It was a quiet night.
The moon shone with its usual silver glow, but tonight, that glow felt different — like it was hiding a riddle.
We had just left another village behind.
The place we arrived at was an old settlement.
Quiet. Still.
No smiles.
No songs.
Just silence.
People moved around like ghosts —
mechanically, routinely —
as if emotions had been banned.
We set up our caravan, like always.
But the moment we played our first note…
they all stopped.
Eyes on us.
Not curious. Not angry.
Just… blank.
Lio tapped the drums.
Mira touched her harmonium.
Toren lifted his flute.
I stood at the center —
and I played.
But this time,
nothing changed.
No one cried.
No one smiled.
No one felt anything.
I stopped mid-verse.
Looked at Maa.
> "Kya koi sun bhi raha hai…?"
---
Then — she stepped forward.
A woman from the crowd.
Old eyes, heavy with emotion.
A pain that everyone else seemed to share.
She looked at me and asked,
> "Why do you all play?"
Her voice was low… but every syllable hit my heart.
For a second, I froze.
Was I doing this wrong?
I took a breath and said softly,
> "We play…
to take pain away from people.
Music was never meant to hurt anyone."
---
She stared at me for a while.
Then… slowly, she raised her hand.
> "Can you hear my heart, then?"
Something in her eyes changed.
A flicker of hope, buried under years of silence.
I nodded.
Lifted my guitar.
> "Sunna chahti ho na?
Then let me show you."
---
I didn't just play a tune.
I played a story.
A story that had no words —
but carried the weight of every broken dream,
every tear never cried,
every scream no one heard.
> "I am the one
who listens when the world forgets you."
> "I don't fight pain —
I turn it into a song."
> "I don't want to win —
I just want your heart to breathe again."
---
As the notes filled the air,
the woman blinked.
And for the first time —
a tear slipped from her eye.
Then another.
And suddenly…
Someone clapped.
A single clap.
Then another.
And another.
And soon, the whole village was clapping.
Smiling.
Alive again.
---
Maa stood behind me.
And with the gentlest voice, said:
> "You understand now, beta.
Music was never a weapon.
It was always a bond."
---
To be continued…