Ears Popping: After Flight

He turned on the radio. Music was a crime scene: smashed cymbals, a bass line like a heart attack, and vocals that swam in and out of a murky tunnel. He turned it off. The silence was worse.

He sat up, heart pounding. He swallowed. Another pop , softer, in the left ear. Then a crackle, like small bubble wrap being stepped on. And then— clarity . ears popping after flight

The silence was no longer muffled. It was clean, crisp, empty. He could hear his own breath. He could hear the tiny scratch of his thumbnail against his jeans. He laughed, and the sound was bright and immediate in his own skull. He turned on the radio