Inside I hadn’t changed. Other than the sound of the piano, I really didn’t have strong feelings about anything, one way or the other.

‘But you know,’ Miss Kitagawa continued, ‘you still come in here early every morning and wipe down everyone else’s desk, don’t you? And not just a simple once-over, but a thorough clean. I don’t know for sure, but I rather get the feeling that life in the mountains must be like that – that’s to say, if you don’t do things the right way it could be dangerous. So if you don’t bundle up you could freeze to death, or if you don’t take proper precautions you could get attacked by some wild animal or something.’

‘It’s not like that, not really.’

‘Keep your tuning hammer neatly polished at all times, yes? I get the feeling that you’ve had it drummed into you that you need to take good care of your tools, or else when you really need them they won’t work and your life could be in danger.’

I didn’t know what to say.

‘You’re really putting him on the spot.’

I heard a suppressed chuckle and turned to see Mr Akino wiping his hands on a handkerchief and heading back to his desk.

‘Miss Kitagawa, you’re being weird,’ he said. ‘You are most definitely making Tomura uncomfortable.’

Miss Kitagawa gave a little pout and said in a low voice, ‘Tomura-kun, people know you’re doing your best. Don’t let it get to you.’

Tray in hand, she returned to her desk.

‘What was the old bat comforting you about?’

I didn’t think Miss Kitagawa was that old, but Mr Akino resumed speaking before I could correct him.

‘Has one of your clients requested a different tuner?’

I nodded vaguely. I didn’t think I’d done anything wrong, but indeed another of my clients had requested that someone else be put in charge of tuning their piano.

‘I didn’t know what to do.’ I hesitated, then went ahead and explained what had happened at a home I’d visited the previous day. ‘After I’d finished tuning and testing the piano, the client asked me if this was the absolute best possible sound.’

The client had told me that he’d decided to have the piano tuned after a long period of neglect because his grandchild, now entering primary school, would soon be starting piano lessons. The instrument was in bad shape, but I’d cleaned it inside and got it all back in tune.

‘He wanted his grandchild to be trained to appreciate the arts, using a piano offering the best sound possible.’

Mr Akino grunted.

‘When he asked me if this was the absolute best sound, I just couldn’t say yes.’