Crescent

Plonk.

Plonk.

Plonk.

“Ughhhhh.”

Aya’s forehead hit the ivory keys again and again as memories of the previous day flooded her. In the moment, her sleep-deprived brain was just trying to get her through the day, but after she had been walked back home by Hanako and collapsed on her bed, she woke up with full recollection of what had happened between them.

Plonk. “ARGHHHHHHHHH!”

She had sat down fully intending to practice, but every time she began to play, Hanako’s pensive face flashed through her mind and the embarrassment welled up again. This cycle had continued for the last 30 minutes.

Suddenly, the front door creaked open, and Aya, too engrossed in her newest painful memory, jumped as her mom came in. She darted out of the seat, but not before her mom caught a glance of her with her head buried in the piano.

“…hey mom.”

“You’re not even that playing.”

“Yeah, I know.”

She wrinkled her face at the untouched and barely touched glasses of juice on the table as Aya quickly smoothed herself out.

“Did you have any guests over?”

“No, not that I know of, why?”

“I never remembered you liking apple juice that much, enough to pour two glasses.”

“Well…well clearly I don’t like it given how they’re barely touched.”

Her look of feigned innocence met her mom’s searching gaze as she slowly set her bag down and peeled off her shoes.

“So, how was work?”

“The same as always. Could you help set up the table?”

The two of them moved in a practiced routine, setting down plates and utensils as Aya began reheating a container of her lunch.

The two of them ate in silence across from each other, both head down in their food.

“...”

“...”

“...Aya.”

She looked up, a grain of rice stuck to her cheek.

“Yeah?”

“I’ve-”

She heaved a sigh.

“I’ve decided to take more hours. I probably won’t come back home until much later, so you can eat first.”

Aya’s spoon froze inches from her mouth. She looked up at her mom’s grim face.

“For real?

She nodded.

“Ever since your dad…well, it’s been getting harder and harder to pay the bills.”

The silence hung around the room, smothering the two family members, broken by her mom’s long sigh.

“Aya.”

“Yeah?”

“When are you going to give up on this idea that you can make it as a pianist?”

“...”

She sifted through the rice in front of her.

“You know how much I’ve been working to support us, so why don’t you start doing the same? With you it’s always about how one day you’ll make it big, one day you’ll be living large, what about today?”

“...”

“The world isn’t such a kind place as to wait for you. It makes husbands run away from their families, it lays off hardworking people, it beats you down again and again-”

“I know!”

“No you don’t! If you did, you’d stop playing around all the time! I’m breaking my back every single day for us, and I’m not going to continue to do it to coddle some stupid dream of yours! You’re banned from playing piano in this household!”

Her fork clattered to the ground as Aya stood up, yanking her chair back before storming off in a huff, leaving her half-eaten meal still on the table.

Slam!

Aya instantly fell onto her bed and curled up, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes which she angrily swiped away. Shallow breaths and tightened chest slowly began to normalize and unravel as she lay there, angry at her mom and the world. But soon that anger turned into fear.

What if her mom was right all along? Was it really that dumb to try and make a living off of her passions? Especially now, the demand for classical pianists was at an all time low. These thoughts had come up before, but now they coupled with her mother’s outbursts to pierce her usual self-assuredness, stinging her confidence.. Outside, she could hear the sink running as her mom dutifully cleaned the dishes, which only filled her with more rage. This conversation was not a new one, but never had it truly been taken this far, and yet her mom was acting like nothing had happened after saying such terrible things.

Within the storm of emotions, one logical thought surfaced:

Wait a minute.

Hanako Hoshino likes my music.

If one of the richest people in the country likes my music,

I can succeed!

The whirlwind of her thoughts slowly began to fade as she excitedly reoriented herself towards one singular purpose, resolving through the nervousness and doubts to reach her objective:

I have to get Hanako Hoshino to sponsor me.

“Welcome in!”

“Ah, thank you.”

It had become a quiet and comfortable ritual for Hanako, seeing Aya holding open the door with her expectant gaze, almost like a gerbil wanting attention. Except-

Something felt off today.

“Well, I’ll start to play now. Please pay close attention.”

It was the same words they’d exchanged for the past couple of days, but now there was a twinge of something in her intonation, a certain fierceness in the way her fingers slammed into the keys.

Right as the piece ended, she turned, the two girls face to face, staring into each other's eyes.

“How was it?”

Hanako felt a familiar vile feeling rise up in her throat as the look that she had fought her entire life to forget sat right in front of her, eyes carelessly gazing down on her like some kind of golden goose, some wish upon a star.

Without a word, she stood up and stormed through the front door. On the sidewalk, she took a quick glance backwards at the house to see the silhouette of Aya still stuck on the piano bench, hands gripping the sides, before huffing a heavy sigh and trudging back home.