Victor lives on the moon in a yellow house. His house is the same as
every yellow house on earth, except there is no television, no radio,
no satellite. His colony shares a town-crater. “Diana Moon Glampers
founded this colony,” Victor says, “because the crater is called
Equity Crater.” Leading into the crater is a ramp guarded by rails.
The rails guide the colonists to a stage in the middle where one can
sing on a Wednesday night. Today is Wednesday night, and a young
girl is humming a song of her own arrangement. When the hums
reach the edge of the crater, they return to the girl, and she replies by
raising her voice an octave. She does this multiple times, always
raising her voice an octave – and sometimes by a third or a fifth – but
she never voices lower intervals. Her ears don’t allow her to hear
them. Toward the end of her performance, a hum returns to her, too
low for her to hear. The note brushes the ground rather than soaring
through the air. The girl opens her eyes. Victor is the only one there
to see her struggle. He pats her head. “Welcome,” he says.
Photo by Kristin Wilson on Unsplash
