty café, as sunlight streams through the windows.
"Alright," says Sakura, "I've got it!" she looks again over the lyrics that fai made up. They seem a little sad, but otherwise perfectly suited to her voice. (Although she is quite amazed that he made them up in one day)
The piano begins to play the intro; softly, slowly, setting the tone for the song.
Spend
all your time waiting,
For that second chance-
For a break that
would make it okay.
There's always one reason
To feel not
good enough
And it's hard at the end of the day.
I need some
distraction--
Oh beautiful release.
Memory seeps from my
veins
Let me be empty
And weightless and maybe
I'll find
some peace tonight...
Sakura's
voice is light, and sometimes seems to barely scrape over the note.
But that just makes the song all the more beautiful, because Sakura's
pure voice is enchanting just to listen to. Mokona sways back and
forth silently, humming. While Fai continues to play ; just enough as
to not overbear, but enough to give the song a quiet beauty. In
the arms of an angel...
Fly away from here
From this dark cold
hotel room
And the endlessness that you fear
dammit! Sakura mentally swears, I promised myself I wasn't going to cry... hold it together...
You
are pulled from the wreckage
Of your silent reverie
You're in
the arms of the angelMay you find some comfort there...
She stretches out "find" to about three syllables, as the song ends. There's more to the song, but Sakura is silently crying, Mokona is clapping and whistling, and even Fai is wiping his eyes.
"Sometime it's a sad song!" sings Mokona, as it jumps on Sakura, and she smiles.