A Voice in a Silent world
It was quiet. I opened my sleepy eyes to a small dark room. On the right side of the room were two small chairs pushed up against the wall, they had plastic seats that were held up by metal frames. I was in an unfamiliar bed; it had plastic rails on the sides like a baby's crib and boring blue sheets. Next to the bed were odd machines that had a bunch of numbers on them. I began to move, trying to get out of the odd bed. Suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my arm, followed by the feeling of soreness through out my body. I hastily lifted the sheets to find I was dressed in a hospital gown and a needle was put in my arm connecting me to the machines. I gasped at the sight of my legs and arms; they had purple bruises all over them. I opened my mouth to scream for someone, anyone. I felt the air travel through my lungs and out my mouth, but I heard nothing. Had I lost my voice? This time I tried screaming even louder, I could feel the sound flowing out of my mouth but I again heard nothing. It became obvious someone heard me because shortly after I stopped screaming a doctor appeared in the room. I gave him a horrified look, and he looked at me apologetically and quietly handed me a clipboard. On the clipboard was a typed letter addressed to me. I glanced up at the doctor, confused. He had sat down on one of the chairs, patiently waiting for me to read the letter.
Dear Beth,
I am sorry to inform you that your whole family has been involved in a major car accident. Everyone involved in the accident has died, except for you, Beth. You were in the passenger seat and the airbag saved you. Although when your airbag was deployed it generated a very high sound pressure, a sound pressure so high it seemed to cause you to lose your hearing. Once you heal from your injuries you will be transferred to American School for the Deaf, until then I would advise you to study sign language. You'll also begin living with a foster family near the school.
Sincerely,
Dr. Martin
I felt the tears falling down my cheeks, as the words of the letter echoed in my mind. I would never see them again, I would never hear my mom laugh again, I would never hear anyone laugh again. As I started coming to complete realization what this letter meant I felt a thud at the foot of my bed. I lifted my head to find a book sitting next to my feet and the doctor making his way out of the room. I picked up the book and brought it to my lap. The Title of the book was Sign Language for Dummies. I almost smiled at the title, but then I remembered why I needed the book. I flipped a few pages through the book, letting my tears drip on the paper and cursing my horrible memory. After about an hour of reading I learned how to say hello, goodbye, and spell my name. I realized I was still too tired to learn anything so I decided to go back to sleep. At least I could pretend my family was still alive in my dreams.
I carefully stepped out of the large shinny blue van following my new older brother Tom. I waved a shy goodbye to my new foster parents Mr. and Mrs. Shelby. I had been living with them for a few days now but their perfection still amazed me. They both exercised at least an hour everyday to keep both of them looking physically fit. They hade a strict vegan diet, which meats I now hade to eat Mrs. Shelby's vegan cooking. And to top it all off they always dress professionally, Mrs. Shelby is always completely made up and ready by six a.m. The Shelby's gave me two perfect smiles as they waved back. I glanced up at Tom; he was born deaf and had been living here for a few years. Brown and messy, his hair fell over his face. The odd stain on his shirt accented his tattered jeans nicely. None of the foster kids could live up to the Shelby's perfection. It felt weird taking their last name as my own, Beth Shelby just didn't sound good together. Mr. and Mrs. Shelby were a King and Queen, and their foster children were just villagers they looked after.
I followed Tom through the school like a baby duck following its mother. Tom glanced over his shoulder and stopped when he saw me. Not expecting him to stop I bumped into him. He grabbed my hand and started walking in a completely different direction very quickly. He must be annoyed with me, I pretended I knew what he was telling me when he was giving me directions in sign language. We made our way to a door that had the numbers 295 on it, Tom opened it and pulled me inside the room. All the other kids had already taken their seats and when we walked in the teacher was teaching. She glanced over and waved at us, Tom waved back and they started signing to each other. After a few minutes, the teacher introduced me to the class and pointed to a seat in the back of the room. I made my way to my seat; all the other kids seemed to ignore my presence. I sat down at my desk and glanced up at the white board. The teacher had written Mrs. Jay and Fourth grade under her name. She had started teaching the class again using sign language; I barely understood any of it. Most of my stay at the clinic I had spent playing games on the weird handheld game system that Dr. Martin let me borrow. I frowned down at my desk, regretting the time I wasted at the clinic. I sadly looked up from my desk to find the boy in front of my desk eagerly staring at me. I jumped a little out of surprise and gave him a startled look. He smiled and gave me a little folded up square of notebook paper. I glanced up at the teacher; she was turned around writing something down on the white board. I carefully unfolded the note.
