Summer has finally arrived, and I will start updating more than ever!
Thank you guys so much for all the support and sticking by me throughout the year.
Here's my ninth quote-shot!

Standard copyright disclaimer is applied.

"Sometimes your nearness takes my breath away; and all the things I want to say can find no voice. Then, in silence, I can only hope my eyes will speak my heart."
-Robert Sexton

When I was a little girl, my father died in a car accident on his way home when a drunk driver's car intersected with his. My mother cried hard in the funeral, but I cried harder. I know I did— my cries were all I heard that day. I cried, wailed, until I ran out of voice to keep screaming. When I left the cemetery, I could not talk either.

After a few weeks later of silence, my mother took me to a doctor. The kind, but forward, doctor told me that I was mute from shock. My mother was distraught, but not surprised. I could have been sad, but then I thought: would I talk even if I was not mute?

That visit to the doctor was 18 years ago. I'm 25, in college, and still mute.

Every time I think of my father, I did not cry, but I felt my voice fading more and more away every second I do. I think about my father all the time.

You can guess how many times people were frustrated when they tried to communicate with me.

But on one spring, weekday, morning, I met a man that tried to communicate with me, and did not walk away when I did not respond. His name, I remember, is Sasuke Uchiha. For a rich heir to one of the richest billionaires in Japan, Sasuke is not as spoiled as many would perceive. He told me that even when his parents did not suggest it, he wanted to work for the money instead of just accepting it.

To prove that he was not lying, he was a classmate of mine when we attended the same medical school, Kampo University. He sat next to me in classrooms, and studied and did homework with me in our dorm rooms.

Because I could not speak a word, Sasuke managed to work with my silent communication. I nodded, shook my head, motioned with my hands and arms, and expressed my feelings through my eyes. Sasuke did not ask any more than what I could offer, and that's what made us close friends for a full four years.

In my fifth year, Sasuke had asked me to be his girlfriend. I did not need my voice to show him how excited I was when I accepted. I was still silent, but I never failed to show him my affection. We would hug, kiss, hold hands; and in each moment we do, silence did good, for once, by making each second powerfully meaningful.

Everything was perfect, until the eight year. The eight year is when he started telling me loved me. My heart broke when all I could do was smile and nod. Over time, everything that used to be figured out and arranged, became confusing and out of place.

Every time he told me those three words, I would remember the moment I had with my parents after watching the romantic movie with the name that I cannot seem to remember. My mom looked so touched, and even my dad cannot help but smile. I asked them what was the big deal, and my dad merely said that the two main characters in the movie were in love, and that was what gave the movie a happy ending. I told them I thought that the couple only had a big crush on each other. My parents shook their heads and told me that crushes were small compared to love.

"Aren't they the same thing?" I remember asking them. I also remember looking and being confused when my parents looked at each other, smiled, looked at me, and together…

"No," they responded.

I did not get why until I met Sasuke. I had many crushes in my life, but what I had with Sasuke was different. The effect he had on me was powerful, and for the first time in my life, he made want to talk again.

But I could not, and it was the reason why my graduation day was so painful.

"My dad wants me to move to Suna," I remember Sasuke telling me in our graduation banquet. His announcement made me upset, of course, because Suna is very far from Konoha, our hometown.

I remember myself breaking when he held me by the shoulders, and with pleading eyes, told me he loved me. The breaking part?

He was asking me to say it back to him.

He told me that he did not know if I loved him back or not, and that smiling and nodding was not enough to assure him. I had to say it back to him. If I do, he'll stay in Konoha and marry me.

My mom could not leave Konoha, and I did not want to leave her when Sasuke asked me if I wanted to go to Konoha with him. All I needed to do to continue being with Sasuke was to tell him I loved him, but the even more tragic part?

I was not sure if I did.

So when Sasuke asked me to tell him I loved him back, I could only look into his eyes, hoping he would understand me through them like he always did.

But this time, he did not.

How could he understand something that even I'm not sure about?

I made no other response, but the desperate look in my eyes. Iwanted to tell him so much, but because I was not certain about what to say, Sasuke had nothing to receive. So after a few silent moments of getting nowhere, Sasuke closed his eyes, let go of the cold hands he was holding…

And left.

He did not say goodbye, and I could not blame him. If he spoke, he would break out in tears. I could not speak in the first place.

I was too desolate to realize how wet my face was when he disappeared from sight…

And too drowned in my new emptiness to notice the small whimpers I gave out when I cried.

After that night, I did not see Sasuke until he was lying in a hospital bed. His car crashed into a drunk driver's car when Sasuke was on his way to the airport. Fortunately, the accident was not enough to kill Sasuke instantly.

I remember crying hard, but silently. I lost my dad to a car accident; I did not want to lose Sasuke the same way.

I wanted to call out to him, beg him to wake up. I wanted to tell him that I finally realized what I did not realize before:

I love him. I love him so much.

My head and heart ached as they engaged in conflict. My head knew I could not speak. My heart knew that I loved him.

I felt something break inside me, and something was released from its prison. I did not know what it was until I opened my mouth.

"Sasuke!" I remember calling out to him as I held his cold, pale hand, "Please wake up, Sasuke! Don't leave me, Sasuke! I LOVE YOU!"

What I did not remember back then was how to breathe when I saw his eyes flittered open. He looked at me and smiled. Returning the grip I had on his hand, he told me that he thought my voice belong to an angel, calling him to open his eyes for he was now in heaven.

He told that after he did open his eyes, he was right.

I was careful not to hurt his body when I jumped to hold him in my arms. I was crying hard as I planted kisses in every part of his un-bruised face. I begged him to stay in Konoha, and in response, he asked me to dig through his pockets. When I searched the first pocket, I pulled out a velvet box. When I opened it, I gasped. The diamond ring was beautiful!

He smiled when he saw my reaction, and told me that he was planning to use the ring to propose to me. I gleamed and cried to express how much happiness I was feeling before I returned and pulled him back into my arms. I kissed him all over his face again, but this time, with a "yes" in every single one of them.

After he was released from the hospital, with crutches, Sasuke helped me plan out the perfect wedding.

And it was.

After tucking her in, I kissed our daughter, Suki, goodnight before turning off the lights. Before I left the room, Suki thanked me—the story I told her tonight was the best out of all the stories I tell her every night.

When I closed the door behind me, I turned to my right to see Sasuke leaning against the wall. He smiled when he told me he waited for me was listening to my story the entire time.

I kissed him, and just like every night, I told him I loved him. And also just like every night, Sasuke kissed me back, and told me he loved me back.

While holding hands, Sasuke and I returned to our bedroom. When Sasuke went to the bathroom, I prayed to God with a smile, thanking him for giving me the best husband, and child, in the entire world.

Thank you for reading!

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