Music is a cup of coffee. It wakes me up, gives me respite, and replenishes me with energy. I taste three different coffees in Joe Hisaishi’s Merry Go Round of Life: Caramel Macchiato, Ice Americano, and Espresso. 

The piece starts very sweet and delightful as if I am a girl walking aimlessly in a dark forest where I soon discover a large golden entrance to the magical world which defies all the worldly known logics. There, lollipops float around the sky, butterflies spray ray of sprinkles upon flipping their wings, clouds are rainbow colored, trees fruit cotton candies and all the known sweets in the world, and puppets dance and prance around. While fluttering in the garden of glittering and sparkling flowers, I spot a short, fluffy tail of a curious deerling flopping around in the breeze and I eagerly follow it. While doing so, I fall down, roll down the hills, and even get myself wet in the cotton candy flavored river, but my companioning puppets and animals continue to help me up while I follow the deer. All this makes me busy happily laughing. Like sweet and sugary Caramel Macchiato, the magical world gives me all the delightful experiences that I can ever imagine.  

As I continue to follow the deer, I start to realize my situation; my clothes are wet and ripped here and there; I am bruised and scarred too; most importantly, I was lost. My animal and puppet critters have all gone back home and I have lost sight of the deer. Suddenly, I am standing in a dark forest with purple owls, orange foxes, and yellow slugs. As I frantically shriek and run away from the dark forest filled with those insidious animals, I approach a lake which embraces a bright full moon and an aggregate of fireflies. I kneel down to gulf down some water. But then, I am horrified; as I slowly kneel down, there is an unfamiliar face in the reflection. I have GROWN. At that moment, I realize my shoes, which were once perfect for my feet, are now much too small for my size. My hands, which were once soft, tender, and petit, are now full of wrinkles and blisters. I panic and jump away from the lake. But undoubtedly, that was me. As I look afar, devastated, the golden gateway reappears. The doors to the world that would take me back to the good times– the times of pure joy and freedom— are there. But somehow, I know that this will be my last time entering there. The middle part of the piece, as such, is like the cup of an Iced Americano that gives a brief moment of refreshment but soon leaves an undesirable taste of bitterness. 

Inside the door, I see the Prince of all fairies asking me for the one final dance of the night. I excitedly accept the offer, reminiscing back on all the joy and thrills the dances and prances used to give me in the past. As I try to dance with him, however, I now realize that my body cannot withstand the same dynamic dances I was able to do in the past. The Prince commences all his moves perfectly and even covers for my mistakes, but the more he does so, the more I become aware that it is officially my time to depart— I am to leave the magical world and to start a new life. As the waltz ends, I approach and push the golden gate strongly yet once again. That’s how I leave, and the first chapter of my life closes forever. Leaving the sweet, sugary taste needs a bitter cup of espresso. It brims me up with new energy.

Music and life, at times, is like a cup of sweet Caramel Macchiato, Ice Americano, and bitter Espresso. When new chapters open, other chapters close. So what’s your drink today? Caramel Macchiato, Iced Americano, or Espresso?