Hi Beth, I'm James! Why do you look so sad?
I took out a pink pencil and started to write something down. Because my family's gone, I can't hear, and I don't know sign language. I reread the words realizing how whiney and pathetic they sounded. I quickly whipped my pencil around and erased the words and tried writing another sentence. I'm not sad I just didn't get a lot of sleep last night and I'm having trouble understanding what the teachers signing. That sounded better, I folded up the note and tossed it onto his desk. He looked at the note with a confused face and then scratched something down with his pencil. The note was placed on my desk again; I unfolded it less cautiously this time.
Why don't you understand sign language? They've been teaching it to us since we were babies.
I sighed sadly, and then started writing an explanation. I just lost my hearing a few weeks ago. I passed him the note again, making myself write what had happened down put me in a depressed mood. James stiffened a little when he read the note. A few moments later the note found its way to my desk again.
Oh, I'm sorry that must be terrible. I'll try to help you with sign language at recess.
I smiled at him a little, happy I had someone to talk to and help me with sign language. I was worried that I wouldn't make any friends but I guess James was my friend now. I felt a little more at ease, knowing I wasn't completely alone anymore.
"Beth!" The sound flooded threw my ears. I jumped and hastily looked around. The room was silent again. My eyes widened and a mix of joy and fear flowed threw my veins. I was confused how I was hearing anything and what I was hearing exactly, but I was mainly just happy I was hearing. I looked around again; no one was looking at me as if they were waiting for me to respond. Maybe I was just remembering what my name sounded like. "Don't Ignore me Beth!" the voice erupted through my mind again. I frantically looked around again; everyone was quietly staring at the teacher. "Don't trust the boy." The voice stated very clearly. Maybe this was my conscience speaking. That's what always happens in the movies, a random voice appears out of no were. But shouldn't I agree with my own conscience? I guess I don't have to. I was still worried though. I hastily scribbled down on a piece of paper. Do you hear that? I crinkled it up into a ball and threw the paper at James. He picked it up and unwrinkled it. His whole body froze for a minutet. He then slightly relaxed a little and wrote something down, folded it neatly and handed it to me over his shoulder. I unfolded the note.
No, why? What did you hear?
I quietly shook my head, in disbelief. This had to be one of the most fake responses to a question I've ever read.
"The Boy Lies," the voice said quietly. And it was right too. I picked up the over used piece of paper and wrote the obvious. Why are you lying? Then I flicked the note at his desk. He opened it again and stiffened, this time he didn't turn around. I sighed and looked up at Mrs. Jay and did my best to try and figure out what she was trying to tell me.
The playground was small like the school. There was a jungle Jim in the middle, a swing set with four swings on it toward the right that I was sitting on, and to the left was a big slide everyone fought to get on. I sat on the swing, gently pushing my legs in and out. I thought I was going insane. I miss it. I admitted to myself. I miss the voice. I miss hearing the sound of it. Before the accident, music was my favorite thing; I use to sing the best in my class. But I'll never sing again, I'll never hear music again. Although I might hear the voice again, I want to hear the voice again.
"I'm here Beth, I'm your friend, I wouldn't leave you." The words sang through my ears. I closed my eyes and smiled. Every time I heard the voice I became less afraid. Maybe it was becoming my friend, even if it is just in my head. I opened my eyes to find James running up to me waving. "Tell him to leave, Beth! Befriending him will only hurt you!" This time the voice was yelling with anger. If it is my conscience shouldn't I listen? I started to slow down the swing to a stop. "Listen to me or you will regret it." The voice stated. I should listen to the voice; I don't want to make it mad. James handed me a small notebook he had written in and sat down on the swing next to me.
Beth I'm sorry if you think I'm lying to you, but I promise I'm not.
