Chapter 28: Melodies of the Soul
Hello! I'm sorry for being away. I have dealt with a lot of difficult things in the last few years, my parents have gotten sick (they're better about the latter part of last year), I got a job that paid 50% more than what I was making but took most of my energy and a lot of my time so that I have sustained a back condition that affects my spine and my nerves so that I can't use my arms and fingers really well sometimes—and I had to quit my job to heal. Whew, that's a long explanation. I still have this story in mind and yes, I kept coming back to it, but sometimes I didn't have the time, or energy, or the ability to literally type or pick up my phone like I do now. But while I'm feeling okay, and have quite some time in my hands because of the Enhanced Community Quarantine in my area, I'll do my best to come back to this story.
I hope you're all keeping safe.
For you to appreciate the music here, please listen to Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata (Piano), Movement 1 and 3.
She just came from a battle again, this time being escorted by Pluto, instead of having the key herself. She had many questions, but she kept her lip shut, except to contribute to the fight. And without a word, she headed home. It was really hard. And the thick fog overtook her again for a moment, threatening her.
"Ohh…You're still back? After everything that you have seen? Did you ever consider that they are just using you?"
Instead of feeding the unknown entity, she kept quiet. To be quite frank, halfway through what the entity was saying, she had somewhat tuned out to that voice for the first time. Her mind was somewhere else, thinking about the future, but also thinking about the present.
And now she was finally home, the battle was quick but somewhat, she felt exhausted. Sitting on the couch, one foot propped underneath her leg, and a cold, half-empty cup of coffee on the table, she started writing. She wrote on a small notebook with plain white pages on them. One side was filled with jagged, angry scribbles of ink. They weren't words, just endless loops of black ink, with a little tear that meant she pressed her pen on it too hard.
But she was writing on the adjacent page. Deep in thought, she sighed as she tried to recall and make sense of everything that she knew and everything that she believed. She had to separate what was a dream, and what was on that journal. Everything was not definite, but the journal that she had gotten was so detailed with the people that came to help her planet in the future.
"Three important men. Two of them, already in my life, the other I am yet to meet. However, I know who he is, and Neptune hasn't even gotten serious with him yet. How can I forgive my future self? Seiya said that I control my own destiny. But I think that's not true. Look what had happened to Usagi. Then again, it was Usagi's choice, wasn't it? What would have happened if she chose Seiya? How do I know what I should do? I shouldn't have seen the future—it's too much to bear, but why are they hiding it?"
How long would she have to live in this nightmare? How long should she hold out? Seiya had told her that things will be different now since he will help her shape the future. But how can he change what is set in stone? It's Destiny.
Wasn't that the reason though why she and the senshi of the sea had to part ways? Because their romance was getting in the way of duty? And thus they changed destiny. The same thoughts ran through her mind again.
So maybe, her raven-haired neighbor was right.
Haruka closed her notebook, sighing while furrowing her eyebrows. She rarely wrote her thoughts, but lately, it's one of the few things that has kept her sanity in check. Every day, there's something that bothers her, especially since the time that the eerie voices in the future taunted her. In that future, everything was her fault.
"Thank you," Seiya said to the driver before he got out of the car service that his manager has provided for him.
His ears were greeted with a faint, familiar melody from his neighbor's house. Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven, he recognized. She was home quite early; only gone a couple of hours, he noted with relief, since the wind senshi had texted him the same "you know the drill message." Both of them were never sure about how long she would be gone, but sometimes, missions were short.
She was already halfway the first movement, he noted as he entered his own house. The melody from the piano echoed beautifully through the neighborhood. He sat in the living room for a bit, listening. Even through two walls, he can feel what she was feeling. The tune was sorrowful, quite troubled. He knew what could cheer her up, so he headed toward the fridge and grabbed his gallon of ice cream. Brown Butter Almond Brittle. He chuckled lightly. It was a new flavor, and he only bought it to try some. He shared it with her one time when she came over. And he's never seen her eat so much ice cream before. He's always had it in stock ever since.
