Chapter 22: Waltz of the Flowers
There seemed to be few music rehearsals more peculiar than the one Kaori just did, as it was done just a few minutes before the actual performance and in a dressing room so small that a bed wouldn't fit in. However, this brief practice session had a great and positive effect on the violinist. Before playing her violin, Kaori's hands were shaky as her mind was distracted with uneasy thoughts. Now she could delicately put her dear musical instrument back in the case with a smile on her face and a warm feeling inside her body. She was indeed fairly satisfied with her music. Clenching her fist, the girl exclaimed to herself: "Focus, Kaori! No regret!"
Nevertheless, it was not the time to enjoy herself. The violinist glared at her watch and excitedly realized that her performance would begin in just fifteen minutes. She quickly got changed, hesitatingly decided not to do her hair and adjust her makeup, and left the room with light and swift steps in the direction toward Kousei.
But Kaori's delightful mood was cut short by a scene that came to her right when she entered the main corridor: Kousei, still sitting at the place when Kaori left him, was covering his ears with both hands and buried his face between his knees. The boy seemed to roll himself into a small blue and sad ball. Guessing this meant he was suffering from great stress and anxiety, the girl rushed toward his seat in order to comfort him.
"I'm here, Kousei. What happened?" - Kaori spoke softly to the boy's ears, while her left hand was tenderly rubbing Kousei's shivering back and her right hand was grabbing and moving his hand away, revealing his pale face.
Kousei sniffed like a little kid upon hearing her words, his eyes blurred by tears. Without saying anything, he moved her hand close to his chest, allowing the girl to feel his heart beating timidly. This small gesture made Kaori slightly blush in astonishment.
It was not until an awkward minute later that Kousei finally muttered: "Please stay close to me. I don't want to lose you ever again."
"Geez, I was just away for 10 minutes. What's wrong? Please tell me." Her voice flustered after his honest words.
"I'm sorry, Kaori." The pianist proceeded, not without pauses and hesitation, to tell her that he had accepted Shusui's idea, and then tried to remember his pain by recalling the final days with his late mom and the times he visited Kaori in the hospital, witnessing the life slowly abandoning her, before she was cured by the operation. He initially planned that this method would miraculously provide the strength that he desired, allowing him to surpass Shusui. The victory in this contest was so important to Kaori's further education that he accepted the consequences of calling the memories he never wanted to experience again.
However, it seemed that this method backfired, as these memories didn't bring him the courage or motivation but clouded his mind and broke his fragile heart instead. All he ever realized was his helplessness and his failures. At the moment Kaori saw Kousei, he was questioning deeply why he kept playing music, if it always took his precious people, one by one, away from him.
"It's so painful to imagine that you could have gone and left me alone, Kaori." The boy sniffed again.
Kaori stared at the ground, not knowing what to say since she felt deeply astonished and guilty at the same time by Kousei's story. She was shocked because Kousei was so serious and desperate that he even tried this odd solution, and regretful because if she could understand the boy better, maybe he wouldn't have to suffer. Finally, the girl decided it was best to comfort him, so she turned toward Kousei, and with her most gentle look, she spoke softly: "It's okay. I'm with you now, aren't I?"
Kousei's words also made Kaori remember her struggle in the week. Feeling some truthful stories could ease the boy's heart, she spoke: "It's funny how, just a few days earlier, I had a dream about what would happen if I died. This crazy dream floated around in my head and made me so nervous I ended up in the hospital, you remember?"
The troubled boy, upon hearing these words, immediately turned toward her with his eyes opened wide, showing he was paying attention.
Seeing the effect of her story, Kaori continued with a voice even sweeter: "In my dream, when I was gone, your music evolved and transformed. It was out of this world emotional, beautiful, and obsessive. I was glad that I had such an important role in your development, but at the same time I was scared." She held his hand firmly, sharing the warmness of her hand, and finally spoke what she had been keeping in her mind: "I didn't know whether I was holding you back, Kousei. Even now, I still don't know if I'm worthy to perform with you."
This was such a revelation to Kousei, as he didn't know what was the cause of her faint. He convinced himself that she overtrained and exhausted herself but still couldn't stop imagining other unknown reasons. Sometimes he suspected that her sickness wasn't cured completely, and Kaori, as well as her dad, lied to him about it. Straightforwardly asking wasn't a good choice, so he had to keep the worry to himself. But after understanding what troubled Kaori, the boy was much more relieved. And his heart swelled, knowing her incredible devotion to him.
