"You’re stuck," she said, her voice like velvet and smoke.

"I’m trying to give everything away in four minutes," Selim replied, gesturing to the sheet music. "The pride, the pain, the memory. But I can't find the bridge."

The neon sign of the "Pera" jazz club flickered, casting long, rhythmic shadows across the cobblestones of Istanbul. Inside, the air was thick with the scent of roasted coffee and old sheet music.