An in-breath
The silence before you realise you’re going too fast
An out-breath
The silence of a lobster with elastic bands on its claws
An in-breath
The mid-afternoon silence in a home for the elderly
An out-breath
The silence of the doctor as she checks something in your notes
An in-breath
The silence of an absent parent
An out-breath
The silence of a child’s playground at night
An in-breath
The silence when you realise your body has changed shape
An out-breath
The silence of a pile of dirty clothes
An in-breath
The silence before relief and rescue arrives
An out-breath
The silence in between pressing ‘play’ and the start of your favourite piece of music
An in-breath
The silence between the bleeps on a smoke alarm that indicate the battery is running out
An out-breath
The silence as you wait for night to end
An in-breath
A moment of silence inside a losing football crowd towards the end of a match when nobody is singing
An out-breath
The silence as an actor forgets their lines
An in-breath
The silence after all the heating turns off at night
An out-breath
Then the silence of a corrupt official as he looks at your documents
An in-breath
The silence on shutdown just after a computer fan has stopped whirring but before the screen goes black
An out-breath
The silence in the back of a sealed shipping container at a border
An in-breath
The silence of the person checking you in to a motel at 4.45a.m. as they deliberately stare at their monitor screen instead of you
An out-breath
The silence during non-consensual sex
An in-breath
The silence between the coughs during the gap between the movements of a performance of a Mahler symphony
An out-breath
The silence inside a headmaster’s office while you wait outside
An in-breath
The silence of a ketchup bottle at a roadside food van
An out-breath
The silence between a teenager asking someone out on a date for the first time and that person saying no
An in-breath
The silence when your phone has run out of battery in a critical situation
An out-breath
The silence inside a lift full of strangers
An in-breath
The silence of a small antique black metal box whose lid won’t open
An out-breath
The silence when a man in uniform enters your train compartment
An in-breath
The silence of an elderly woman in front of a van Gogh painting at the Musée d’Orsay
An out-breath
The silence of two people as they look up at the enormity of the night sky
An in-breath
The silence following a knock on the door by housekeeping in a hotel
An out-breath
The silence on the other end of the line while the person tries to process your paperwork
An in-breath
The silence of a dog at your feet, looking up
An out-breath
The silence of a washing machine as it waits to decide when to let you open the door
An in-breath
The silence of a child about to be sick in the back of a car
An out-breath
The silence inside your house as a policeman walks down your driveway
An in-breath
The silence
of someone standing still and looking in a fridge trying to work out if there’s something to eat
An out-breath
The silence of watching an act of horror unfold in real time
An in-breath
The silence of a cave painting in the Ardèche
An out-breath
The silence of a shadow by a street lamp
An in-breath
The silence on a bus when you suddenly realise everyone else has got off, the engine has been switched off and the bus isn’t going
any further
An out-breath
The silence inside every empty fake present box under the Hamley’s Christmas tree
An in-breath
The silence of a flat tyre
An out-breath
The silence between bombs falling
An in-breath
The silence of someone standing reading a letter by the front door but still wearing their outdoor coat
An out-breath
The silence when you realise you’re about to see a new naked body for the first time
An in-breath
The silence of a window too small to climb through
An out-breath
The silence of staring at a new coat in a mirror as you try to get a better understanding of how you look
An in-breath
The silence of a small Mediterranean hilltop town in the heat of a Sunday afternoon
An out-breath
The silence of a trans kid in the bathroom
An in-breath
The silence of a skeleton in a science laboratory
An out-breath
The silence after you turn the key in the door of a new house
An in-breath
The silence on a night bus full of cleaners going to work
An out-breath
The silence of a partner on the phone to a parent
An in-breath
The silence while you wait for an urgent, important file to upload but it’s going too slowly, has even stopped
An out-breath
The silence in a shop as you wait to be told of the price of an unmarked item of jewellery you suspect is particularly expensive
An in-breath
The silence of watching someone else trying to make a decision
An out-breath
The silence of a person who never came home
An in-breath
The silence of a dried-up lake
An out-breath
The silence in a hot-air balloon after the gas has been fired
An in-breath
The silence between raindrops dripping off a gutter
An out-breath
The silence while someone decides whether to buy stolen goods or not
An in-breath
The silence of someone reading these words
An out-breath
The silence inside a sandwich inside a fridge inside a shop inside a station
An in-breath
The silence as you try and comprehend the numbers of people drowned
An out-breath
The silence of a candidate waiting to learn about an election result
An in-breath
The silence in the empty toilets during a presentation at an arms fair
An out-breath
The silence of a passport queue
An in-breath
The silence of offices in a glass skyscraper, seen from the outside
An out-breath
The silence of a shop with nothing on the shelves
An in-breath
The silence of an apple core next to a child’s car seat
An out-breath
The silence in the empty cl
oakroom of a museum where all the bags are kept during the day
An in-breath
The silence of a man’s hand resting on a woman’s leg
An out-breath
The silence of pedestrians when a hearse goes past
An in-breath
The silence of a favourite pair of shoes by the front door
An out-breath
The silence of a child’s bedroom at night when the child isn’t there
An in-breath
The silence of an audience at a Radiohead gig in Japan between songs
An out-breath
The silence of someone else’s possessions handed to you in a see-through plastic bag
An in-breath
The silence of a broken water fountain in an abandoned town square in the heat
An out-breath
The silence of the Queen’s vintage wine collection
An in-breath
The silence of Rekia Boyd
An out-breath
The silence of an unread book about gardening
An in-breath
The silence of a prayer
An out-breath
The silence of an impenetrable wall
An in-breath
The silence of a group of people as they sit and listen to someone speaking, reading aloud
