The stage floor below was six or seven meters from here.
Haga Kyosuke stared at the deeply patterned floor, and a thought suddenly flashed through his mind: Perhaps Mr. Kurosawa only stepped in to help because he saw through my script and felt it would be such a shame to hastily end it with my previous crude methods. Just as I usually guide students with great talent but rough technique, he took over my script because he wanted to bring this final piece to a successful close?
If that was the case, then it was time to bring this performance to a perfect ending.
He leaned forward, preparing to fall. Just as he was about to lose his balance, a string of melodious violin notes suddenly flowed from a corner of the stage. It was a Requiem that had been played not long ago.
The utterly familiar melody, coupled with the skilled technique deeply etched into his memory, made Haga Kyosuke freeze. He opened the eyes he had already closed in astonishment.
...Dad?!
In that moment of distraction, his foot slipped and he tumbled from the railing. At the critical moment, he reached out and grabbed the railing, dangling unsteadily in midair.
With difficulty, he looked toward the sound. Beside the piano in the corner of the stage stood an incomparably familiar figure, a Violin resting on his shoulder as he drew the bow across its strings. His eyes, buried in shadow, gazed at Haga Kyosuke with boundless sorrow.
Haga Kyosuke was completely stunned.
His father, who had died thirty years ago, had suddenly appeared before him alive once more, his appearance unchanged in the slightest... How was that possible?! Had he actually fallen headfirst onto the stage, and was everything he saw merely the flashbacks before death?
"...No, that