Short stories

One way home pt. 2

Monday, March 27, 2017

The sounds of cars were murderous to her ears. A vibration that was not pleasant to her body. She weaved through the crowd of bodies, trying to avoid each person. Brushing shoulders, stepping on shoes. It was a sea of chaos, an ocean of heat, typical city streets filled with panic and inpatient bodies.
She couldn't apologize, couldn't say "excuse me." She was just left pushing through. Making her way to the edge of the crowd, the small girl was pushed to the ground by an overpowering figure.
"Move." A voice bellowed, a hard wall to the small girl's ears. She fell hard to the ground, struggling to keep from being trampled. She felt an arm wrap around her, lifting her off the ground.
"Excuse me, sir," a boy said, still holding onto the girl. "I do believe that this little lady deserves an apology." The girl looked at the ground, shaking her head. She started to sign before realizing that they probably wouldn't understand.
"Sorry." The man mumbled, giving the boy an irritated look before pushing both to the side, walking away from the scene entirely. The girl stayed curled up into herself, afraid of the people around her. The arm fell away, a hand resting on her shoulder.
"Are you okay?" The man asked concern in his voice. She nodded, biting the inside of her cheek.
"Are you... are you deaf?" He asked, the question piercing into the girl. She shook her head, looking up at him. She began to sign, pausing at the realization that he wouldn't know what she was trying to say.
"Can you understan-" the boy watched her hands as if reading them. She was more than shocked when the boy's hands began to move.
"Yes." The girl left out a sigh of relief, her body losing all its built up tension. She smiled up at the boy feeling calmer and less out of place.
"What's your name?" He signed, the girl watching him with a curious look in her eyes. She smiled, signing out the letters.
"M I N." The boy smiled.
"You're not deaf right?"
"No." The boy nodded clearing his throat.
"So I can talk, right?" The girl nodded, realizing that she was still quite close to the boy.
"My name's Seung-tae," the boy stepped back, stretching out a hand. Min shook it, feeling the warmth from his body spread to her lifeless cold hand. His smile warmed the girl's entire body as they stood there looking at each other. She pulled her hand back, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
"So are you okay?" He asked picking up her bag. He handed it over to her and began to walk. She nodded, quietly following beside the boy.
"Thank you." She signed, her small hands moving slowly. The two walked in silence, something the small girl had fallen quite accustomed to. She never much liked conversation anyway. It had always been a bother for her. She couldn't talk, yet she could hear. It was like torture. After a long while of silence, the boy spoke.
"Min, right?" She nodded, looking at her feet. She kicked a small pebble that found its way in her path. Such a small object in such a big world. "If you're not deaf, I hope you don't mind me asking, but why don't you talk?" He was straightforward. The girl paused, chewing at her lip nervously.
"I... I can't." She signed trying to ignore the look of confusion on the boy's face. After a moment, Seung-Tae nodded.
"Well, that must be interesting." He chuckled. She stopped walking, shocked by his response. Grabbing his arm, she turned him towards her.
"What do you mean?" Confusion written on her features as she signed out the question.
"I don't know. I guess I just think it would be interesting to watch the rest of the world quietly. It seems like it'd be peaceful." His smile softened his words as he spoke. She smiled back at him and nodded. She wouldn't exactly use the word interesting to describe the way she had to live, but she liked the way that Seung-Tae explained it. He didn't look at it like a curse or a sickness. He saw it as an opportunity to appreciate life. And she liked that. It made her feel... normal.
"Where are you headed?" He asked, still looking at her as he began to walk again. She looked up at the sky and shrugged her shoulders. She hadn't really had a plan as to where to go when she left her house. She just wanted out. She was tired of hearing her mother's and father's voices. She was tired of hearing her little brothers cry and the dog barking. She was just tired of hearing in general.
"Is that an 'I don't know?'" He smiled, nudging her shoulder. She nodded, smiling herself. She looked at both of their feet, noticing that they fell in step with each other. "Then do you want to go to the cafe with me?" he asked. She noticed he clenched his hand as he asked the question. Almost as if he was nervous.
She thought for a moment, hesitating. To her, he was a stranger. But it didn't feel that way. She felt okay around him. So that's why she nodded her head, letting the boy named Seung-Tae take hold of her hand with a bright smile pulling at his lip and drag her down the sidewalk, to the small coffee shop on the corner of the station.