: A restorer of antique clocks. He is precise, patient, and lives his life by the steady rhythm of gears and springs.

"I will leave you," he says finally, his voice steady. "Not because the love is gone, but so you can find the person you are when no one is watching you struggle." 4. The Parting

: How the absence of a familiar sound (the cello) changes the dynamics of a home.

He doesn't hear a cello. He hears the sound of wind chimes, the crashing of waves, and Clara’s voice, clear and laughing, narrating the colors of a sunset. She hasn't been "fixed," but she is whole. He realizes that "leaving her" was the only way to truly keep the essence of who she was alive. Key Themes