People Sounds

Dear Friend,

Have you ever noticed people sounds?

Ambiance.

Those things you never hear until they stop?

From my desk at work, second floor, interior wall, I hear everything.

The murmur of sound and voices from the conference room on the other side of the wall.

The deep rumble of the air and heat unit above my head.

I’m so accustomed to hearing it that when it turns off, the whole world feels like it lost its voice.

I can hear the faint hum of cars on the exit ramp behind the building.

If the batteries in the clock worked, I’m sure I would hear time ticking away.

Overhead, lights buzz - only sometimes loud enough to hear, but the click and pop and burn out. Sixteen lights with three or four bulbs each. Something is always broken. One whole light is out over the desk next to mine. I hope they don’t replace it. My eyes don’t bother me when it’s not on, and my co-worker hasn’t been in the office since March of 2020.

There are other small sounds. People sounds. Sighs. Yawns. Footsteps. Keyboard clacks and mouse clicks. Chair squeaks and thumps as someone sits or stands.

The world is quiet in the office - shut out from outdoor noises of birds and wind. And yet it is loud in here. The silence is deafening. The smallest sounds throb in my ears. When one person talks, I am forced to listen - when a dozen talk, I can find refuge and focus in the cacophony.

Silence is golden, except when it is a reminder of what is no longer there.

Heather

(Originally written August 17, 2021)