The Melody Punishment
"Some cities don't run on music… they run on fear."
---
The next morning…
There was something different in the streets of Silencia.
Like even the wind had decided —
today should stay colder.
Noen and his family — Mira, Toren, and little Lio —
stood quietly near their caravan.
Sera was silent. Very silent.
Whatever happened yesterday…
maybe no one saw it,
but someone definitely heard it.
And in Silencia,
hearing is enough to deliver punishment.
---
> "Name?"
"Vale."
"Crime?"
"Disturbance of Silence."
"Proof?"
"A note… and a smile."
A cold metal seal slammed onto the table.
A guard simply raised his hand…
> "For the next 24 hours —
No playing, no speaking.
And if it happens again…
you will be exiled from this city. Forever."
---
Noen's mother — Mira —
nodded with quiet tears in her eyes.
Toren just held Noen's hand.
He didn't say anything…
but his eyes said it all.
His son wanted to speak.
But he couldn't.
---
Back at the caravan…
silence.
No tunes.
No melodies.
No rhythm.
Just silence.
The kind that doesn't comfort you —
it crushes you.
The kind that makes pain feel… heavier.
---
Before the night fell,
Noen quietly slipped away to that same old alley —
the place where he'd played a note yesterday.
He picked up a small rock,
and scratched these words on the ground:
> "I'm not sorry."
Then he pulled out his violin…
and played a note,
only in the air.
Without sound.
Yeah…
Some songs only play inside you.
---
At that very moment…
a guard was watching him.
Hidden. Silent.
Maybe…
he should've arrested Noen.
But the guard just stood there.
Quiet.
And slowly…
he walked away.
> Did he feel something?
Or maybe… he used to play too?
---
The caravan moved on —
but Silencia had already left something behind.
In Noen's heart:
> "You can take my voice away…
but my soul?
It will always keep playing."
---
End of Chapter 7