I conducted a silence that lasted three minutes

I was standing in the middle of a cathedral, not a single instrument in sight. The air hummed—not with sound, but with the weight of what hadn’t been played yet. I raised my baton, and instead of striking, I let it hover. The orchestra didn’t move. They weren’t waiting for me to begin. They were already inside the silence, breathing it. When I finally lowered my hand, someone in the back row exhaled—just once—and the whole space shivered like a held note finally released. I woke up with my fingers still curled around an invisible stick.