There was a switch in tempo and volume of the piece she was playing. "Huh, straight to movement three," he said to himself, heading to her house.
As he entered her home, the sound of the piano was much clearer. It was a quick, turbulent melody. He placed the ice cream in her freezer for a while and then proceeded to walk toward where the grand piano was. And he was stunned at what he saw. It wasn't the usual, graceful and composed Haruka that he's seen play the piano hundreds of times. Her back was hunched, toward the piano, her hair was disheveled, and her shoulder was obviously tense. She didn't seem to have noticed him enter the house. She played as if she wanted to get something off her mind. Now and then, at every fortissimo chord, she would pull her head back, with eyebrows knit together and eyes closed. Her emotion was clear in every note, chord, and melody of the song. Her slender fingers gracefully glided across the piano with ease and precision. She played perfectly, some notes coming out like perfect pearls glistening and floating in the air, some like shards of glass piercing through one's heart.
It was a beautiful, emotional, and passionate side that he had never seen. He was mesmerized as she bares another vulnerable side of her. Music was a hobby that they both shared and enjoyed, but with her, there was always a wall of composure. It was absent at this moment and because of that, he couldn't break his gaze, holding his breath as she completed the last section of the piece.
"Seiya!" she exclaimed, which broke the light trance that he was in. The wind senshi was caught off guard. She was in a different world, deep in her emotions when she played the piano. To her, this is quite embarrassing. She sat up straight, one hand lightly fixing her disheveled hair, the other re-arranging her clothing.
"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you come in." At least that didn't come out quite as panicked as to how she is on the inside.
"No, no, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to come in and um, watch you like that, I mean watch you play," he said. He didn't understand why his palms were suddenly sweaty.
"So, what's up?"
"Ah, um. You played Moonlight Sonata really well. It was so beautifully executed."
"Yeah? Thanks," she smiled faintly.
There was an awkward silence between them, both not knowing what to do or say for the moment.
"Oh. And I brought you some of your favorite ice cream," he quickly turned around, heading for the wind senshi's freezer.
"Did you have brown butter?" Haruka's eyes widened, and she craned her neck a little, following him to her kitchen. By the time she got there, he has already gotten the gallon out of the freezer. Her raven-haired neighbor started scooping for two bowls in front of them, with an extra scoop on Haruka's bowl. With their bowls on hand, they sat down on the living room couch.
"So how are things between you and Minako?" she asked promptly while digging into her bowl of ice cream.
Seiya nearly choked at that. He cleared his throat, trying to maintain composure.
"Things are going well. Our own separate ways." He gulped before taking a big spoonful. The ash-blonde senshi dropped her spoon back into the bowl and sat up straight, looking at him incredulously.
"What? I thought things were going well! I thought you guys were an item already actually." To be honest, she hadn't asked anything about him in the last few days since she came back. A tinge of guilt struck her nerve at that realization.
"Nah. You were away for quite a bit, and stuff happened. We decided to just stay friends." He tried to be casual, going through the piano pieces found underneath the coffee table.
"I'm sorry it didn't work out Seiya." She didn't know why a part of her was relieved. It's not like she didn't root for him and Minako in the first place. She even shipped it.
"It's okay Haruka, we went out a lot but discovered that we didn't have feelings for each other. I didn't have feelings for her."
Seiya stopped fumbling through the piano sheets, thinking. Then he heaved out a sigh.
"Something's troubling you," he said plainly.
"Same old, same old." The wind senshi's face fell, and she looked down at her bowl, now playing with her spoon. It's bothered her since the day she discovered it, but as the days pass, she has found ways to cope and somewhat heal. Of course not without the help of this alien beside her. She felt him pat her back lightly.
"We'll deal with this together." His tone was soft and reassuring. She looked up at him as he smiled at her. His eyes were full of empathy. He sighed, looking at the piano piece on his other hand.
"How about we play together?"
Chapter 29 tomorrow or on Wednesday! It's almost done :)
