Epilogue "The girl from the silence"
--
"Who has ears, hear.
Who has eyes, hear and see.
Who has hands,
hear and see and do.
Who has feet,
hear and see and do and go.
Who has a mouth,
hear and see and do and go and speak
and be silent
and be silent
and be silent –
and hear."
/Kurt Wolff
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Fiona switched off the tv. Tiredly she rubs her eyes, sighs and leans back. There is so much she had to digest. The return of her mother, she hardly remembers her father. That's why she didn't miss her parents so much in contrast to Martin and Elaine. Without the knowledge of her siblings she had met her mother in a small café in Lexington where they talked. Fiona was curious about the stranger who is her mother. Much to her surprise Siobhan bends her head in the same way as Martin. Both women talked about Elaine, her husband, their children and Martin, also about her father, Alexander, the paintings her mother drew during the last years. The sketches were really beautiful and reminded Fiona of her own pictures and those which Martin drew during his teenage years.
Fiona rises and goes quietly upstairs to the kitchen. Marcus and Linda offered Fiona, Elaine and Martin to live in their house to prepare the funeral and something else. The three siblings have no desire to return in their old lives and so they decided to stay a little longer. When she is downstairs Fiona has a look in the living room. Her brother has fallen asleep on the couch. Since the funeral Martin's behaviour is strange, he is quieter than usual and often he seems absent. Or is it only in her imagination?
She goes to the couch and looks into Martin's face. His breath is calm und steady, but something is different, because there is a little smile on his face. Carefully she moves closer and pulls up the blanket. Martin moves slightly, but he doesn't wake up. Instinctively Fiona's hand found her way to Martin's face. Gently she strokes his forehead and his cheek. She is lucky Martin and Elaine would do everything for her. She smiles and kisses her brother's cheek, before she goes upstairs. When she arrives at her room Fiona remembers she wanted something to eat, but somehow that isn't any longer necessary. Instead Fiona opens her diary and begins to write.
The wind tears up the darkness. The tears are not any longer dark, full of grief, abandoned and alone, but full of hope and light.
The morning begins and the sky of the night disappears with his innumerable stars.
The wind touch wonderful and warm my face and the sun spoils me with her light beams.
I deal with my past and I know, I must leave these times behind me.
I healed myself, because I went back a painful way to understand who I am.
There are some lucky memories from with my parents and siblings and the years are unable to get at those memories.
I'm a girl who couldn't hear. Actually.
A girl who could see and smell, taste and feel, but couldn't hear.
But then with the CI I was allowed to how marvellous it could be to distinguish tones from each other.
Sounds of noises and melodies of barking dogs. I'm connected with people around me. The sense of hearing is really beautiful.
Finally I hear, how wonderful life sounds.
Finally I can hear and control my own voice; I can play with pitches, sounding spirited or lovely. I can perceive nuances and understand irony.
I'm connected with the people around me.
Hearing is not only marvellous. It's a miracle…
But this night I will remove the transmitter from the magnet in my head and I will enjoy the silence.
A silence, which is disturbed by nothing.
A silence, which absorbs me and protect me like my brother does it always.
A silence, which made me strong.
A silence, which is unique.
A silence, which is planned for me since the first day.
FIN
This was the last chapter and I hope you like it.
/Dies meine englische Übersetzung des Gedichts von Kurt Wolff
deutsche Originalversion von Kurt Wolff:
„Wer Ohren hat, höre.
Wer Augen hat, höre und sehe.
Wer Hände hat,
höre und sehe und tue.
Wer Füße hat,
höre und sehe und tue und gehe.
Wer ein Mund hat,
höre und sehe und tue und gehe und rede
und schweige
und schweige
und schweige –
und höre."