Past

— Hey Toya, if you could travel back in time, what would you do? - they asked him once. He didn't know the answer himself. Go back to those times when he was all alone? No, he clearly didn't want to. It’s better to forget quickly than to go deeper into it. His entire childhood was spent listening to the classics he hated. How can you love this? If he had not been forced to learn everything to perfection, so that he could play better than the composers themselves, perhaps he would have found something of his own there. — You're playing the wrong chord! There's E-flat, and you play pure E. How can you convey the whole atmosphere and idea of the piece if you play incorrectly?! - the father constantly grumbled. He always didn't like something. Either the note is wrong, then the tempo is wrong, the signs are wrong. Why can't you play what you like? He hated his little self for not being able to fight back. Things are different now, right? He does what he likes, he knows that he is not alone, and there are people he can rely on, there is a dream that he strives for. Aoyagi could not fall asleep for a long time with this thought. A hard day, a new quarrel, all this is exhausting, but this question.... As if something very important is hidden behind it. Something that can completely change his outlook on life. But this is just a question and can be put aside, right? To think properly with a fresh head. The guy did not go deeper into this and fell asleep. He woke up in some empty room, where in the middle sat a small child at the piano and listened to the nagging of the shadow. It was so empty and dark around, only the lamp on the instrument shone brightly. The guy couldn't see the faces of these two. But even if he tried, he couldn’t. The shadow was blurry and indistinct, and the boy was hidden by the instrument. — You must play perfectly! I'm not asking you for any mistake here! - said the black silhouette. The voice was male, low. But the child kept crying non-stop and could barely squeeze out words. — I... I don’t want... I don’t want to sit... Sitting at the piano... I want... to go outside,” said the little man, choking with tears. . Sorry sight. The older generation is trying to impose a love of classics on a small child. But there was something familiar about it... — I’ll go away on business, and you play this part so that the most famous composers in the world rise from their graves and begin to applaud while standing - punish the silhouette and disappear into the darkness.” Toya tried to come closer to look at the child so as not to scare him away. He barely manages to look carefully and notices that it is himself. This is his small copy, his hated past. - A?! - the little guy got scared when he heard the rustling, and when he saw the guy himself, he burst into tears - I don’t want to play, please... Let me out into the street... - so small and helpless. The blue-haired man leaned down on his own and hugged his smaller counterpart. It was a shame. I wanted to give him a little warmth when his parents couldn’t do it. Warm streams flowed from his eyes. He held this boy close to him for quite a long time until he stopped crying. - Is there something you don’t understand? Let me help you - his voice was gentle and calm, which immediately calmed the boy down. He didn’t cry anymore, but the tears flowed like a salty waterfall on their own. They sat down together and began to sort out those parts that the mini copy did not understand. For every mistake he made, he began to cry loudly and asked not to scold him, to which Toya gently stroked him on the head and said “it’s okay, everyone makes mistakes, let’s just repeat it.” Even though Aoyagi himself didn’t know what it was like, he wanted to comfort this child and help him calm down. They played together until everything went dark and he woke up. Now he knew the answer to this question. Now he hoped that the boy was fine.