You never really think about your heartbeat—never pay any attention to it—until you’ve lost it. Until it’s gone and you just can’t help but miss it. Until the night when you lie down to sleep is unbearably quiet because there’s one very vital thing missing: that sound. The drumming, that constant drumming deep in your chest. Then…well, then it’s all you can think about. You can’t just ignore its absence; you have to ask questions. You have to get good and confused and ask ‘why is this happening?’ And then it dawns on you. It isn’t happening. It’s already happened. It’s no longer a new thing, so whatever’s the cause is, it’s something in the past, meaning you can’t do anything about it. That’s where the reality check comes in.