I rolled my eyes. Before I knew it I was writing a note telling him to leave. He took the paper and looked a little hurt as he read it. After scribbling something down and passed the notebook toward me.
Tell me about what you heard during class.
I closed my eyes. What do I do? The voice was being silent. The voice hated James, why should I tell him? The voice did scare me though. Maybe I should tell him. I took my pencil and wrote on the paper. It was a male voice, telling me things. I re-read what I wrote then flipped the pencil around to erase it, but before I could James snatched the notebook from my hands. His eyes widened even more than they did the last time as he read it. He closed his eyes and looked like he wanted to punch something. He angrily wrote in the notebook and shoved it toward me. I opened it up, afraid of his reaction.
Beth you need to stop listening to the voice. Promise me. If you do it will go away and stop bothering you.
Stop bothering me? Is the voice really a bother to me? Since when can James tell me what to do? I was glaring at him.
"We're friends Beth, he wants to take me away from you. Take the one thing that reminds you of your old life away from you. Are you going to let him do that?" The voice said, edging me on, making me angrier. No, I wasn't going to let him do that. I got up from my swing, threw his notebook on the ground and walked away smiling. "Good girl Beth." Thanks, I thought, directing the statement at the voice. I walked over to Mrs. Jay who was standing by a bunch of kids drawing on the sidewalk with sidewalk chalk.
I picked up a piece of chalk and wrote a message for Mrs. Jay. Mrs. Jay can you help me with sign language? She saw the message and nodded her head. For the rest of recess she helped me learn sign language, at least enough to get me through class.
"It's okay Beth, go to sleep," the voice whispered to me in a comforting tone. The voice had become more and more friendly lately. It didn't scare me anymore, I didn't know what it was but we were friends now. It was always there. I shifted to my right side and closed my eyes. The tiny twin bed the Shelby's gave me was not very comfortable and it took me awhile to fall asleep. I had been having problems sleeping ever since I went deaf. Sight is the only way I know what's going on around me, and when I close my eyes to go to sleep I feel so defenseless, it's scary. But lately the voice talks to me and calms me down. After a few minutes I fell asleep.
I was at the playground again, but no one else was there. I was alone sitting on the same swing I sat on the last time I talked to James. I was frightened. I waited for the voice to pop in my head and tell me everything was going to be alright. I heard nothing. I started panicking, I screamed even though I knew it would do me no good. Then I jumped, hearing my voice again.
"Do you miss that Beth?" I heard the voice say. This time it wasn't in my head though. I turned my head to the right and realized I wasn't alone anymore. There sat the voice, no longer just a voice. He looked like he was about eleven years old. Black pits sat were his eyes should be. His hair, black like the night sky, framed his pale white face. He had a twisted smile on his face.
"Is that you?" I said, still shocked that I could hear myself talk but even more so that I was sitting next to the voice I had been hearing for so long.
"Yes Beth its me," he said, smiling at my completely shocked face. "Beth I need to tell you what I am," he stated, looking a little more serious. "People on your earth have decided that your earth is the only one in the whole universe, correct?" I shook my head agreeing.
"Are you an alien?" I said surprised. He started laughing really loud.
"No, Beth. I'm more than that." He chuckled. "For lack of a better word, I'm god." I looked at him with huge eyes. I didn't know whether to run away or to bow down. "There are so many planets in the Universe that have life on them some one needs to control them all, that's me." He said, seeming rather proud of himself. "Earth is a very unusual planet though." He stated.
"How so?" I asked confused.
"Earth is the only planet where one species has become so dominant. Never before has any other species become so technologically advanced. There are tribes and packs of animals on other planets, but nothing that even resembles the modern town on earth. This of course interested me so I thought it would be a great experiment to make a second earth," he said sounding like a scientist.
"Experiment?" I said, shocked. "That's all we are to you?" I asked angrily.
