My dog and I run through the rain, down the street I grew up on. Our feet are the loudest sound. I'm carrying a bag full of crab shells to dispose of in the garbage can at the end of the road, by the community mailbox. A family sees me…

An elderly man at the next till says cheerfully to the cashier, "Hallo Fräulein. Wie geht's dir? Do you know what I just said?" She giggles and says no, and that it sounded funny. He takes it in good stride. I turn to look at him and he is smiling,…

Amazing how silent the world can be mere metres from one of the busiest streets in the largest city in Canada. Just birds, birds that trill, that laugh, that shout, and the full faraway sound of an airplane, and the cars in the distance that sound like a river. But…