Meeting hide

She never really thought she'd do it.
Never had she been so selfish before. She wasn't thinking of her husband or her children. She wasn't thinking of her job, her friends... anything. She only thought of herself. "I need this," was her motivation. She kept saying that as she looked out of the window.
"Please, keep your seatbelts on until the light above turns off. Thank you and have a good day," the stewardess's voice spoke above her. She leaned back in her seat. She hadn't ever taken the seatbelts off.
She left the plane and followed the huge crowd. All of them wanting their luggage. She just needed her backpack. It wasn't much she had taken with her, mostly because she didn't know what to pack, but also because she didn't want her husband to notice that she was about to fly across the world because of one dead guitarist.
Yes, she had gone to Japan just because of hide, the dead guitarist of X Japan. She couldn't help herself when she saw their music video for IV and hide's guitar standing all by itself.
Actually... She had planned it for a very long time...
She also intended on going to the Memorial Summit, both Saturday and Sunday. That was 5 days ahead, but she really didn't know what she would be doing until then, except for visiting his grave.
Of course... She would be visiting his grave a couple of days before the actual date of his death, in hope that there wouldn't be so many people. She wanted to have a private moment with him.
He had been such an inspiration through her life. He was the one who inspired her to start playing guitar. It really meant a lot. It was also 'Scars' that had made her listen to X Japan, and she was grateful for that. Sure, 'Scars' wasn't her favorite song, but it was at least top 5.
As she finally got through the huge mass of people, she got her backpack and hurried outside. She tried to catch a taxi, but was too late. She had to wait a little while before a taxi finally stopped by her feet. She happily got in and said the name of her hotel, hoping that that was what the taxi driver asked for.
Luckily the taxi driver didn't say anything else before they came to the hotel. She paid him and went inside to check her in. She was tired. She had not slept at all during the flight. So instead of going out and checking out Japan, she went to her hotel room and slept, peacefully.
Should I trade the breath of my life for freedom?
She walked...
And walked...
And walked...
Exploring the city kind of took her powers. But she didn't notice. She was in her own thoughts. Sometimes she would walk into a store just to see what they've got, but she never bought anything. Only once she bought a really cute stuffed bunny. She thought her daughter would like it when she'd return home.
But her daughter didnt get the bunny...
She decided that she would be visiting her one and only idol at the graveyard.
She got another taxi. This time there was a woman. She didn't seem Japanese at all. "Where are you going, miss?" she asked as she smiled. "You speak English?" she asked. "Yes, I'm from America, but you didnt answer my question," she said again. This made her sigh and she told the name of the graveyard.
Also this ride was silent.
Had the whole world turned silent now?
She paid the probably tired driver and got out of the car. She drove off and left her alone, standing in front of the graveyard. For a moment she just stared at the sign. Several thoughts ran through her mind, but in the end, she walked through the gate.
Graves surrounded her as she walked. The graveyard was kind of huge, and she didn't know where to start looking. She sighed to herself before she started looking.
After a couple of hours of looking at dead names, she was about to give up. She sighed as she found the road again and started to walk out of the graveyard. But when she was passing by some graves she had already looked at, she thought she saw the name 'Matsumoto'. She moved a little closer...
There he was...
Hidden behind other graves...
It was a simple grave with a picture of him on the right corner. "Hideto Matsumoto... Birth: December 13. 1964... Death: May 2. 1998..," she read aloud. "You will be missed..."
She sighed and sat down in front of the grave, staring at it. She was almost waiting for him to just wake up and say it was all a joke, but no... She was old enough to have experienced death.
None had returned...
She knew that...
But...
She looked at all the stuff that was given to the dead man. Flowers, candles, chocolate, stuffed animals, cards...
She picked up a card in curiosity and read it. She frowned as she placed it down again. She couldn't read or understand Japanese.
"Hey... Have you heard the song X Japan made? I think they took some of your last recordings and used them in that new song..." She thought she might seem like a lunatic, but she really didn't care.
Besides... Talking to a grave isnt weird, is it?
As she only got a weak wind as an answer, she continued. "I watched the PV for it too... It made me cry. You see, they had used some of the clips of you from The Last Live. And one could see your old guitar standing there, without a master." Her eyes got teary. "That was sad..," she mumbled.
There was a moment of silence.
"I feel stupid," she suddenly said. "I'm crying and I didn't even know you." A tear fell down her cheek as she looked at the grave. The smiling hide at the corner almost mocking her. "I wish I got to know you, though. You inspired me to start playing the guitar. That's really awesome shit, man," she continued, sniffing a bit. "And your music was great too."
What seemed like eternity she sat there, talking to the silent grave. Most of it turned out to be random shit. She was really good at talking random shit.
Like her own life. She would often mention her own kids and her husband and her life as a teacher. She basically told everything about those annoying teenagers that kept on trying to get her attention. If hide was alive, he sure would have died of boredom.
In the end the sun had started to set. "Man, I'm hungry... Well, I better go now, hide. Nice talking to you," she said and gave a sad smile to the grave. Just then she noticed the stuffed bunny she had bought earlier. "Oh... You can have this... I'll find something else for my daughter," she gave a small laugh before she placed the bunny next to the grave.
She turned around and started to walk back to the road again. Just as she reached it, she saw four men coming to her direction. She recognized at once, but she didn't say anything. She just passed them by as she walked out of the graveyard.
"She was a foreigner," one of the men said. "Wonder how far she traveled just to visit hide..," another one said. "Look! She left a bunny," the third said as they came to the very same grave she had sat in front of for the last hour. "Hmm... What's this?" one of them lifted up a small piece of paper. "What is it?" one of the men looked over the other one's shoulder. "It's a picture of X Japan," the one with the picture answers. "Aww... I feel missed," another one of them said. "I dont know... Could be because of hide's death," the one with the picture said again. "What do you mean?" "Well... I guess some think our music is stronger than what it really is because of his death." "Dont be foolish, Yoshiki!"
Through their conversation, they could not hear the weak wind whispering "Thank you..."
I've played with this game before to find a piece of my true self...
I'm lost within...
Thanks for reading!
Rest in Peace, hide!
You will always be missed!