In the evening, just before she fell into sleep, she could hear it: the music. She would close her eyes and concentrate on the silence. And then slowly she would be able to pick out the music from the background of darkness. She would hear the strings and the horns sounding a sustained note that slowly evolved into a chord that resolved itself into a fullness that could only be experienced as something physical, or imagined, because nothing as rich or as full could be heard while awake. The sounds were lush and complex. Sometimes the bass end predominated; sometimes the reeds or horns, but mostly it was the strings in all their glory that carried her away into sleep and peace.

Stumble It!