Serialized Novel | Spring, A Sonata for Two #8

This work is an entry for #CreativeAward2024.

《Click here for Chapter 1》

《Previous Chapter》

“Let me read it when you finish.”

That was the promise I made to Yukiko when we first met.
Before Yukiko transfers, I will finish my novel and have her read it.
It’s okay, I’ve already written half of it, so if I hurry, I’ll surely make it in time.

My favorite novelist, Yui Yōga, said during class:
It’s best to write a novel while imagining one specific reader.
This story is written for Yukiko.
If Yukiko reads it and enjoys it, that is enough for me.
I pull out my dusty Japanese dictionary and choose my words carefully so they convey my meaning.
I weave the sentences with care and heart, hoping to move the reader’s soul.

Running out of time, I started writing in the living room at night. My mother would occasionally poke her nose in, but perhaps sensing my seriousness, she started leaving me alone. Once, she even made vegetable soup for me as a late-night snack.
I was grateful to have someone supporting my lonely writing process.
I continued to write the story, completely absorbed in it.

《After passing through a tunnel of cherry blossoms, a cute Western-style house appears before her. The owner of the house is Luna, a girl with beautiful blue eyes. Luna invites Tsukushi into her home and hosts a tea party on the terrace. The garden is in full bloom with many flowers and cherry blossoms. Beyond that, the horizon of the sea is visible, sparkling brightly. This is the Land of Spring, a mysterious place where it is warm all year round and the flowers never wither. It is said that this is due to the power of the magical grand piano in the house and the fact that the owner, Luna, plays it to maintain spring. Luna’s playing is very beautiful, and she teaches Tsukushi how to play the piano as well. As they spend time together in this house, Tsukushi gradually develops faint romantic feelings for Luna. However, one day, a demon appears, intent on destroying this land...》

Luna is modeled after Yukiko. And Tsukushi is me.
Since this is a love story, I think my feelings will be exposed once she reads it.
If they are going to be exposed, I might as well convey everything properly.
I have received so much happiness from Yukiko until now.
I have also grown a lot thanks to Yukiko.
That is why I want to turn all the emotions Yukiko gave me into a novel.
She might be put off by it, but I want to convey everything so I have no regrets.

“Yaaawn...”
“Mana, are you sleep-deprived? You’ve been yawning non-stop.”
During the school break, Yama-chan comes to my seat and says, looking worried.
Writing late into the night for days on end, I can’t stop the big yawns.
“Yeah... I have some things to do.”
“Don’t push yourself too hard.”
Yama-chan ruffles my hair.
Perhaps because that relaxed me a little, I let out a small laugh.
“Thanks.”

Three days until Yukiko transfers.
But I still haven’t written the final scene.

《The two managed to defeat the demon, but Luna used too much of her power and became frail. All the flowers withered, and the Land of Spring remained shrouded in darkness and silence, like hell.》

What happens to the two of them after this?
As I was thinking that while walking down the hallway, I saw Yukiko walking toward me from the front.
“Ah.”
We make eye contact and stop.
After a brief silence, Yukiko opens her mouth.
“Um, I’m sorry about the other day...”
“No...”
Even though I have things I want to say, the words won’t come out right.
Yukiko is looking down, looking awkward.
“...Well then, see you.”
Saying that, Yukiko tries to walk away.
“Ah, wait.”
I hurriedly stop Yukiko.
“On the morning of the last day... can I have a little bit of your time?”
Yukiko looks a bit confused, then nods slowly.
“Thanks, I’ll be waiting in my classroom.”
I force a smile and leave the spot.

What is Yukiko thinking right now?
Even though we were within touching distance, she feels so far away now.
I don’t want us to drift apart like this.

That night, I had a dream.

A dark room. I was standing in a place like the main hall of the Kamakura Museum of Literature.
In the center of the hall, a glass window three times my height was wide open, and in front of it stood a glossy grand piano illuminated by soft moonlight.
It seems this is inside the story I wrote.

When I stepped out onto the terrace, the garden was covered in fallen cherry blossom petals like a carpet, and all the surrounding trees had turned into withered wood.
What a quiet and lonely world.

I went to the grand piano and sat on the chair.
When I played one key, a clear, bright tone echoed through the room. At the same time, a ring of bright light appeared from inside the piano, and it spread out wide like ripples.
The trees in the garden began to rustle the moment they touched the light.

What happened...?

Without really understanding, I next played a chord with two keys.
This time, double rings of light appeared, and the plants they touched swayed heavily.
It’s as if they are resonating with the piano’s sound.
I placed both hands gently over the keys.

Ah, I remember.

The song Yukiko used to play. I’ll play that song.
My fingertips began to move on their own, as if I had practiced it many times already, and I began to play a beautiful melody.

