'The music is not heard with the ears.' Then I realize that 'sweet' wasn't the right word. 'You mean it sounds pleasant? The sounds are pleasing to the ear?' 'It is sweet.' I look for Toby but he is up in the control room. Malone asked me that question and how many times have I not been able to answer it? The fact that the IM, as I call it for short, is inside my mind does not necessarily mean that it is produced by my mind.) What is the IM like? How many times has Dr. (I prefer the word 'internal' to the word 'mental' when referring to the music. But it is impossible to put into words what the internal music is like. I stop tying my sneakers so that I can think about his question. Also, I know it only lasts about ten minutes. I quickly pick Beethoven's 'Largo' from Piano Concerto No. I do not understand the precise meaning of Toby's facial expression. Malone, who is up in the booth fiddling with some controls. The old man thinks that rock will overstimulate your gray matter.' Toby rolls his eyes while looking in the direction of Dr. I make a mental note to use that word the next time I like something.Ī few minutes later Toby is back with the list. The smile on his face means I made a good choice. I also like the title of the song, 'The Calling.' I finally pick a piece by a composer named Santana because the name looks like Sandoval, my own name. I don't recognize any of the songs or composers. The music on the back of the page contains rock songs.

'How about choosing from this side, this time?' Toby is holding a piece of paper that lists different kinds of real music.

The music that comes from inside my head is not considered real. The 'real stuff' is what he calls the music that is piped in through the speaker in the machine. 'Ready for the so-called real stuff?' he asks when slides me out. Once I called him doctor and he corrected me and said, 'Toby, please.' His face is covered with freckles. Malone but he doesn't let me call him doctor. 'Marcelo, Marcelo.' I hear Toby in the distance. Malone and Toby to see me from up in the control booth. The hard part is remembering to lift my finger. 'Don't forget to lift your finger when you first hear the mental music.' The tunnel has a speaker. The lights are not bright enough to hurt my eyes but I close them anyway. Then he slides me inside the tunnel of the machine.

Marcelo in the real world