Sound weighed heavily on them. It pressed against their mind like an ever-present migraine. The only moments of peace were found in their room, alone, with the lights turned off. Life would not allow them to remain that way long.

Children would call. Dogs would need to be walked. The sun would stubbornly drill through their closed curtain. They didn’t want life to fall silent. Not really. They had moments of joy, moments where they, too, were loud.

But sometimes, they longed for the quiet of night. For long winters where snow muffled the world.