Chapter 7: The Departure of the Wind
One winter morning, the Wind Listener tended a single fire, stroked the cat’s head, and quietly stepped outside.
The wind blew.
He vanished, as if dissolving into the wind itself.
The town did not panic. People understood.
“He has gone to tune the next place,” they said.
The fire was still flickering. The cat was still asleep. And the quiet remained in the town.