The Silence That Spoke a Thousand Words

Falling Into Your Life (Literally)

This takes place before Inanimate Insanity

Bomb and OJ are kids in this chapter

Headcanons:

- Bomb is a selective mute (a person who is unable to speak in certain social situations)
- OJ is a silent type, this is based off his trivia that OJ was supposed to be the silent type until he got a voice actor

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A soft spring breeze gently flies through the air. The sun shines on the kids playing outside, playing tag and talking amongst themselves as children do. Yet one sits alone on a tree branch, hiding away from the children. A young boy named Bomb, hides in the tree, silently watching the kids with envy. It’s not like he wanted to play with those kids, he was envious of something else. Their voices. Bomb was born with a stutter. He was the only kid in his grade, perhaps even in the whole town that had a stutter and everyone knew that. Whenever Bomb spoke, the people around him would point and laugh at him shamelessly, mocking his voice. The endless amount of teasing and bullying he got from those kids were ruthless.

“Why does your voice sound like that?”

“Are you dumb? Why can’t you speak normally?”

"Can you speak any slower? Your voice is annoying me!"

“Oh no! We’ll catch his disease if he comes near us! Let's get away from the idiot!”

Why were they so mean? Bomb didn’t do anything but speak. Why was that so wrong? He hated it so much, all he wanted was to talk. To tell people what he thought, how he felt, what he saw today, what kind of shows he liked to watch, the plants he liked to grow. Why was it so hard for him to be himself without people making fun of his stutter? It was frustrating, it was belittling, it was cruel. It was so bad to the point where Bomb refused to speak. The constant bullying had caused him to take a vow of silence, no matter how many people tried to pester him to speak, to jab at his voice, to crush his self-esteem again. Not even the teachers could get him to speak, no matter who it was, Bomb refused to speak to anyone. What was the point of speaking, if no one listens?

Bomb sighs as he hugs his knees.

“W-Why c-c-can’t I speak l-l-like everyone e-else?...”

Bomb closes his eyes and imagines himself a reality where he was normal. Just a normal boy with a normal voice. Maybe then the kids in his class wouldn’t bully him for his voice. Maybe then he could play tag with all the other kids outside. Maybe then he could be a normal kid, talking to his friends about the latest tv show, answer the questions his teachers asked him. Maybe then he doesn’t have to be scared to speak...

Bomb sighs again, he knew that no matter what he wished for, his voice will still be the same. The same voice he hated. He just wished something could just make things better, maybe change his life around. Something, or someone… He then opens his eyes, and then he sees a bee. Right in his face.

A moment of stunned silence.

“AHHHH!”

Bomb screams and then loses his balance and tumbles out of the tree. He crashes down, falling face first. He winces in pain and tears form in his eyes. Then he looks up, and makes eye contact with a boy who was apparently sitting under the tree. His brown eyes meet the boy’s green eyes. They both stare at each other in shock. Bomb then flushes bright red, this boy just witnessed his embarrassing fall from the tree and is staring at him, completely stunned. Before he could process anything, the orange haired boy closed the book he was reading and dug through his pants pocket. Bomb blinked at him for a moment, he was completely sure that this boy was going to laugh at him, but he hasn’t yet. Then the orange haired boy handed Bomb a handkerchief from his pocket. Bomb stared at it for a bit until he realized that his nose was bleeding. Well it was granted, Bomb did fall face first from a tree. Bomb blushed, embarrassed but took the handkerchief from the boy gently, wiping his nose that was leaking a good amount of blood.

The two sat there in silence. Bomb wasn’t sure what to do, usually people who meet him would laugh at him but this was different. This orange haired boy didn’t speak to him and Bomb was afraid to speak, in fear that this boy would make fun of him like all the others, but the orange haired boy just continued to stare at him. Bomb’s eyes darted around the boy, he was wearing a white collared shirt, very pristine and not a sign of a wrinkle, his hair was tied up in a little ponytail, the boy had a beauty mark under his right eye, and his eyes… He had very pretty emerald eyes… Bomb then noticed that the boy caught him staring, he quickly looked away, flushed and tried to find something else to focus on. Then his eyes locked onto the boy’s book.

“American Sign Language: 101.”

Bomb’s eyes light up. Bomb had taught himself sign language so he didn’t have to speak to others and communicate without using his voice. But no one knows how to speak it, let alone understand it, but this boy was reading a book about it… Maybe, this is something… someone… who was going to change his life around… With trembling hands and a beating heart, he signs nervously and slowly…

“Do you sign?...”

The emerald eyed boy’s face lit up in surprise. He takes a moment, and then lifts his hands up slowly…

“I do…”