[Cast: V1 Inara] [V1: smoky low female alto, intimate feline resonance, velvet chest voice, dry close mic, clean diction, restrained rasp, breath to snarl, minimal vibrato] [Tempo: 92 BPM] [Meter: 9/8, uneven 2 2 2 3 gait] [Key: E Phrygian] [Intro: rain, distant train, bowed nyckelharpa harmonics, empty ninth pulse] [V1: near spoken, intimate] I know what follows hunters. The wind. The wounded. The hungry. I never knew a sound could follow without a body. [Verse 1: V1, plucked melodic bass, dry footfall percussion] Last train drew a silver scar Across the river, past the cars. The crosswalk blinked its sickly green; I slipped between the pools unseen. My pale paws scarcely pressed the street, No little click beneath my feet. But one wet heel against the stone Kept falling when I walked alone. I turned toward the shuttered glass; A snow-white cat stared from the black. Behind her, nothing but the rain. Then one wet heel came down again. A taxi hissed through sheets of white; The extra step held back from sight. When engines faded down the block, It answered with a single knock. [Pre-Chorus: V1, bass thins, counting on uneven beats] One, two, three, the gutter sings. Four, five, six, the lamplight swings. Seven, eight, the traffic dies. There should be nine. There should be nine. [Chorus: V1, melodic dark-folk lift, nyckelharpa answering bass] Leave the ninth footfall for the rain. Leave a little silence in the lane. Every road has room for one unseen; But roads should end where houses begin. I know the hush beneath my bones; I know the way my shadow goes. If something takes the step I spare, What waits for me when I get there? [Instrumental: bowed nyckelharpa ostinato, muted bass, eight wood taps, one gap] [Verse 2: V1, intimate unease, restrained drums] The woman at the noodle stand Had drawn a road across her hand: When footsteps follow after dark, Step off the path and let them pass. I used to smile at that old tale, A little ghost beneath the rail. Now rain ran cold between my ears, And all her words came walking near. I touched the wall beside the gate. Said, After you. I stepped away. The heel went past, so soft, so slow. No shape disturbed the puddles' glow. It paused beneath a broken light, Then turned the corner out of sight. [Pre-Chorus: V1, low harmony enters late] One, two, three, the road went still. Four, five, six, against my will, Seven, eight, I found my key. The ninth was waiting there for me. [Chorus: V1, fuller sub bass, haunted vocal double] Leave the ninth footfall for the rain. Leave a little silence in the lane. Every road has room for one unseen; But roads should end where houses begin. I know the hush beneath my bones; I know the way my shadow goes. If something takes the step I spare, What waits for me when I get there? [Breakdown: sub bass alone, one water drop, stopped pulse] [V1: whispered, almost relieved] Three bolts. A chain. A deadbolt. The room was mine. The kitchen light was warm. I heard the refrigerator breathe. I took my shoes off. I made tea. Then something took a step on the other side of the ceiling. [Verse 3: V1, prepared piano knocks, harmonic tension] The building ends above my head. No attic. No forgotten stair. The roof is tar and satellite; No living feet should climb up there. A careful tread crossed overhead, As if the plaster had a bed For something patient, wet and tall, That had no floor to walk at all. I stood so still my tail went numb. The footfalls stopped. I heard just one: A little scrape beside the fan, The sound of weight upon a hand. Then four soft taps above the sink. They waited every time I'd blink. [Bridge: V1, near silence, hollow shō chord, spoken then rising] I climbed the counter. Touched the paint. It flexed beneath me like a throat. One little drop came through the seam. It smelled of pavement, old and cold. I pressed my ear against the white. I heard a whole street breathing there. A thousand soles, a thousand nights, And someone standing on the air. [V1: dry whisper] I never heard it leave the road. I only heard it pass. [Final Chorus: V1, tense high harmony, bass riff expands, no triumph] Leave the ninth footfall for the rain. Leave a little silence in the lane. I gave the dark the right of way; It found a shorter way to stay. No stair above, no floor beneath, Just one more heel against the beams. If something takes the step I spare, What waits for me when I get there? [Coda: V1, no drums, voice close, nyckelharpa almost stops] Now every ceiling has a road. Every quiet house, a stair. When the floorboards settle at night, I count the steps that aren't quite there. Eight arrive and find their place. I hold the ninth behind my teeth. [V1: almost inaudible] If you can hear it above you, Please don't tell it you're beneath. [Outro: eight dry footfalls, ninth pulse silent] [V1: whisper, from far behind] There is no upstairs. [Single footfall: close right, after silence] [Hard Stop] [End]
