In the midst of the excited chatter, I almost miss her quiet, lost, She fades into the background; The charged environment engulfs her. This was home to me, a world she does not understand. Glinting brass instruments shoved back into unassuming hard cases; Black and white uniforms untying and loosening; The cackle of finished water bottles tossed into waiting bins; This is my home. Dimly, I hear her call my name, almost begging I turn, and she is there. And then I see a tear slowly sliding down her face, one special moment of actual understanding.