I Sat in the Parked Car and Let the Song Finish

Dear Delyara, I turn off the ignition, grab the bags, start the next thing, move my body before my mind has even caught up that one thing just ended and another is beginning. But today a song came on — one I used to love before life got so loud — and I stayed in the driveway until the whole thing finished. Hands on the steering wheel. Engine off. Front door waiting. For three and a half minutes, I listened all the way to the end. It made me unexpectedly emotional. Not because the song was sad. Because it reminded me how rare completion has become in my life. I am always leaving mid-thought, mid-sip, mid-meal, mid-rest, mid-feeling. Today, I stayed to the last note. That felt like care.