the long quiet

for three weeks, the only sound on every frequency was a slow human breath. not loud. just steady. waiting for us to notice.

on day twenty-two it stopped mid-exhale. every radio on earth held the silence with it.

then a single word, in a child's voice: 'okay.'

the silence became a place. people began going there in their sleep.

every clock in my apartment was three seconds slow. then four. then nine.