Music that makes your heart leap, as if rejoicing in the arrival of spring.
If I were to compare it to a color, it would be pink. Like little people dancing in a secret garden where cherry blossoms bloom.
I’ll play a fun song like that.

Countless rings of light were born from the piano and spread throughout this world.
The trees in the garden looked as if they had regained their vitality, becoming lively in the blink of an eye.
Small flowers began to bloom, one by one.
The sky, which had been a hazy moon, cleared up, and the shining moonlight illuminated the piano and me brightly.

“Mana.”

When I turned around, Yukiko was standing leaning against the door.
“Yukiko!”
I immediately ran to Yukiko and supported her unsteady body.
Yukiko looked at me and smiled, as if summoning the last of her strength.
“I’ll play too, let me play with you.”
“Yeah... let’s play, together!”
I felt warm tears spilling onto my cheeks.

Yukiko and I sit side by side in front of the piano.
When I start playing, Yukiko begins to play along with me.
Yukiko looks at me and smiles happily.
I look at Yukiko too, and I’m so happy that tears overflow and won’t stop.

I wanted to stay by your side like this forever...

The duet of the two of us became a great light that brightly enveloped this world.
At that moment, thousands of cherry trees in the garden all at once formed buds, and one after another, the cherry blossoms began to bloom.
The garden was instantly wrapped in cherry blossom color, and the petals rode the spring breeze, dancing up into the clear, deep blue night sky like a blizzard of blossoms.
Yukiko and I looked up at the scenery and exclaimed, “Wow.”

The moonlight reflected off the star-like petals, making them sparkle.
Those petals gently wrapped around the two of us, and the world regained its spring—.

I woke up in the light. When I touched my cheeks, I felt the traces of tears.

I hurried to my desk and began to write the story I saw in my dream, and the continuation of that dream.
There is surely no such thing as a perfect novel, but when I finished writing it, I definitely felt a sense of accomplishment.

In the early morning classroom, I sat in my seat and waited for Yukiko.
After a while, when the door behind me opened, Yukiko stood there with a lonely smile.

I handed the manuscript of the novel to Yukiko.
Yukiko looked at me with an expression of surprise.
“You finished the novel...”
“Yeah, somehow...”
The title and author’s name are written on the cover.

"The Land of Little Spring" "Mana Hoshikawa"

Yukiko looked at the manuscript happily for a while.
"...Can I read it here?"
"Of course."

A warm breeze blew in from the open window.
Only the sound of Yukiko turning the pages echoed through the classroom.
I could feel her reading it carefully, page by page, taking her time.
I waited for Yukiko to finish reading with a strangely calm heart.

I heard the sound of her sniffing.
Yukiko was crying.
I don't know what she read or what she thought, but it was certain that something had reached Yukiko's heart.

After a while, Yukiko looked up. Then, she smiled and said,
"It was interesting..."
Hearing those words, my heart soared.
"...Really?"
"Yeah. ...Very much so."
"I see, thank you..."
"...I like this story."
My heart was filled with a deep emotion.
I was glad to hear those words from Yukiko. I was glad I wrote it with all my might.
I felt as if the days I had worked hard and the times I had suffered were finally rewarded.

I turned to face Yukiko squarely once again.
"You know, you might have already noticed, but"
"..."
Yukiko waited for my words in silence.

"I love you, Yukiko."

Yukiko looked at me with straight eyes.
"...Yeah, ...it came across."
"I see... that's good."
"I thought that Mana's feelings were very precious."
"...Yeah."
"But I... cannot return those feelings."
"..."

Those words hit my heart heavily.
Even though I thought I had prepared myself.
I had heard the definitive words.
I can't go back to before I heard them. I want to rewind time.
My heart is being squeezed tight, and it hurts.
I didn't know that heartbreak could hurt this much.
I didn't know.

"Because I... don't have the qualifications to be by your side, Mana."
Yukiko looked down and spoke in fragments.
"Qualifications... what do you mean?"
I don't need anything like that.
"...I don't have them. So, I'm sorry."
"..."
When I looked at Yukiko's face, I realized there was nothing I could do.
It was an expression that had already made up its mind.
"...I understand."
When I said that, Yukiko looked up, startled.
"...I'm sorry."
"No, that's not it. ...Thank you."
The moment I said that, tears overflowed from my eyes.
"..."
Large tears also spilled from Yukiko's eyes.
"I'm sorry..."
We embraced each other, neither of us knowing who started it.
"Thank you, ...thank you so much."
"Thank you too, ...Mana, ...thank you for meeting me."
Yukiko and I soaked each other's shoulders and cried our hearts out.

We are going our separate ways from now on.
This is truly a goodbye.
I didn't know that not being able to see each other anymore would be this sad.

Goodbye. Thank you. My dearest person.

<<To be continued>>

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