An out-breath
The silence of exhausted workers at the end of a long shift
An in-breath
The silence of empty second homes at Christmas time
An out-breath
The silence of a stone picked up near a mountain and taken home
An in-breath
The silence of a beetle set in resin
An out-breath
The silence of a Kyoto temple while the hot tea in front of you cools down
An in-breath
The silence in a nail bar as someone paints the nails of the final customer of the day
An out-breath
The silence when you realise you are in danger
An in-breath
The silence of an empty, closed motorway two miles after a serious accident
An out-breath
The silence as orchestral percussionists count their rests
An in-breath
The silence of a soldier overseas
An out-breath
The silence inside a border and customs waiting room
An in-breath
The silence of a nearly built bridge
An out-breath
The silence of a potter surveying a newly finished earthenware bowl after the wheel has stopped
An in-breath
The silence of one glove on a park bench
An out-breath
The silence between someone asking someone to marry them and the answer
An in-breath
The silence while someone younger than you checks your ID
An out-breath
The silence of a first night in prison
An in-breath
The silence when you don’t know what to say or write or do or how to get out of bed
An out-breath
The silence at the end of a cup of tea
An in-breath
The silence inside a just-finished coffin
An out-breath
The silence of a nest of eggs with no birds present
An in-breath
The silence of ice between creaks and splinters
An out-breath
The silence in the back of a taxi when you think you’re deliberately being taken the wrong way
An in-breath
The silence in the middle of a calm sea in the summertime
An out-breath
The silence as a shop’s card reader dials your bank to see if there is enough money in your account when you know there possibly isn’t
An in-breath
The silence of a flower arrangement tied to a lamp post
An out-breath
The silence as heard from a hiding place, working out if the other person has passed the door and carried on walking, or stopped
An in-breath
The silence inside an air pocket at the bottom of a collapsed building
An out-breath
The silence when you realise someone doesn’t believe you
An in-breath
The silence of an armed guard as he decides whether to let you in or not
An out-breath
The silence as a table of diners waits for the last person to give their order to a busy waitress
An in-breath
The silence of a human-rights lawyer in the boot of a car
An out-breath
The silence by a new grave with no headstone yet
An in-breath
The silence of a large pile of unopened mail in the dark
An out-breath
The silence as you wait to see if the person upstairs is asleep yet
An in-breath
A minute of silent remembrance
An out-breath
The silence of meeting someone again as they try to remember your name
An in-breath
The silence of a government when another nation is in need
An out-breath
The silence of someone near you looking at something on their phone
An in-breath
The silence of a pig’s heart in a jar of formaldehyde on a shelf
An out-breath
The silence of a barber shop when an army general walks in and sits down
An in-breath
The silence of a landscape from space
An out-breath
The silence of a record collection
An in-breath
The silence as you wait to see if a complicated Wi-Fi password has been accepted by the network
An out-breath
The silence after a distraught phone call from a family member is suddenly cut off
An in-breath
The silence of four nervous young men in a first-class railway carriage
An out-breath
The silence of a row of new tractors by a factory
An in-breath
The silence of children’s shoes that are now too small
An out-breath
The silence of someone hiding underneath a just-dead person
An in-breath
An out-breath
The silence of no food
An in-breath
The silence of a felled ash tree
An out-breath
The silence in between blows
An in-breath
The silence of an unopened jar of honey at the bottom of a bag
An out-breath
The silence of all the cars lined up in a car-rental place waiting to be picked
An in-breath
The silence of a wooden yellow pencil with a snapped tip
An out-breath
The silence between a lightning strike and the wait for thunder
An in-breath
The silence of an empty dance floor
An out-breath
The silence as someone looks really closely at you
An in-breath
The silence between gags as someone vomits nearby
An out-breath
The silence of an unseen politician in the back of a passing car
An in-breath
The silence of used confetti on the floor
An out-breath
The silence of a child on an iPad
An in-brea
th
The silence of a broken heater
An out-breath
The silence while looking for a light ahead somewhere. Through the dark
An in-breath
The silence of a locked gate
An out-breath
The silence of an unreported injustice
An in-breath
The silence of a school at night in winter
An out-breath
The silence of an expensive dress in a window, seen from the outside
An in-breath
The silence of a taxidermy owl
An out-breath
The silence when you realise you’re dying
An in-breath
The silence of Paul Dacre’s bookshelf
An out-breath
The silence of an envelope of test results
An in-breath
The silence between strings on a squash racket
An out-breath
The silence of an expensive but unplayed piano in a living room on the twenty-eighth floor
An in-breath
The silence while people listen to an announcement telling them why the train is delayed
An out-breath
The silence of the Crown Jewels
An in-breath
The silence of a pack of supermarket mushrooms
An out-breath
The silence of Fred Astaire’s shoe lasts
An in-breath
The short sudden silence on a very rainy motorway as you briefly drive under a bridge and for tiny moment there is no rain on the roof
An out-breath
The silence of a missing limb
An in-breath
The silence of a dead plant
An out-breath
An empty bombed-out building
An in-breath
The silence when you realise you’re lost in the snow
An out-breath
The silence where a mosque used to be
An in-breath
The silence after an email you sent remains unreplied to several weeks later
An out-breath
The silence in a woodland having just thought you heard a woodpecker and waiting for it to start making the drilling noise again
An in-breath
The silence after you’ve just told a lie
An out-breath
The silence of a dead body in the cellar below
An in-breath
The silence during bad turbulence on a plane over the North Sea
An out-breath
The silence straight after a loud noise downstairs in a house at night, but you’re on your own
An in-breath
The silence of a young girl applying mascara
An out-breath
The silence after an unpleasant heckle on someone’s first stand-up comedy gig
An in-breath