Solomon's voice was low in the dark hall. He spoke from memory - eyes half-closed, hands half-clenched at his sides, standing among the columns. The luminite around him held its dim glow. The stalactites above caught nothing and reflected nothing. The only sound was his voice and the distant drip of water on stone.
✦ ✦ ✦
Once, when the sky forgot how to be blue and wore a long white blanket - there was a queen who listened.
Her castle was high, with long quiet hallways. Children lived there. They did not laugh much. In the mornings they woke with heavy hearts and sore bodies. Some forgot their own names for a little while. Some stared at the floor and tugged their sleeves until the dark threads came loose. When they tried to play, the game broke first. When they tried to sing, the song was tuneless.
The queen went from room to room and listened. She listened to the cries. She listened to the hopeless sighs.
