There’s a dog barking outside. I can hear wind shuffling leaves in the street and cars moving home in rush hour traffic. You are strumming an unplugged electric guitar with a melody to match the day’s mood.

This living room feels full, despite you and I being the only occupants. Every verse you play on those hollow sounding strings leads into a more amplified and crisp chorus. It’s in this moment where I sit not even 10 feet from you that I realize I’ll never understand just how you tie every noise available here into a perfect bow.

I feel like an observer to your movie, and maybe I am. You place your guitar down, say a few words, and open the door. In an instant I am left with the unobstructed sounds from outside, a click of the door, and suddenly, an eerily silent and slightly darker room.