I Lose Myself With You
Daphne was sitting on the picnic table thinking about what her mother had just told her. Regina would never be able to sign to her again. How could that be? It was just unimaginable for Daphne.
Suddenly someone touched her arm, making Daphne jump in surprise. "I'm sorry… I… haven't figured out how to do that without… scaring someone… who can't hear me coming," the blonde, Noah, apologized. His signing was pretty bad. But at least he could still sign. "It's okay," Daphne replied. "Are you okay?" Daphne looked up at Noah, "Can I help?" "Not unless you're a wizard or a magician," she answered, trying to stay strong. "I don't think so. But… Harry Potter didn't find out he was a wizard until he was like fifteen, so there's a chance," Noah tried to cheer the redhead up. "Eleven," Daphne corrected him. "Huh?" "Harry Potter was eleven when he found out that he was a wizard," Daphne explained. "Ah, right, my bad." Noah smiled and they looked at each other for a moment. Then Noah shifted his gaze to the ground for a second.
"I just found out that my mom can't sign to me ever again," Daphne then told him, not really sure why, "She has some weird physical thing messing up her hands." Noah didn't know what to say. He could relate to that, at least kind of.
"I'm sorry," he finally said. "You're not deaf," Daphne reckoned, "You don't get it. You have no idea how exhausting it is to have to read lips all the time. Imagine you found out that your parents could never speak to you with their voice ever again." Noah had to laugh at the irony of what the girl had just said. "I'm imagining," he choked out, "If it… makes you feel any better, she's probably a million times madder that you are. It sucks to feel like your body's betraying you," Noah paused, making Daphne think, "See you… back at camp?"
Daphne nodded just slightly and Noah turned to leave. But he stopped after a few steps and turned back around to look at the girl on the verge of tears. "Daphne…" he whispered, very well aware that she couldn't hear him. Yet she turned her head to look at him. "Noah, wait," she said, "I'm sorry." "No, it's alright" he replied, taking a few steps towards her and sitting on the table next to her, "It might not be the same… but I can imagine what you're going through." "How?" There were so many emotions running through Daphne. Sadness. Disappointment. Confusion. And also a little curiosity.
Noah took a deep breath. Daphne could still read his lips, but he didn't look at her when he started talking again, "I… have this condition… It's called Ménière's disease. It gives me… like dizzy spells… and messes with my hearing. Right now it's only temporary, but…someday, maybe soon, I might lose my hearing completely…" Daphne was speechless. She felt like a jerk after what she had said to him earlier. "I'm so sorry." "Don't be. It's not your fault." Noah shrugged it off so easily, but Daphne could clearly see how upset and confused he was. This uncertainty was eating away at him. Daphne put a hand on Noah's shoulder and he looked at her. "Looks like we're in the same boat, kind of," she said, trying to lighten the mood a little. Noah gave her a small laugh. "Yeah."
They both fell silent and just sat there, feeling a little bit better in each other's company.