I can hear the whispered and fragmented melody in my mind, its composite notes melting away the stress and confines of the world that lays siege to me. Yet I can find no translation out in the world; the buffering of angry, terse words, frustrated glances, and dismissive behavior wash across me like a litter-filled wave of salty water. I live here, inside and cloistered. The notes seldom fail me, cascading in a series of fulfilled promises that anchor me in a past that never was.