This was a short story I wrote for a competition in 2018. We had to write a 500 word story with the title 'Hidden Voices'. I've also uploaded it onto my Wattpad account but not much luck there. Please read through, add your comments and share!
When my brother Alex,was two years of age he suffered an ear infection that was left untreated for a while causing it to develop. This resulted in him losing his hearing. I would help him read when we were little and he could speak fairly clear. I loved my brother though it stung to know that he hadn't heard his own voice, and it throbbed knowing he hadn't heard mine. Though, this was the day for change.
As the elevator came into sight, I sighed nervously. Ali, my brother's wife, glanced up at me and whispered "Don't worry, he'll be fine". I gathered my cuffs in my hands and pressed the button. My heart crept up into my throat and she squeezed my arm as the doors to the elevator opened. At the end of the corridor I could hear my parents talking. Ali let go of me and sped down the hall towards the room where her husband would hear for the first time in thirty years.
My mother hugged me before I had even stepped into the room. My father smiled a heavily solemn smile. We all waited in silence as the audiologist checked the cochlear implant. She was a kind woman with curly hair and a warming beam. I peered at the name tag that was wonkily pinned on her lilac cardigan. Her name was Angela. I simpered warily when she caught me staring. Her lips gathered into a well-rehearsed grin and she revealed that our brother was all good. Before she left she told us that she would be in her office, next door, if we needed anything.
Ali hurriedly crouched down in front of Alex and smiled. She spoke first and said "I love you". He broke down into tears as soon as he heard her. We all took turns speaking, telling Alex our names, and letting him hear our voices. With every word the moment became more sentimental. After we had done a silence hung in the room. My mother looked lost and my father rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands. Alex glimpsed up at me adoringly and asked what that sound was using his hands. It took me a while to understand what sound he was talking about. I smiled at my older brother and told him "That's silence". A puzzled look clouded his face; he shook his head slowly, and spoke for the first time since we'd been here. "This isn't silence". He spoke gently, hearing himself for the first time. "I've heard silence all my life, this is different", he uttered, still shaking his head. My mother flashed a look of concern at me and my stomach twisted ever so slightly.
A loud noise came from the office next door and Alex perked up immediately. "Isn't that silence?" he said eagerly. We all exchanged looks of alarm before I spoke, "No, that was the sound of someone screaming".
