Moonlight Sonata

The sunlight illuminated the entire bedroom, while a slight morning breeze moved the white curtain with the same elegance of a ballerina. The birds that were standing on the large weeping willow in front of the window had begun to sing their melody, which resounded inside the room in a pleasant and relaxing volume. Adrian slowly opened his eyes as he turned to the other side of the bed with fairly lazy movements. His thin lips parted slightly to make room for the oxygen he was exhaling under the sound of a small sigh. He had left the window open all night. If he had to be honest, he cared very little about the open window, since the area in which he lived was extremely safe and quiet. The thing that bothered him in the early hours of the morning, however, was the fact that he had woken up before the alarm rang for the time set by Adrian himself the previous evening. It seemed that all the effort put into setting the old alarm clock, given to him by his aunt Margaret a couple of years ago during his graduation party, had been shattered. 

"Now that you will start working at the Toronto bank, you will need it very much," he remembered her saying with a big smile on her face, decorated throughout the years by many small wrinkles. Adrian wanted to tell her that such a bank did not even exist and that people today prefer to set the alarm clock on their smartphone, since it is easier and faster. Besides, that present seemed to have come directly from the 1960s, and Adrian had always wondered if that was actually the alarm clock his aunt had used for all her youth until that specific moment. Out of courtesy, however, he had accepted that gift by accompanying it with a sweet "thank you" that had certainly satisfied the old woman. Now that, after so many years, he had decided to use it, he woke up before giving it time to do its job. Adrian remained to lie on the bed with his face turned to the window for a few minutes, after which he decided to get up while leaving the laziness behind him. With a quick movement, he got up to his feet and headed to the bathroom, which was right in front of his bedroom.

Just as the candle lights all of a sudden as soon as it comes into contact with the small yellow flame of a lighter, his stomach also decided to be more than active, bringing Adrian to put both of his hands on the sink in front of him for a bit. He held his small forehead with his right hand, while the other one was leaning against the stomach, due to the effort, while throwing up. After finishing doing such an unpleasant action, Adrian washed his face with cold water and brushed his teeth with slow movements. It seemed as if he wanted to stop time, or at least try to slow it down. However, his wish was in vain, because he knew more than anyone that nothing would have prevented what he woke up for so early from happening. After going downstairs, he headed directly to his large living room with small and hesitant steps. Once he reached the center of the room, he stretched out his arm a little, against his own conscious will, just to test the presence of the object that would be the protagonist of his life, especially for that day.

It was there.

The piano.

The pinch of courage that his heart gave him at that moment was enough to make his right index finger stretch towards one of the white keys that had remained motionless for so long. Adrian hesitated for a moment. If that morning he got up with confidence all over him, now it seemed that the only thing that he would do with great confidence would be to run up the stairs and lie down under the blankets that decorated his king-sized bed. Just the comfort that his bed would give him would have been enough to spend the whole day in peace. Maybe with some snacks as well. And Netflix. Without realizing it, however, that thought caused Adrian's body to relax enough to bring his finger, which had been suspended in the air all this time, to come into contact with the small piano key. A slight high-pitched sound echoed throughout the room, surprising Adrian. It had been years since he heard that sound, and he couldn't understand the emotion he was feeling at that exact moment. His heart started beating faster and it seemed that, suddenly, oxygen was not enough for him. Insecurity. Yes, that was what he was feeling. 

"Pathetic" he whispered to himself with the little strength that seemed not to abandon him, even in such a surreal moment. "I'm so pathetic," he said, raising the tone of his voice. 

If there was a person in that house that Adrian wanted to let know about it, it was himself. He had been thinking about it for years, but it seemed that the sweet sound, that the piano key had produced, gave him enough courage to say it out loud. A slight knock on the front door caught his attention, and he seemed relieved to know that he wouldn't be alone for a few hours. Once he arrived at the end of the long hallway, he opened the door with slow movements until it touched the white wall to his left. Tomoko Ikeda, his neighbor, was standing in front of him with a bright smile on her face. She was a woman in her seventies who lived alone for all her adult life, and Adrian used to visit her sometimes so as not to make her feel lonely. Tomoko would never leave her house on a Sunday morning, but it seemed as if that monotony was interrupted by a phone call that Adrian had made to her a couple of weeks ago. "I need to learn how to play the piano" he had said to her in a voice that showed nothing but sadness.

"It's finally the day, huh?" Tomoko's voice was calm and gentle, making Adrian feel more relaxed and confident. He nodded. After reaching the living room, he sat down on the small chair that was in front of the large black piano, while Tomoko was at his right side. For a moment, there was a fairly long silence. It was not embarrassing at all, as it actually made Adrian feel even calmer. The mere presence of the old lady made him feel safe, just as if his grandmother came to visit him after a long time from the countryside. 

A slight sigh left the woman's lips.

"Listen, Adrian, are sure you want to learn to play the piano?” Tomoko asked. Her tone of voice was not judgmental at all, but it was rather something that showed her worry towards the 50-year-old man.

"What do you mean?" asked Adrian. He probably fully understood the intention that was standing behind that simple question, but it felt as if he needed to face reality for the first time after many years.

"I mean, it will be ten times harder for you to learn how to play this instrument, Adrian," she said. "Don't get me wrong, please. You're still quite young and very capable of doing so, but you're blind. You will have to rely completely on your hearing."

"I know," he replied with a smile on his tired face. "But I've been missing my son so much lately and I feel like this piano is the only thing that will keep me closer to the memory of his existence in this world." His heart was aching just at the thought of his young son that was destined to die at such a young age, while a lone tear escaped his eye, showing partly the pain that he was keeping inside for so long. 

Even though it was far from possible, the only thing that Adrian wished to do at that moment was to hear his son playing his favorite piece of classical music early on the weekend of a warm day of May.

Just that.

The Moonlight Sonata.