A.N. Wow 40 reviews? Y'all are way too good to me!

Chapter 13

Wavelength

I'm at the Blue Bar, sitting on the floor in Muffy's room. She's currently brushing her long blond hair, talking to me through the reflection in the mirror. It's harder for me to lip read this way, but in an effort to preserve the relationship Muffy and I currently had, I was trying not to complain too much.

'The bar...much business these days. I...cold weather.' I catch her say. I nod and she continues talking. 'Griffin...specials night. Drinks...half off.' I see, and I look up at her eyes, surprised. I write a note and pass it up to her.

'Did you say drinks will be half off one night?' It asked, and Muffy nods at me once she read it.

'We're thinking about it. It's a good idea, don't you think?' She says after turning to face me. I sign,

'Yes,' and after a moment of hard concentration, Muffy smiles brightly. 'You said yes!' She says, excited. I nod happily at her, and we smile at each other. Everyday we hang out, I teach Muffy a few signs. She remembers some and forgets others, but she was making a huge effort to try to communicate with me.

'Okay let me try.' Her lips form, and she quickly holds up her hands.

'You come to bar?' She asks, unsure of herself. I smile and sign back,

'Yes.' Muffy gets off her stool and hugs me, excited.

'Yay!' Her lips form. 'I can talk to you easier now!' I nod at her, and she begins talking again.

'So you will come to the bar if we have a specials night right? There will be a lot of people here you know.' She asks, concerned. I hesitate for a moment, then nod. It can't be any worse than the girls night we had. All I had to do was focus on one conversation at a time and I'd be fine. 'Great!' Muffy said. 'I think we'll actually do it. I'll tell you when Griffin and I come up with a date.' I smile and nod at her, and soon afterwards I leave the bar. I was really glad Muffy and I were back on good terms again. She'd forgiven me without hesitation, and right afterwards she began talking to me as if nothing had happened.

Once I'd left Muffy's, I begin walking to Vesta's farm to see Celia. When I'd apologized to her, she was just as forgiving as Muffy, but we weren't really friends even before I'd kicked her out. I'd always found her nice nature a little over bearing, but after talking to her a few times, I'd seen she wasn't as bad as I'd once thought. After I walk across the bridge leading to Vesta's farm, I see Celia and Marlin working out in the fields. Neither of them notice me as I walk up, and I have tap on Celia's shoulder to catch her attention. She jumps, but soon smiles once she sees it's me.

'Oh hey Jill!' Her lips say, and she wipes some sweat from her brow. I smile slightly and wave at her, and when Marlin sees me I wave at him as well. 'We're about to go inside for the day. Won't you come in and have a drink?' She asks me and I nod. The three of us walk inside their house and sit down at the table.

'Where's Vesta?' I sign to Celia.

'Oh, she's inside the store right now doing inventory.' I nod, and Celia gets up and starts pouring three glasses of milk. While she's in the kitchen, Marlin and I are left alone at the table. We look at each other awkwardly for a moment, when Marlin suddenly asks me a question.

'How's the farm?' I'm taken aback for a second, then I take my notepad from my backpack and write a note.

'Good. Thanks for asking.' He nods once he's read it. He looks as if he wants to ask something more, and I look at him, expectantly.

'You can,' he pauses and takes a breath. 'You can sign to me if you want to. When Celia was learning, she had me help her out, so I know a few things.' I register what he said, and a look of shock forms on my face. Marlin knew some sign language too? This idea never occurred to me, as I'd always figured Celia was the only one who tried to learn. Marlin knowing some too was scary and exciting at the same time, and as much as I hated to admit it, I miss being able to sign with people. Maybe it's about time I did again.

'OK,' I finger-spell out to him, and he gives me a hint of a smile. Celia comes back to the table with three glasses of milk and a plate of cookies. 'Thank you Celia.' I sign, and she signs back,

'You're welcome.'

I spend the rest of the afternoon with these two farmers, eating, laughing, and of course, signing. They were able to learn quite a bit for people who weren't in constant communication with a deaf person. Of course, they still had a lot to learn, but it was nice to see glimmers of recognition on someone's face again. I had missed that feeling of being on the same wavelength as someone, and no matter how many notes I write, nothing would ever compare with being able to talk to someone in my own language.

'You should water crops twice day.' Marlin says, giving me another farming tip. When you sign in a conversation, you usually don't say every word, and even though Marlin didn't, I knew what he was trying to say.

'Good tip. I try do that.' I sign back, and we continue the conversation.

'What made you want to start farming anyway Jill?' Celia asks, signing every word. I freeze. It was a innocent question, and obviously Celia meant no harm, but she had no idea what those words meant to me.

'I could see you being a farmer.' I hear Claire's voice say in my mind. I shake my head, trying to force her voice out.

'Jill?' Celia signs, concerned. Her and Marlin are staring at me, but my hands can't seem to form any words. I feel a panic attack coming on, and I'm quickly losing the ability to breath. Who knows what would have happened if it'd continued, if my mind had continued down the path of unraveling itself, because right at that moment, I see Marlin and Celia turn their heads to the door. I slowly turn mine as well, still breathing hard. Once I'm able to see straight again, I make out Vesta in the doorway, her face blood red with rage, a pearl white piece of paper in her hand.

'We just got a note from Phantom Skye.'

A.N. Hey guys! Thanks for reading and I hope you liked it. Once again I want to say thank you for all of the fabulous reviews. I don't know what happened, but this story has started to get more than the usual amount of reviews, favorites, and follows, and I wanted to thank you guys so much! And also, don't worry if you have ten billion questions in your mind right now, I promise I'll resolve most of them. (Hopefully) Thanks again, y'all are the best!

-Goldengirl