Ball of Silence

Ball of Silence - Chapter 11

Chapter 11

         When I regain consciousness, I find myself in a hospital bed. Everything is an antisceptic white, the ceiling, the walls, and the sheets. The steady drip of intravenous fluid enters my arm.

Sina and Flin keep me company. Sina lies on a second bed in the room, asleep in her clothes. Flin, his head bandaged, sits in a chair with his head flipped back and his mouth open. He has to be snoring, but the only thing I hear is the crystal's song. It stands on my nightstand, resting in its box.

         I sit up carefully and take inventory of my injuries. My right arm, into which the intravenous fluid flows, hurts more than my bandaged left arm. My kidney stings. My stomach is fine. The ankle only hurts when I move it, so it's apparently not broken. I open the box—I'm not dizzy at all, strange. The crystal hums neutrally, content.

         Thank you, I think towards it. You saved my life.

I have no tinnitus either.

         All of a sudden, I realize that the crystal's song is the only thing that I hear. I should hear the shuffling of sheets, or the click of the handle of the leather box. I definitely should hear Flin's snoring. Nothing. I close the lid of the box. The crystal's buzz loses no volume.

         I say Flin's name and jerk in fear. I can't hear my voice! There is a slight vibration of vocal chords but there is no sound other than the crystal.

         "Flin," I say again and Flin snaps awake. Well, at least he hears me.

         Flin scrambles to his feet and shakes Sina's foot; she wakes as well. His lips move, but I hear nothing. He rushes to my bedside and urges me to lie down again with his hands. Sina jumps up, looking worried and scared, and silently moves her lips. It hits me like a sledgehammer. I am deaf....

No, that can't be right. I can hear the crystal's song. What the hell is going on?

         They seem to realize from my confusion that I can't hear them. Sina caresses my face and smoothes a strand of hair from my forehead. Her lips move slowly.

         I concentrate on their movement. I think she says, "Can you hear me?"

         "I can't hear you. I can't even hear myself! Can you hear my voice?"

         They both nod.

         I want to jump out of bed but Flin presses me down into the sheets and shakes his head. My heart gallops as if it wants to leap out of my chest.

Flin speaks as if from a silent movie. Sina hits him in the side and says something back to him. He fumbles around in a bag by his chair, finds a tablet and hands it to Sina.

         "How long was I in that shaft?" I ask, not even hearing my own question.

         Sina plays with the tablet and finds the setting that she wants. She speaks, and the tablet transcribes her speech into writing. She shows me the tablet's screen.

         "About ten hours." I swallow hard.

         She speaks into the tablet again, and shows me the results. "You have been in a coma for three days."

         "What? Three days..."

         She nods and squeezes my hand.

Flin leans towards the tablet. Sina shows me the screen.