"Sometimes, a mother's fear… is only for her child."
---
It was afternoon.
In the markets of Silencia, people talked more with their eyes than their words.
Their voices only opened… when absolutely necessary.
On every corner, there stood a guard.
But what they held was heavier than their swords —
Silence.
An invisible weight that pressed down on everyone.
Like an unseen blade resting on the neck of every sound.
---
Noen hadn't played the violin yet.
But his face…
his smile…
was enough to make him a problem in this place.
He was sitting at the edge of a quiet alley.
Carefully polishing the violin —
as if it was something sacred.
That's when he noticed… a little girl.
Probably five or six years old.
She stood silently,
her eyes fixed on Noen's violin.
Noen gently picked it up.
Without playing a single note,
he gave her a small smile.
Her eyes lit up.
She slowly stepped closer,
and for a brief moment…
she touched Noen's hand.
Noen noticed her lips moving.
She wanted to say something.
So, right then…
Noen played a single note.
A soft, almost silent sound.
Not too loud. Not too soft.
Just enough to make the little girl's face brighten.
---
Suddenly…
a loud scream shattered the moment.
> "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
A woman came running — the girl's mother.
Her face filled with fear, anger, panic.
She immediately pulled the girl's hand away.
And without thinking…
slapped Noen across the face.
---
> "Do you even know what you're doing?!
If a guard had heard you…
they would've taken my daughter away!"
Her voice trembled.
Her eyes were filled with tears…
but her lips were shaking —
not with hate, but with fear.
Noen said nothing.
He just watched…
the little girl's eyes start to well up.
She wanted to say something…
but her mother quickly pulled her away.
---
People stopped.
Some watched.
Some pretended not to see.
And some…
just swallowed their own voices,
like they'd all been slapped for sound once in their life.
---
That night…
Noen sat alone.
He didn't speak.
He didn't play.
But the violin…
was still in his hands.
And his hands…
they weren't shaking out of fear — they were shaking out of determination.
> "As long as a mother is afraid of her own child's voice…
music isn't a crime — it's a necessity."
---
End of Chapter 6