< 19
Mere
19
“What?” I asked.
“He’s really into you and wants to be with you. Natalie, have you had much contact with him before?” Summer asked, like a relationship expert.
I wanted to say that I had barely known him before, but then I remembered something my mother had mentioned.
had Peter
childhood neighbor, though I
of it.
- it. I told Summer.
was my
Summer nodded. “So he’s an old acquaintance. That explains it.”
no
memory
As she was speaking, someone called out to her. Summer responded urgently.“Natalie, try to remember something else. I’ll help you analyze it, but I have to go.”
The call ended. Lying on the sofa, I felt calmer. The pent–up emotions had finally found release. I drifted off to sleep.
I dreamt of my past. I was seven, and it had been a month since I lost my hearing. I was temporarily out of school and recovering at home. My old friends abandoned me. I offered them my cherished snacks and toys, but they still refused to talk to me.
I explained that my parents would get me a hearing aid, but they didn’t believe me. Instead, they teased me with notes that said “Deaf girl.” I couldn’t hear those kids around me, but I saw their disdain and mockery. In the twilight, I sat on a park rock, tears falling. I knew hearing aids cost a lot of money, so I never urged my parents to get me one. I only blamed myself for not being smart enough to stay away from that car. My sobs echoed through the park.
at
hesitant
to
take
He it.
stubbornly held
- it.
Suddenly, a clean handkerchief appeared before me. I looked up to see a cold, handsome little boy. My tears
handkerchief, the stared I stopped. After a moment, I quickly took it.“Thank you,” I whispered softly.
He said nothing, sitting beside me. Even if he spoke, I wouldn’t hear. Two small figures sat together in the sunset for an hour. I stopped crying, just watching him. He seemed slightly uncomfortable. His face was still cold, but his ears flushed slightly red.
He picked up a twig and wrote on the ground. “Why are you staring?”
Reading the words, I sensed his kindness. My fear subsided. My voice light, my eyes crinkling at the corners. I said, “You’re handsome.”
He blushed even more, writing, “Stop staring.” Then, he changed his mind and erased the words. He then wrote, “Fine.”
I smiled. He was different from the kids who bullied me.
From that day on, we became friends. Three months later, my parents bought me a hearing aid. I could finally hear! It was faint and husky, but I could hear.
I excitedly went to his house, only to find that he’d moved. I cried, searching for him. My voice became hoarse, yet I still couldn’t find him. I’d never heard his voice, never learned his name. I only knew his last name was Caffrey.
cool, austere
The
scene
shifted, the cold
little face slowly merging with Peter’s
