I started by adjusting the keys so that they were uniform in height. The cushion connecting each one to the keyboard had completely worn out on the inside. Here I inserted very thin slivers of paper to adjust the height. The normal movable range of a key, depressing it from its full height to the base, is only some 10 mm, so a difference of even 0.5 mm would make it awfully hard to play. After equalizing the height I turned my attention to the depth, and I pressed each note in turn, checking the position where it struck the strings.

Only then did I begin the actual tuning process. I’d discussed this in advance with Mr Yanagi, who had told me to close my eyes when I decided on the sound I wanted. I didn’t think this was just another metaphor. I closed my eyes, listened intently, fixed the idea in my mind of each sound that welled up, and adjusted each tuning pin accordingly.

I worked outside the regular flow of time and space, my senses on full alert, my concentration unwavering. Once I had finished, I realized that nearly four hours had gone by. The piano was much improved now, I thought.

Kazune’s rehearsal was set for early on the morning of the reception so that in the event of a problem, I’d have enough time to put it right.

‘I’m so happy, because I wanted to get used to playing this piano as soon as I could,’ Kazune said. ‘The piano at home, the one at school, pianos at performances and competitions – each and every one has its own personality.’ She said this while pulling her sheet music from a bag.

Yuni nodded beside her. ‘I always found our piano at home the easiest one to play,’ she said. ‘But when I played a concert grand in an auditorium for the first time, I was just blown away.’

That just had to be a piano tuned by Mr Itadori, I was sure of it.

‘Well, it had a great sound and was surprisingly easy to play. But you never had a problem playing anywhere, Yuni.’

Yuni smiled at Kazune’s words. ‘It only seemed like that. That’s what you saw because that’s what you wanted to see.’

Kazune looked surprised, so Yuni pressed on. ‘You thought I was able to do things that didn’t come so easily to you, right?’

Before Kazune could reply, Yuni sat down at the piano and opened the fallboard, straight away sounding some notes out on the keyboard.

I’ll probably never forget that moment with the twins. Instinctively, it seemed, they looked each other in the eyes in perfect symmetry.

‘It sounds great!’ Yuni turned around, her eyes sparkling.