"When a single note becomes more precious than life itself…"
---
Morning came after the long night…
But Silencia remained the same — silent, dry, frozen in fear.
Even today, people didn't wake up with hope — just with empty breaths.
Noen had returned from the temple square.
But inside… he felt strangely lighter.
As if a fire still burned within him — calm, but alive.
---
Since that night, Noen hadn't played a single note.
But the people kept watching him.
Children quietly followed him.
The elders listened for the sound of his footsteps.
As if they believed—
> "Even his silence sings."
---
And then… it happened.
Walking through a narrow alley,
Noen noticed a small umbrella hanging by the wall.
A note was pinned to it, swaying in the breeze.
It read:
> "I can't do this…
I couldn't save…
Forgive me, Mom."
The note was small—
but the words… cut like thorns.
Beneath the umbrella—
a young boy, maybe eleven,
eyes closed, clutching a tiny bottle in his hand.
He wasn't breathing.
---
Sera screamed.
> "Noen!"
Mira rushed to lift the boy.
But his pulse was cold…
His body still.
Noen knelt beside him.
Something shattered inside his heart.
> "It was just a note…
but it was someone's final cry."
---
He held the boy's hand.
Without a word,
he raised his flute.
Everyone watched.
He was about to break the greatest law of the city.
> "Today,"
Noen said softly,
"I'm not making a statement."
"I'm not challenging anyone."
"I'm not fighting anyone."
> "I'm just…
singing for this boy."
---
And his flute began to play.
Gently.
A simple, soft melody.
Like a mother singing a lullaby to her child's ears…
Like someone cradling pain with tenderness…
Like time itself paused—if only for a moment.
---
And then…
the boy moved.
He gasped.
Slowly… his eyes opened.
He didn't cry.
He just stared—at Noen.
> "You… you heard me?"
Noen smiled.
> "No…
I sang your pain out loud."
---
The whole city stopped.
A guard rode in from near the temple, sword in hand, charging straight toward Noen.
But no one could stop what happened next.
Because just then…
from the corner of the street—
a voice rang out.
> "I'll play too."
It was her.
The ruler's daughter.
She raised a small flute in her hands—
and played a soft, trembling note.
Everyone watched—
the guard's sword shook in his grip.
> One girl's song…
had saved a life.
---
Noen lifted his gaze.
> "A single note might not change everything…
but if there's music in every heart…
even silence will learn to step aside."
---
To be continued…