I finished work on time and headed over to the concert hall. It had a different feel to it today. Yesterday it had worn the hushed air of a forest in the evening. Tonight, full of the bustle of the crowds, it reminded me of a forest in summer, alive and lush with greenery.

The audience was considerably older than me – and rather more smartly dressed, with bow ties and shimmering jewellery – but I relaxed when I reminded myself we were all there for the same reason: love of the piano.

‘Oh,’ I said, spotting a familiar face crossing the foyer. Mr Akino. I couldn’t be sure whether he’d failed to see me or was simply avoiding me, but before I could call out to him, he’d left the foyer and walked in his purposeful way into the hall.

As I strolled through, checking my ticket against the numbers on the backs of the seats, I heard someone call out my name, ‘Tomura-kun.’

I looked up.

‘So you came!’ It was the managing director of our company, in a smart and well-fitting dark suit, eyebrows raised dramatically, an exaggerated smile on his face. ‘Where’s your seat?’ he asked.

‘It should be around here somewhere.’

It was towards the rear of the hall, in the middle.

‘I’m thinking this might be your first recital in this hall?’

‘Yes,’ I replied.

The MD leaned over and whispered in my ear. ‘The acoustics are better by the wall.’

‘I had no idea.’ I raised my hands, fingers spread. I wished somebody had told me earlier.

Seeing my disappointment, the MD glanced at the crumpled ticket in my hand. ‘If this is your first concert, you should hear it in a better seat. Shall we switch?’

I said no, there wasn’t any need, but thanked him anyway.

To my amusement, he looked relieved.

When I’d finally sat down in the correct seat I spotted Mr Akino a few rows in front of me, over on the right-hand side. Which raised a question. Why would he sit so far over on the right as you face the stage? If you were keen to get a proper view of the pianist, wouldn’t you choose a seat on the left side, where you could see the movement of the pianist’s fingers and the expression on his face? I looked back towards the stage, and there was the beautiful gleaming black piano Mr Itadori had tuned yesterday, standing gloriously in the centre. From Mr Akino’s seat, the piano completely obscured any view of the pianist.