midas is kind and he holds me so tight

Only twenty minutes to sleep
But you dream of some epiphany

The first tremor found Soh in her office. It was faint - so much so that the ambassador wondered if she had imagined it. It was just enough to make the pen at the edge of her desk roll to the side, clattering to the floor in a sudden fall that made Soh jump. Strange, she thought to herself, suddenly on edge. She'd never felt anything like that before. What did it mean?

Maybe it was nothing, she told herself.

The second tremor disabused her of that notion.

She was in the Plaza, on her way to a local cafe she frequented. This tremor was bolder, enough that she staggered slightly, pausing in her walk to hold herself upright against the nearest building. Nothing fell - yet - but she could hear the screams, the prayers, and then the muttered rumors beginning to bud around her as people nervously resumed their days.

All except one. A girl darted into a nearby alley. Soh might not have followed, but she saw the look on the girl's face. Pure, unadulterated fear.

So into the alley she went, careful to walk loudly enough to be heard, her shoes scuffing against the pavement. "Hey," she called out from a generous distance, her voice gentle and calm despite the way her heart hammered in her chest. "You okay?"

Just one single glimpse of relief
To make some sense of what you've seen

Sohalia