Noise
Written by Syd W.
Illustrated by Liz C.

Through her closed eyes, she imagined everything that surrounded her. Sight was far too common-rely on other senses, she told herself, and maybe it will leave.

Hearing. There was a thick, unbreakable silence everywhere, clouding her mind. That is the sole reason she was doing this-the silence is what she wanted to leave. Everything was too quiet.

Touch. Her skin was cold-not clammy, just cold. The air was cold, not too cold. She felt her hair drift around in the breeze, whispering, its breath skimming over her skin.



Suddenly her heart began to pound. I am nervous. It is this unbearable silence. Where are the birds? Why can I not feel the sun or the breeze?

Her lungs throbbed but still she could hear nothing.

Taste. She hesitated, then stuck her tongue barely on her lips to try to taste-but there was only chlorine.

Her eyes shot open as she realized she was sitting at the bottom of a 25-foot pool. The water was cold, her hair flowed in the current-but at least that explained the silence and her pulsing heart.

She pushed off the bottom and almost suffocated by the time she broke the surface. Gulping in air, she hauled herself onto the ground, expecting to hear noise from the surroundings.

But there was nothing.

The silence would never go away.

She was deaf.