He crossed the room, embraced Ethan tightly, then gently took his sister’s free hand.

No one else moved. Some moments simply deserved silence.

The tiny melody gradually slowed. Its final notes echoed softly through the room before the mechanism came to rest.

The music had finished. Its purpose had not.

Later that evening, after Emily had regained enough strength to speak comfortably, she asked Ethan one simple question.

“Did you ever open the letter?”