Soul hissed, and the room hissed with him. The sound of a collective inhale in empty space. Alone with the air, but in nothing close to silence. The deficit of company sang with him, and he felt it in his bones. It was the song of parting. Something sad, and neglected. The sound of decision. He was leaving. He was running away.
He finally understood that he didn't belong in this place. Out, above the noise a single note sang out with wafting clarity. An eerie demand that as soon as his legs could carry him, he run. Run fast. Run far.
"Take yourself from this place," a voice sang soft in his ear. A lulling, bluesy whisper beneath the weight of the rest of the piece.
Tentatively, a nurse pushed her head through a crack in the door, and the sound abruptly cut off, tendrils of music shooting back into his body painfully, making him groan. She looked confused for a moment, before she quietly approached.
Her hands rang in little circles before her. Her brown hair was tied up in a bun. He regarded her coldly, wary of her company, unreceptive to her presence.
"You didn't hear anything, did you love?" she asked.
"Nnn," he said softly aground the wires in his jaw, and she nodded.
"Right. You just get some rest then."
The door closed, and so did his eyes. Behind them he saw images of a family with one son. A violinist at the top of his class. He saw the image of a boy's face on a milk carton, sharp teeth bared.
"Missing"
That's what he'd be. Missing. Far away from all their shit. All their expectations. His fingers curled. Hands that had never fallen pray to the violence the rest of him had. His only worth in this world.
The music in the room surged, making him feel complete. Making him feel as if he wasn't alone anymore.