Juq-326 [best] -

One rainy Tuesday, a man arrived at her door. He was not from the village. He wore a coat the color of wet slate and carried a heavy iron box. Inside the box was nothing but a jagged, heavy silence.

He left the box and the disc on the table and walked out into the rain. He didn't put up his hood. He walked with a straight back, breathing in the noisy, wet, chaotic sound of the storm. juq-326

Elara studied him. She saw the grey pallor of his skin and the way his hands trembled not from cold, but from the vibration of holding still for too long. One rainy Tuesday, a man arrived at her door

"Leave it," Elara said. "Leave it here. If you take it with you, it will eventually crack. And when silence breaks, it makes a noise that deafens the world." Inside the box was nothing but a jagged, heavy silence