[Silence. A chair creaks.] [One piano note. Wrong note answers.] Before we begin... I should probably warn you. This music isn't meant to be pretty. It isn't here to make your heart go pitter-patter. It isn't wrapped in rainbows, unicorns, or a pretty little bow. [Dry laugh] Sorry to disappoint. [Three uneven piano notes] This is about the places we don't visit. The rooms we locked. The children we left inside. The feelings we were told to swallow. Don't cry. Don't get angry. Don't talk about it. Don't make everybody uncomfortable. Be grateful. Be positive. Be quiet. [Silence] Funny... We live in a world overflowing with pain, then punish people for expressing it. We preach love... but sometimes won't even sit beside someone who's hurting. We call it strength when somebody learns to suffer silently. And we call it healing when we no longer have to hear them. [Detuned piano chord] Well... What if they're not healed? What if they're just quiet? What if the little girl is STILL upstairs? [Whisper] What if she's you? [Long pause] These songs aren't instructions. They're not confessions. They're not asking for your diagnosis. They're questions. Memories. Anger. Grief. Uncomfortable little pieces of humanity. You don't have to agree. You don't even have to understand. But maybe... Before you turn away... Listen. [One scraping cello note] Because this isn't pretty. [Whisper] But it is human. [Silence] And she's still here.
