A frozen quiet settles over the hollow as light rain drums steadily on broad leaves and glides down the glass, each drop a soft punctuation in the stillness. Low thunder rumbles far off, a distant heartbeat that rolls through the glen without disturbing the calm, while dry bamboo stalks tap gently against one another like quiet knuckles. A wind chime catches the occasional breath of air, its glassy tone hanging in the space between rainfall, adding a crystalline shimmer to the scene. This is the