[Intro] (music box winding down, a single tarnished cylinder turning) [Verse 1] [female] I raised the dead to keep the silence out Bargained with shadows, wore their weight like a crown Centuries of whispers, centuries of doubt Now the chair is empty, and the fire burns down [Verse 2] [female] He stood in every doorway I ever passed through Patient as stone, patient as the moon I called him enemy, I called him untrue But he was just the ending I postponed too soon [Chorus] [female] So take my hand, old friend, I am not afraid The dance we deferred is the debt now repaid No spells, no shadows, no bargains I've made Just a woman who lived, and a woman who stayed [Verse 3] [female] My bones are tired, my magic is dust The graves I disturbed have all gone to rust I kept the world turning because turn it I must Now let it turn without me, as it always does [Bridge] (erhu and sitar intertwine — no words, only resonance) [Chorus] [female] So take my hand, old friend, I am not afraid The dance we deferred is the debt now repaid No spells, no shadows, no bargains I've made Just a woman who lived, and a woman who stayed [Outro] [female] (music box cylinder losing momentum, pins catching unevenly, intervals between notes stretching longer, final tone sustaining past its decay) Just a woman who lived... (erhu fades, sitar holds a single string) And finally... (bass drone releases, silence moves in) Rests. (silence) [male gravely and whispered] Rest now sister.