"Don't think of it like that Beth, I'm just trying to find ways to help the universe and one needs to perform experiments to better things," he said, making me realize how influential he is. "I cloned your earth a few hundred years ago, moved all the people around the globe. The cold hearted rich people became the poor, the loving and kind hearted jobless people became owner's of major corporations. Different technology would be created and I could see what the human mind could real accomplish when placed under different circumstances," He said, sounding like a genius "The new earth is almost exactly like your own, but it still has a few differences. Companies would have different people running them and making all the big decisions. Companies that buy all their goods from over seas like Walmart don't exist; America's economy keeps getting better every day. Major automobile companies switched from making the traditional gas guzzling vehicles to hybrids." As he was explaining the ways of the new earth, I couldn't help but wonder why we weren't already doing all these things on our earth. "The only problem is every once in awhile we get genetic twins, two people born on the same day with the same genetic make up, and nearly the same amount of wealth in their families, except they are on different earths. Beth," My whole body froze as he said my name, "You weren't supposed to exist in this world, but you do. You and James are genetic twins, Beth." He stated clearly.
"But James was born deaf! I wasn't! We can't be the same!" I yelled in denial.
"James lost his hearing at a young age, but he was born with perfect hearing, just like you." He said, staring directly at me. "Beth, I can't have two of the same people. Perfectly alike people have the same ideas in there head, what would happen if you both became President of the United States? That could ruin the experiment, and that's why I brought you to James's planet." I widened my eyes.
"You killed my family and brought me here?!" I cried. I thought he was my friend!
"Your family's still alive Beth, they think you're at a summer camp." He said trying to calm me down. "You know I can let you see them again, I can let you have your old life back, hearing and all," he whispered and glanced up at me.
"You'll take me back?" I asked a tear of joy running down my face.
"Yes, but you have to do something for me. Of course if you don't do this you'll have to continue living here, your family will just have to assume you went missing." He said with a serious tone in his voice.
"I'll do anything to go back home!" I cheered
"I want you to kill James." The words seemed so terrible. Kill him. The one person who was nice to me on my first day of school, how could I kill him? I looked up at the boy, he and everything else was slowly fading away and it had become black. I opened my eyes and saw that I was in my new room again. I felt something hard under my pillow. I lifted it. Like a quarter from a tooth fairy sat a small hand gun. I lifted it up, realizing what I had just experienced was not just a silly dream. I took out my cell phone and shot James a text message. Hey can you come by my house, I want to talk. I hit the send button and closed my eyes. A moment later my phone chimed and I glanced down at it.
Sure, I'll be over in a little bit!
Body shaking, tears falling, I crawled over to my bed to fall apart. I didn't have a choice, I had to do it. I had to see my family again, how could I let them go through the pain of losing a loved on. James would understand, he would do the same thing if he was in my position. He would do the same thing; I keep repeating that until I could pull myself together. I quickly changed my pajamas for a pink tee-shirt and jeans. And before I was anywhere near ready James was in my room. James was looking at me with a happy smile as he waved hello to me and handed me his notebook.
What did you want to talk about?
Tears stained the paper smudging my writing . I'm sorry James, I'm so sorry for what I'm about to do. I never expect you to forgive me for it. I just want you to know that I'm sorry. This is the hardest choice I've ever made in my life. But I want to see my family again, I want my old life back, without it I know I'll go insane! Just know that I never wanted this. By the time I handed him the note I was balling my eyes out and he was trying to comfort me. I watched him read the note and quietly found the handgun under my pillow. I pulled the gun up and pointed it at him. James looked up at me, his big brown eyes looked like he had just lost all hope. He held his hand up, and put his index finger up pleading for one more moment. He quietly wrote something down on a new piece of paper. He ripped the paper out of the notebook crumpled it up and tossed it toward me. I cautiously picked it up watching him and unfolded it.
When you first moved in to your home, I heard the voice too. It told me to kill you before you killed me. I didn't listen.
I dropped the gun and fell to my knees. He could have killed me, but he didn't. The Voice warned him. It didn't warn me. James walked over and hugged me, I cried in his arms. Wishing I could explain with words how terrible, and awful I felt for even considering doing what I almost did.
James and I both dropped our hand guns in the backpack at the same time, then I zipped it shut and put the padlock on it to keep it shut. I picked up the heavy Backpack and dropped it into the deep hole we dug next to the swing set. A small note attached to a zipper on the bag. Friends Forever.
3,953 words