NEW NOISE

I listen intently to this new noise: running water, birdsong, insects and dogs; random snatches of passing conversations; an occasional car or tractor or horse; and the valley breathing.

The story shifts to encompass wide-open spaces and the rushing inanity of urban threads are reduced to a receding mindlessness.

My thoughts slowly calm and the assimilation begins, one moment at a time I become accustomed to the crisp, clear air and the smells of things barely tainted by the decay and destruction.

The fatigue of the journey weighs heavy in my limbs, but I know that I will soon be revived. I smile as I wonder how the story will begin.