Chasing Luck (Niall Horan)

•Chapter Two•

Chapter Two

August 22nd

Walking down the street with Britta by my side was glorious. I could hear the chatter of people walking past me, speaking to someone either on their cell phone, or someone beside them. The sound of the buzzing of cars driving past me filled my ears. Birds chirping, the sound of heels and feet scuffing up against the cement sidewalk, the pitter patter of last night’s rain storm down the gutters were the sounds that filled my ears.

It’s been five years since I’ve heard such amazing sounds. You really don’t know what you have until it’s gone. Most people think of a person, or someone they loved. I thought  of my hearing. I would love to get it back, but if I had the choice between my family and my hearing, I would choose my family in a heartbeat, no questions asked and no hesitation required.

I tightened my grip on Britta’s leash as we crossed a road. Britta was a good dog. She didn’t leave my side at all - it was something she learned in school for guide dogs. When I was unable to hear, she would help me by nudging her nose against my hand whenever something was coming my way, or when someone was talking to me and I didn’t know them. She had to be alert for me because I had no hearing, and I couldn’t spend most of my life paranoid, and looking out for every small thing.

It didn’t take me much longer to arrive at the orphanage I’d spent the last five years living in. Honestly, even though I missed my old house in Ireland and I still called that home, the orphanage was my home as well. I’d spent countless nights there signing with the girls who learned sign language for me. I’d spent countless nights, taking care of Louise, and the other small babies in the orphanage. The memories I’ve created there were something I would always remember. Not even my inability to hear can take it away from me.

I didn’t bother to knock on the door after I punched in the code to the orphanage. I opened the door, letting Britta in first, then me. I half expected Lacey, one of the little ginger girls to be running around with her best friend, Amy, who was pretty, blonde and just like Lacey. Those two girls were adorable - I wanted two little girls just like them, after I had a little boy first to make sure that he protects both of them.

I turned the corner, smiling at Christina who was sitting at the table, eating breakfast with one of the little toddlers. I waved to her as she began to sign to me.

“Good morning, Allie. What brings you here?”

“I have amazing news, Chrissy,” I signed to her.

“Well? Tell me!” she laughed, and I grinned at the sound of her laugh. It was full of happiness, and love - I could immediately tell that she loved doing what she did. She loved being a parent to all these orphans who lost their parents whether they knew it or not. Being a parent figure in someone’s life definitely gave Christina a type of love that nobody else could give her, except these children here at the orphanage.

I sucked in a deep breath as I spoke my words out loud, not knowing exactly how Chrissy would take this. “I got my hearing back,” I told her, a large grin on my face. “This morning when I woke up.”

It only took Chrissy a second to stand up from her chair, the legs screeching as they were forced back by a strong force. Tears were streaming down her face as she wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me into a strong embrace. My face began to mimic hers, complete happiness filling my every inside. I could feel Chrissy’s tears hit my neck as mine hit her’s. Chrissy was a huge part of my life - she wasn’t a best friend, she wasn’t a mother. It was almost like she was an Aunt, someone who was the next step to being a mother to someone if they ever had lost their mother.