S = Shhhhhh

Did you hear that?   Shhhh.  Listen.  There is the traffic from the freeway.  It kind of whirs, doesn’t it?  Whoosh!  Whoosh!  Hear the trucks?  They rumble.  The cars whir, though.  Now, focus on the closer sounds.   

Shhhh.  There’s a leaf falling.  It’s not autumn, the season of leaves falling.  And the leaf makes a sharp sound, falling and hitting the hard ground.  You push it with your foot.  It scrapes.  The leaf is hard.  Is it hard from the heat?  Baked?

A screen door makes a huffing sound as it catches on the way to closing and then clank—it shuts and catches.  You try to narrow your listening skills and sure enough, you hear an inner door shut behind the screen door and the lock turn.  

Focusing again, you stand perfectly still and realize the sounds are less sharp as the sun sets slowly.  It becomes dusk and you hear a buzzing sound—some kind of bug that prefers the evening time.  Then a new buzz.  Lamp posts are emitting a barely audible buzz of their own as they slowly let their light shimmer awkwardly and then light up strong.

Now you can hear sounds of movement, soft and subtle.  A cupboard door closing.  A pan shifting on a stove.  The muted sound of running water.  

You turn to enter your own home and you stop as you realize now you can hear your own feet on the walkway.  You take another step and hear your footfall.  Then the jarring wail of a siren.  It stabs the quiet you were enjoying.  You remain standing in the same spot, unmoving, waiting for the siren to fade.  Slowly it gets farther and farther away, quiet returns.  You step slowly, listening to the grit on your feet on the walkway meet.

You push the button on your screen door and it scrapes, metal on metal.  As you pull the door toward you, it cries in objection.  Then it is quiet.  Sara’s nails click on the wood floor as she brushes past into the house.  The door makes a clicking sound as it engages with the door jamb to close and then another click as you turn the dead bolt.

Sara sniffs, nails still clicking on the floor, as she lets you know she wants a treat.  You hear the bag crackle as you get her a treat from it.  You hear her heavy breathing of excitement.  You laugh.  Quiet time, listening closely time is done.  

It was …  Grounding.  Focused.  Calming.  Serenity within and without.  Shhhhh