When the Stars are Shining Over You (Your Lie in April Fanfiction)

4: The Day that Changed Everything

"E flat." The boy was sitting in front of the big piano and his mother was sitting behind, listening to his progress as he started to play his practiced music. The boy apologised and continued to play.

"B flat." Another mistake. The boy apologised again and still continued to play. The song finally ended. Four pages of music sheets were lying in front of him as he lifted his hand gracefully off the piano keys. He sighed loudly as his mother came towards him.

"It's okay. It was your first task." The boy lifted his head and looked at his mother who was smiling and patting his back lightly.

"I'll practice more. I can do it." The boy said and looked at the music sheet again.

"You can do anything you want if you just have the courage to do it." The mother said. "I'll go bring something to eat. You can practice it." As the mother left, the boy determinedly put the pages back on the piano stand and started to circle the parts that he made the mistakes in. Then he played those parts repeatedly, 10 times, 20 times, until he could get it without making any mistakes. The cookies his mother brought in slowly disappeared as the clock did its job of ticking the time away. 1 hour, 2 hours, 3 hours. Time flew by as the boy sat in front of the piano practicing the music over and over again. Sometimes he was frustrated but his mother's encouragement kept him from falling apart. He knew that all this hard work would pay off when he stood in front of the audience. At 7 o'clock, the boy was found, lying on top of the keys that he pressed for 5 hours continuously. His mother felt bad but she knew that he wouldn't stop even if she forced him to. She knew that he was determined about becoming a pianist. It wasn't really what the mother wanted but she was happy as long as her son was doing what he wanted to do. She brought the boy to his bed and left after closing the door.

***

"Let's go check out the list!" The boy held onto his mother's hand as they went through the large crowd standing in front of the ranking list. When they finally stood right in front of the list, the boy jumped up and down as his mother hugged him tightly. He was the first. He won the competition. His first competition that he attended. On the way back home, the boy was holding the trophy and the mother was holding the fragile certificate. When they arrived, the mother put the certificate in a picture frame and put it in the living room where everyone who entered could clearly see it.

"I'm so proud of you." The mother smiled at her son as the boy stared at his own certificate.

"I thought I was going to get disqualified when I hit my foot accidentally on the chair."

"I could see that you were very nervous but I knew you could do it." The boy grinned at the certificate.

"I'm going to win my next one as well." So the boy did, many after that. He was the youngest pianist to win many many competitions and he was invited to play for some special occasions. Both his mother and he were proud of his achievements. The place where his first certificate was placed now was full of different types of certificates. On the night when he won the Tchaikovsky International Music Competition, the boy was eating an ice cream happily while walking down the street with his mother to his house. Another certificate in the mother's hand, the boy ate with caution, trying not to spill any on his performing suit.

"I wouldn't have to worry any more even if I died today." She said as a joke. The boy stared at her and replied, "you can't die today mom. I'm still too young!" The mother laughed but the boy seemed very serious.

"That's very true. You are only 8." They walked down he street like another ordinary day after a competition. They went into the house and turned on the lights and placed the certificate that he won today in front of all the certificates that he won already. 10 in total, they both looked proudly at all the prizes the boy was able to get.

"Mom, I know this is random but can't you smell something burning?" The mother turned around and could also smell the burning scent. They walked up stairs, where they both felt like the burning smell was coming from. When they went up to their bedrooms, they were on fire. It seemed like the candle that was burning burnt the pictures and the fire was caught all over the room since they had wallpapers in their room.

"Run." The mother told the boy.

"How about you?"

"I'll go after I pick up my emergency bag. It's just right there. I'll be quick. Just wait for me in front of the house." The boy left the room quickly down the stairs and out of the house. In front of his house, he met his friend, a neighbour of his.

"What happened to your house?" She asked.

"It's on fire... My mom is picking the emergency—" Suddenly something exploded and there was a loud crashing noise from his house. He turned around and found his house burning down to the ground.

"Mom?" The boy cried. The roof fell down to the first floor and everything was destroyed. All the rooms were on fire and everything was burnt.

"Mom?" The boy shouted this time but nothing was coming out of the house. Without thinking twice, the boy ran into the house that was almost gone. The girl shouted his name but he didn't turn around. He entered the living room first and found her mother on the burning grounds. The roof was broken and her mother was lying on the ground, unconscious. He ran towards her, dodging all the debris from the fire. His mother coughed as the boy managed to turn her over.

"Mom!" They boy shouted and started to cry. "Someone! Help us!" The boy cried even louder and suddenly something fell on top of him. He screamed and brought the body of his mother closer towards his.

"Mom! I told you I'm too young!" He cried on top of her.

"It'll be all right." His mother whispered. "Stop crying. It'll be okay." His mother put a hand onto his arm as he continued to cry on top of his mother. Outside of the house, he could hear his neighbour telling her mom, calling 911 for help. The boy never knew that today would change his whole life. He never knew that his fingers were going to get hit by the furniture that was shaking right in front of him. The boy never knew that that would be the last time hearing his mother's voice.