We turned and departed with more solitude and silence than a gaping hole, absent of anything, even atmosphere. We felt surrounded, nonetheless. I longed to feel the resonance of a dreadnought as I strummed brand new strings - forming the newness of a song never before played; the rumble of four 12-inch speakers powered by something I don't even comprehend the creation of, as the rising pounding, singing, plucking and jumping up and down one more time comes alongside. The shared looks and inside jokes sent across the sometimes smaller-than-a-closet fortress built out of metal, fiber, wood, music and love. Occupied by us and a genuine understanding of what we were doing was making a difference - even if the only difference it made was in us. We turned and departed, as if we were leaving our childhood home. Wandering into the rest of our lives with a direction yet to be determined, but guided by certainty. Driving cars we traded old reliable in for. A new coat sometimes is not better than an old, worn and familiar blanket. But those old, worn and familiar blankets had beginnings, too. I still look over my shoulder, wondering the whys, hows and what ifs, but I have this same wonderment when I am looking forward, too. And that is how it all started in the first place.
