The Melody (Deliverance by Music)

An ostensibly disturbed man enters a coffee shop, mp3 player in hand, browsing for a song to listen to while he plans to finish his past overdue doctoral dissertation. Suddenly a look of bewilderment replaces his troubled facial expression. There was a song on his player that he could not remember uploading. The song was titled “the Unfolding” and the artist was “Unknown”. Curious about the contents of this mysterious song that apparently came out of nowhere the man takes a seat and begins to play the song. He grimaces as the song begins and then eventually his expression relaxes to a subtle smile.Moments later, earphones in his ears, swaying to what seems to be some groovy song. He stares into the eyes of some woman sitting across from him. At no moment does his facial expression show any sign of thinking. In fact he stares at her as if he were just contemplating her like one would appreciate a beautiful piece of art. But somehow there is more to this stare. There is some type of energy that emanates from the kind of attention he gives her. She had been struggling with issues that had weighed on her mind for a while but suddenly her thought process was interrupted. She noticed the man’s stare, felt a brief moment of absolute stillness, a feeling of curiosity, and then awe. His gentle stare intrigued her. What is it about this guy, she thought? “He isn’t particularly handsome. He isn’t even my type. But somehow I feel this strong attraction to him” Then he smiles at her. A warm rush of pleasure permeates her body. The type of feeling one gets when genuinely happy about something. “Hi” she says with a hint of shyness immediately following her greeting. He takes one ear piece out of his right ear and responds with a friendly “hey”. “What are you listening to?” she asks. He smiles again then stands up, slowly walks towards her and says “Do you want to hear it?” “Sure” she responds. He hands over his earphones to her and she gently squeezes them into her ears. At first the music sounds like a strange cacophony, it is chaotic, almost unbearably so, yet she could not bring herself to remove the earphones. Her curiosity about this song was oddly intense. Gradually the music begins to build structure and almost suddenly an enjoyable rush of warmth takes over her mind and body as the music turns into a harmonious flow of auditory ambrosia. She finds herself swaying to the beat without realizing it at first. Then she fully realizes it. Her body is doing the subtle dancing on its own. As the body has been distracted by the music she can now feel the essence that is herself. It feels like a void filled with pure energy. An impulse gently overtakes her and she begins to feel as if something needed to happen, as if there is something she needs to do. What is it? The energy in her wants out, she can feel its pressure. Suddenly she understands. She intuitively knows! She takes a moment to experience the stillness within her as her body gently moves to the sound. Then she turns slightly to her left and gently stares at an older woman sitting at a table adjacent to her. The old lady glances back at her with an odd stare. Her facial expression is initially a bland and cold one but gradually turns into calm, then curiosity and then into awe.

A.N