Just a one-shot I wrote, wondering whether Felipe ever pressed a key on the piano after he regained his hearing.
I know I did on my grandmother's piano. My sisters and I were always told not to. Only when the piano needed tuning were we allowed to press keys. Until she started giving us lessons. And I have never been deaf.
Why did Felipe not tell don Alejandro he regained his hearing? Yes, in the series, it was told it was because Felipe feared don Alejandro would treat him differently. But what reason did Felipe have to think such a thing?
I do not own any of the characters.
Secrets of silence.
The first time it happened, Felipe felt his heart pounding in his throat from surprise. It came unexpectedly, suddenly out of nowhere. Instinctively, he covered his ears. It took a while for him to realize that what had startled him was a sound. That realization came later as he heard more sounds, and they were emerging from all directions.
Like the muffled neighing of horses in the stables, the soft sound of hooves on the earthen floor, and the melodic whistling of the wind through the surrounding hills. There were countless sounds, and each one sounded different.
It didn't take long for him to distinguish the origin of various sounds—the crackling of the kitchen hearth, the creaking of the wooden floors beneath his feet, and even the soft sound of chickens clucking in the distance. What surprised him the most was that the tone of each voice was different. And how a person's voice changes with emotions like anger, joy, and sadness.
The piano had always captivated him from the moment he entered the hacienda for the very first time. Scared and shy, he had followed the tall man into the largest house he had ever seen. It had a large wooden door and more windows than he could count. The large black piece of furniture and ivory keys had something fascinating. Felipe remembered how Diego had explained with gestures that pressing a key produced a sound on the black instrument. Each key had a different sound. Felipe counted them—fifty-two white, shiny, and smooth, and thirty-six black, smaller and made of wood.
Before his departure to Spain, Diego had played the piano regularly. Back then, Felipe couldn't hear, only watch as Diego's fingers pressed the keys rapidly while he looked at a book filled with lines and black dots with sticks attached. Music notes, Diego had said. It was a bit like letters in a book. Each black dot was a bit different and represented a different key on the piano.
"As soon as you regain your hearing, I'll teach you to play the piano," Diego had promised.
Hesitantly, Felipe let his fingers glide over the white keys. What would happen if he pressed one? Don Alejandro never played the instrument. Yes, when Diego still lived here, he did. Sometimes, Diego and don Alejandro even played together, sitting next to each other, pressing the keys faster than his eyes could follow. But since Diego had left for Spain over two years ago, no one had played the instrument. Felipe curiously wondered how it would sound.
Carefully, he pressed one of the white keys. A loud kind of hum echoed. Startled, Felipe jumped back. The sound was nothing like he expected.
Felipe hesitated for a moment. He was alone in the hacienda, and Diego had told him each key sounded different. Curiosity won, and Felipe pressed another key. A black one this time left of the white one he had pressed earlier.
A frown appeared on Felipe's forehead. He couldn't hear much difference between the white and black key. After a moment of thought, Felipe pressed another white key, this time on the right side of the instrument. This time, he heard a difference. Whereas the more left key made him think of the growl of an angry dog, this one reminded him of a bird singing a cheerful tune. He pressed the key farthest to the right. This one was so soft that it was almost inaudible. Curiouser than before, Felipe then pressed the key farthest to the left. Again, a loud hum, this time so heavy that he could feel it in his stomach.
Felipe sat on the piano stool.
Placing his thumb in the middle, as he had seen Diego do countless times, he pressed five adjacent keys one by one. It sounded beautiful. Felipe repeated this several times. Then, he did the same with the black keys. It sounded very different from the white ones, just as Diego had described.
Felipe wondered why there were more white keys than black ones. He could ask don Alejandro about this; he would surely know.
But then the don would wonder why a deaf boy wanted to know. And perhaps the don would even guess he was not deaf at all. Felipe wanted to tell the don the truth as soon as he realized he was no longer deaf. Something in him, however, also wanted the surprise to be even greater. And for him to have regained his speech as well.
That's why Felipe didn't say it right away. It took a few days before he understood the words he heard. Some sounded so different from what he had imagined from watching the movement of the lips. Felipe practised speaking. For days, he seized every moment to make a sound, no matter how small, to come out of his throat. It was as if there was a blockage. Because no matter how much he wanted it and tried, it just didn't happen.
Two weeks after regaining his hearing, Felipe walked into the hacienda. Don Alejandro had a visit from don Sebastian. Felipe didn't really like the man. Although he had only seen him a few times, he always got an uncomfortable feeling from that man.
With his back turned to the dons, he heard don Sebastian say, "I don't understand why you don't send that mute one to an orphanage. Such a deaf idiot is worthless around here." He stayed around the corner. Although he liked don Alejandro and was grateful for being taken care of so well, there was always the fear that the don would get tired of his presence and change his mind.
With a surprised tone in his voice, don Alejandro responded, "Why would I do that? He's a good boy. And what would become of him in an orphanage? Who knows what they would do to him."
"That's exactly why. I can recommend twenty boys who would be better servants and are just normal."
"Felipe may be deaf-mute..."
At that moment, Maria entered the hallway with a tray filled with some snacks on her way to the library. Felipe quickly pretended he was heading to the kitchen, so he couldn't hear the rest of the conversation. The words he did hear fuelled his fear that don Alejandro might want to get rid of him. Why would an important man like don Alejandro wanted a deaf-mute orphan in the house? Don Sebastian was right. It was much easier to talk to someone who could hear. Since that day, Felipe had made extra efforts. As long as he did that and the don thought he was deaf-mute, he might be allowed to stay out of pity. The words he had overheard had led Felipe to decide not to tell don Alejandro that he could hear.
Felipe had become very fond of the old man, and couldn't wait for Diego to return from Spain. He wanted nothing more than to stay, at least until the man who had saved his life returned, and he could see him again.
Felipe focused again on the white and black keys. So far, he had been allowed to stay.
Once again, he let his fingers glide over the white keys. This time without pressing them. He wondered what would happen if he pressed all the keys at once.
Of course, that couldn't be done. There were far too many. Eighty-eight, to be precise, and he only had ten fingers.
Very quickly, one after the other, then?
Felipe placed his finger on the far right of the piano and slid his index finger as fast as possible over the keys to the left. It reminded him of don Alejandro expressing his indignation about the new alcalde, Luis Ramon, and he became angrier with each word.
Felipe did the same, but now from left to right. He found this more pleasant. Yes, the sounds coming from the piano were all different and beautiful. He wondered how it would sound if someone who could read those black dots played it. He would have to wait for Diego to come home. Felipe fervently wished that it wouldn't take much longer.
As he continued exploring the keys, Felipe marvelled at the range of emotions each seemed to tell.
The end.
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