So despite his shaky self, still bothered by the painful memories and the unresolved challenge ahead, Kousei caressed the girl's hand and sincerely spoke: "I'm so, so sorry, I was the cause of your pain." Kaori slowly shook her head, thinking what had happened was not his fault.
The boy moved his head closer and looked at her with his caring eyes, showing more clearly that he would speak from the bottom of his heart:
"Kaori, I don't know, and will never want to know what'd happen if you're gone. Maybe I would become a better artist like you said, but more likely I'd quit playing completely. But there is just one thing I'm sure:" - he emphasized solemnly - "I would definitely trade away my ability to play music just to see you again if that's what was needed."
He continued after a deep breath, his voice was even more assured: "So please, Stop thinking that you are holding me back, Kaori. And don't ever think you are not worthy to perform with me. I'm happy to play music with you, every day."
The girl was so amazed by these direct words that she was simply speechless. Her cheeks turned pink and tears would come out from her eyes if she wasn't distracted by the staff's voice informing that it was time for Kaori and Kousei to get on stage. She took a deep breath and returned to reality.
"Kousei, it's our turn." - the girl gently pulled her partner up and then smoothed out the creases on his coat, so that he could be neat when presenting on stage. After fixing his messy hair, she softly caressed his cheeks and spoke: "What you just said warmed my heart, Kousei. Thank you." She smiled so pleasantly - "And for now, I want you to know that I don't care if Shusui's idea is right or wrong, and I will ignore the nightmare and all my concerns completely. What I know is that: I'm here, and you're here, and we have the audience waiting for our performance. So let's do our best!"
"Kaori..." Even though the boy had been with her for more than a year, he was still overwhelmed by how this girl could be such a great inspiration. It wasn't just because she had perfect blonde hair and a charming dress and a smile so bright that it made her beautiful face shine. Kaori being here with Kousei was certainly a miracle to him. Her words, her looks, her life story, and her actions warmly and convincingly swelled his chest and filled his heart. With these feelings, he realized that there was only one thing he wanted to do, which was to seize the moment with her.
And the answer to all his questions was so simple that it nearly stunned Kousei. The boy could recall what he had vaguely figured out when hearing Ms. Hiroko's play: He just needs to fully experience what's happening now and play it with all his might, and it will be alright. There was no need to think of the future or the past. When the artist got on the stage, he lived for the moment.
So Kousei gave Kaori a tender hug. His hands were no longer trembling and his breath no longer disturbed by nervousness. He whispered a few words to her ear, which resonated delightfully in both souls - "Thank you!".
As Kousei approached the stage with his partner, he noticed the familiar dry air conditioning and the smell of dust, the same things he experienced in every competition participated. But instead of being self-conscious by them, his whole body was warm and exhilarating. He was ready to play. And by looking at the violinist's eyes, he knew that she was feeling the same.
They both greeted the audience and got in position. The face of these listeners, having been through many sad, gloomy, and depressing performances today, was indeed expressing the demand of fresh and exciting music. This condition was perfect for Kaori and Kousei. So without further delay and hesitation, they whispered their magical words and started playing their waltz.
The first few notes that Kousei carefully performed immediately brought a new and refreshing melody to the whole house. Gathering all his concentration, the pianist elegantly invited the audience to join his musical world, which was in the dawn of spring. The pure and fragrant air of this world convinced the listeners, one by one, to leave all their thoughts behind and enjoy the breezing winds wafting through the budding leaves.
The violin sound, no less uplifting than the piano, gently called the grass, the flowers, and the saplings everywhere on this musical meadow to sprout in harmony. The bright green color was pushing back the evidence of the awful idle winter. Visitors, apparently having slumbered for too long, gradually opened their eyes to witness the blessed change of color happening around them. They instinctively took a deep breath and were excited to experience the season.
With initial awkwardness behind, Kousei set his spirit free on the music. This energy made the buds vibrated and fluttered wherever he stepped. The pianist's heart, like a warm little sun, connected to everything on the meadow and made them full of life.
It seemed so amazing that these two players, without having to delay or accelerate for a millisecond, still synced splendidly in both tempo and emotion. While the boy was making every plant filled with energy, the girl, with her dedicated violin, caressed each bud so that all of them blossomed into colorful and adorable flowers. As the two waltzed across the meadow, they left a trail of rainbow flower carpet, making the viewers awe pleasantly.
