Reduced
"Reduced?" he said. "Do you say reduced?"
"You can say reduced," I said. "Or pared down. I would say pared down."
"Pared down?" he said. "P-A-I-R-E-D?" he said.
"P-A-R-E-D," I said.
"Pared down," he said. "I didn't know that one."
"You could say minimal too," I said.
"I guess I always say reduced," he said, and he tilted the candle so the wax moved.
"Well, anyway, it's very melancholic music," he said.
"Sad," she said. "It's sad music."
"Not just sad," he said. "It's not only sad. It also makes you hear within. That's something more."