‘Just close your eyes and listen,’ Ms Turner says. It’s time to relax, calm down, think – feel, even. This time to music, the theme from Schindler’s List.
Juliet’s eyes half-close and she looks around the group. Sadie’s face is vacant, as if the music has washed everything out of her. The new arrival, Willa, is sitting very straight, eyes closed, hands loose in his lap. Their lap, Juliet reminds herself. Noah’s trying hard to keep his eyes closed, but he’s clearly not comfortable, his shoulders are high and tense.
The music is gentle, very gentle. Eventually, Juliet’s eyes close.
When the music stops she comes to and looks around the circle. They all look dazed, even Noah, as if by switching off the sound, Ms Turner has woken them from a deep, dream-filled sleep.
Juliet feels something warm and wet land on her knee. A tear? She hasn’t cried in years. How can a piece of music have the power to make her cry? It’s not as if she’s opened up more than she has before, not like she’s stopped trotting out the same lines she’s been feeding to people like Ms Turner for years.
But something has changed. Something is shifting. Whatever it is, though, Juliet isn’t sure if she’s ready to examine it all that closely.