The couple kept dancing happily and turned the whole scene into a delightful and vivid picture. Watching they dance with their music, everyone in the hall could feel their love, which was still fresh and innocent like spring, soft like a playful breeze and fragrant like newly bloomed flowers. They unconsciously leaned forward from their seats and their heads nodded and swung to the rhythm of the waltz.
The experienced listeners appreciated this performance even more comprehensively. They knew that the love they were witnessing was not yet the luscious one that mixed with the heat and dust of summer, nor the stabilized emotion colored by the autumn, and was definitely not the chill feeling that pierce the heart with winter cold. This was doubtlessly the love that appeared when the first spring flowers bloomed, and on top of that, this was expressed skillfully and naturally, without any slight trace of awkwardness or nervousness. This kind of performance was so rare and precious that each artist could only express once or twice, and the music appreciators had to be very lucky to hear it now.
But for Kaori and Kousei, nothing in the hall entered their mind except their own music. To be more precise, they didn't hesitate any second about how to play the next notes, didn't question how to impress the audience, and simply ignore the contest altogether. The music naturally originated from their heart, ran smoothly through their veins and transferred to the music instruments without any bit of imperfection. The vibration and the exhilaration feeling in their body harmonized so well with the music that both performers were completely surprised and immersed in their own melody. There was no further doubt about the musical world since the Kaori and Kousei could certainly feel that they were dancing in it and experiencing a whole new sublime type of existence.
Just a few seconds after the performance ended, the crowd burst out the loudest cheer they could make. It was simply impossible for the most audience to tell which performance was better, Shusui and Aika's or this one. These two plays were just too different. While the former was influenced deeply by the artist's life and ideology, the latter was a brilliant moment when the artists enjoyed life to the fullest. But both performances were beautiful and excellent.
Another difference that the audience noticed between these two pairs of artists was how they respond to the cheer. While Shusui and Aika seemed to walk away normally after their play, Kaori and Kousei stood next to each other for a long time, greeting and looking at the audience with faces full of contentment as well as sweat. The two were indeed pleased that the music of their heart had reached many people and in turn connected their hearts together.
Kousei and Kaori had focused so much on the performance that their minds were now blank. Concentrating for the whole song was something unimaginable to them, even after they had done it. The partners looked at each other's eyes for several seconds and finally realized that it was time to leave the stage for the next contestants, so they greeted their beloved audience once again and started moving toward the stage door.
"We...hah...hah..we had done it, Kaori." Kousei tried to speak after the stage door had closed behind them, but clearly, he was out of breath and even strength. He leaned on the wall so suddenly that the girl had to quickly grab him, fearing he was about to fall. But all these actions took away the last of her energy, so she also ended up leaning against the wall. The two teenagers stared at each other and they seemed to be very amused by their friend's heavy breaths.
When enough energy was recovered, the couple burst out their childish laughter at the same time. It was too early for them to care about the result, and it also seemed that they didn't want to know immediately which position they could make with their play. For now, they just knew that they had nothing to regret.
Leaning her back on the wall, the girl continued to giggle until she noticed a shadow had covered her. Kaori opened her eyes to meet another blue pair of eyes, big and bright, planted perfectly on a sweaty and pink face. Kousei was placing his hands on the wall behind Kaori and his body was inching closer and closer, following the call of her perfect lips. Equally enchanted by the moment, the girl gently motioned forward, her eyes sweetly gazed at the boy, making her even more beautiful. Both pairs of eyes closed happily as the two shared a long and passionate kiss at the corridor, right behind the stage door.
The world was indeed nothing to these lovers, since only when they opened their eyes and separated to catch their breath did they see Takeshi and Emi walking by. The boy, who had his spiky yellow hair slightly more messed up than usual, was covering his eyes and showed the invisible audience that he could walk just fine without seeing. The girl was behaving no less bizarre than Takeshi, as she was now showing all kind of emotion mixing together while appreciating the spectacular blank ceiling.
And as if two accidental witnesses to the romantic scene wasn't awkward enough, now that Kousei's eyes were clearer he could see several heads popping out from the corner in this corridor, all staring curiously and cheerfully. It seemed that every contestant were now made aware of the love between the two teens, which was expressed through a spectacular performance and a bold and fearless kiss in the public.
