within earshot

The sleepy, deliberate ringing of the church bells across the soccer field, tallying the hours. The number 24 bus rumbling past, shocks gasping as it lurches over the 3-foot-wide speed humps. Kids arguing, scuffling, pretending, hollering, pleading: "just throw the ball back over here!" A sudden rustle and clanging tags as Toby attempts to follow a squirrel up a tree. Strains of sweet and imperfect cello, piano, and clarinet floating out a nearby window. A train braying, and then again, and again...

A new environment, a different pace, another place to call home.