"Hey dude!" I yelled after Emmett's retreating back only to flinch as I remembered that he was deaf. I resorted instead to running as to capture his attention, laying my hand carefully on his shoulder as to turn him around to face me. I noted the momentary look of confusion as he realized who it was that had stopped him before his expression was replaced with a look of exasperation and slight annoyance, but before I could even say what I had come to say, his hands were moving in a furious gesture of communication. Too bad I couldn't understand what he was trying to communicate with his hands. Perhaps is would have been a better move to not say "I don't know what you're saying." I pondered as I watched his expression darken.
His hands moved in that same gesture only now his movements were more exaggerated and pronounced. I would be lying if I said this helped any, but it didn't matter, I came here about my sister, my heartbroken sister. It was frustrating on a whole new level that my futile attempt to convey my message was failing, besides, gesturing my words was not the same as actually saying them angrily.
When he finally understood that I was talking about my sister, I was in disbelief annoyance that all he could say was, "That's your gesture for Bay?" My patience had been thinning throughout this entire 'conversation' and had now begun to unravel at an alarming pace. I had come here to talk about my sister, not to learn how to sign, all that I needed to say, I already knew, I had learned for Bay. And so with this thought in mind I began to say my words in unison to the gestures I preformed with my hands. "She likes you. But now, she's sad. Don't treat my sister like that."
These were the only words I could sign somewhat correctly, but the importance of these words had driven me to learn, for my sister. I watched as his eyes dimmed to an impossibly dark color, regret perhaps? Hurt? It didn't matter to me how bad he felt, because compared to what he had done to Bay, his 'hurt' was at its minimal. I promised myself that if this were to ever happen again, I'll be doing a different motion with my hands, I hope he knows what a fist is when it's coming at him. For my sister, I would do this all for my sister, Bay.