The musician arrived at the idea accidentally. He spent years studying notes. Which belonged in a chord. Which created tension or resolution. He could discuss modes, substitutions, and harmonic movement. […]

This realization did not depress him, oddly it was relief. For decades he carried the burden of defending an imaginary permanent self while simultaneously trying to create permanent significance through […]

As they left the diner, one of them paused beneath the neon sign and said, “You know, if God exists, I suspect He has a strange relationship with unresolved dissonance.” […]

The cricket spent its brief existence attending to practical matters. Finding shelter beneath the porch boards. Interpreting vibrations through its tiny body. Then one summer evening it encountered something entirely […]

The robot’s designation was AURORA-7, though after several months alone in transit it began referring to itself privately as Rory. Its mission parameters were straightforward enough. Travel to Mars. Oversee […]

The drummer had been trying to learn meditation for nearly two years. He owned several books on mindfulness, subscribed briefly to an app featuring reassuring voices from California, and attended […]

Marianne knew the touring schedule better than she knew her own dental appointments. Long before official announcements appeared, she could predict where the band might go next by studying venue […]

Rose, a violinist, first noticed the pain during a Mahler rehearsal. Small sharpness in her left foot, insignificant enough to ignore and yet impossible to forget once discovered. By the […]

A week before the concert, the promoter called. Ticket sales were soft. The promoter explained the numbers. Rent. Advertising. Staffing. Guarantees. The possibility of losing money hovered over the conversation […]

He became a janitor gradually, reluctantly, and after exhausting all fantasies involving sudden recognition. For years he had assembled a life from coffeehouse gigs, teaching lessons, wedding receptions, and the […]