Dear Melody

Chapter 2 : Supposedly Painless

"Who's there?" Sakata muttered softly into the cold, still air.

I had decided to meet this person on a mere whim, complying with the caretaker's wishes, but now I found myself second-guessing that impulsive choice. My fingers, though reluctant at first, had responded to his melodic voice moments ago, and that realization sent shivers cascading down my spine. A sense of unease began to gnaw at me, an irrational fear compelling me to maintain my distance. He hadn't done anything wrong, but an inexplicable urge to escape from his presence overcame me.

As I inched backward, my feet hesitating on the snowy ground, he raised his voice abruptly, "A-ah! Wait!!"

With an abrupt thud, he stumbled and fell onto a mound of snow, his white cane skidding just out of his reach. My intent to retreat was momentarily halted. 

"Ouchie...." The redhead winced in pain. "So cold! Huh, where's my cane...?"

My heart grew heavy as I watched him, his reddened fingers fumbling to locate his white cane in the midst of the thick snow. Guilt washed over me, a sensation I couldn't shake. It seemed I couldn't be so heartless as to abandon this blind man in the biting cold of winter.

Sighing, I could see my breath in the frigid air as I approached him. His ears twitching at the sound of my footsteps, a reminder of the sharpness of his hearing. I reached down and picked up his cane, and, hesitating for a moment, I gently took his hand into mine. Through the bandages that swathed my injured fingers, I could feel the biting chill, the painful reddish hue, and it pained me to witness. I handed him his white cane, and he grasped it almost naturally.

"Here, be careful next time," I told him.

Upon hearing my voice, a small smile spread across his face, like a child receiving their favorite candy. He reached out with his other hand and held mine, drawing it closer to his face.

"Thank you very much!" His voice quivered slightly as he expressed his gratitude for finding his cane. "Onii-san, not only are you kind, but your voice is beautiful! I don't know how to thank you..."

Taken aback, I repeated his words, "My voice...?"

As a musician, I didn't consider my voice to be remarkable, and I had never thought of it as having the potential to be a singer's voice.

"...yes? You have a wonderful voice!"

Strangely, I couldn't respond as I typically would to such compliments. It wasn't flattery or shyness; something deeper, something I couldn't quite pinpoint, stirred inside my chest.

'Your piano sounds beautiful.'

Remembered by the echoes of my fans compliments in the past, a sudden realization hit me. My voice... not the sounds I conjured from piano keys. Ah, I see. Even with an average voice like mine, someone could find beauty in it. I thought... only piano...

"Onii-san? Are you oka-"

"Sakata!"

I turned my head, and there was the caretaker, her face etched with worry, approaching with a warm blanket in her hands. Spontaneously, I let go of the redhead's hand. As if instantly recognized the voice, Sakata beamed, "Baa-chan!"

"Didn't I tell you to always dress warmly in winter? This child... I was so worried when I found your scarf in your room and you were nowhere to be seen."

As she wiped the snow from Sakata's body and wrapped a warm blanket around him, I could hear a small sneeze escape him, "Achoo! That's why I felt like I forgot something today..."

"Thank you very much for accompanying him, Urata-san," the caretaker said as she bowed to me, her warm smile still as reassuring as ever. "You've gone to great lengths to come here, and it must be so cold. Let's go inside; I've prepared some warm tea."