A clap.

Mr. Abadi nodded. He wrote a poem that night, which he later read to her: “The first sound is the bravest one— The closing of the gates, The vow that says: No going back, The drum that never waits.” Two weeks later, he received a new aortic valve. Elara stood by his bed the next morning, listening.

Elara laughed. “Yes. A good, firm door slam.” Later that night, alone in the on-call room, Elara pressed her own stethoscope to her chest.