Nora wordlessly bid her family goodbye, and then, she set off. It had taken her days to pack all of her possessions and she was eager to begin arranging them in her new cottage. She had, of course, seen pictures of her new house, and she had a plan as to how she would organize them.  The only thing which worried her was that her parents had arranged for her to live with her step-brother.

Had Leo been able to speak, the apprehension that had built up in the pit of Nora’s empty stomach would have long been replaced with interest towards him.

Her parents, fluent at this manner of communication, had made sure that once she was also capable of making small conversation, she would not speak to them in anything but that language. Nora liked it. It was new, and she would surely learn quicker this way.

But when it came to actually speaking to people other than her parents, who were, incidentally, her sign-language teachers, Nora had no clue of how she would react. Her parents knew. And it was because of this that they decided against accompanying her to her house.  She was old enough to handle this well. Or so they thought.

The scenery, for the cottage was situated in the countryside, flew by rapidly as the car sped along the motorway. 2 hours later, Nora was helping the driver move her boxes and crates into the cottage. She thanked him, gave him a few bank notes, and locked the door behind her.

As soon as she began rifling through the suitcase which contained her clothes, she saw a light, similar to the beacons she saw atop of emergency service vehicles, in her bedroom flashing brightly, indicating the arrival of her step-sibling.

Scrambling up, Nora flattened out the creases in her light summer dress as best as she could and patted her hair down hurriedly as she dashed down the stairs to open the door.

Hello, waved Nora with what she hoped was a kind smile.

Leo waved back. It was her first time meeting him in person and Nora took in his outer appearance. His hair was black, and it was cut short. His eyebrows were the same colour as his hair. His eyes lay beneath them, a deep shade of brown, the irises almost swallowing the white with their size. His nose was straight and she thought it suited his face. His cheeks, Nora giggled inwardly, had not yet lost their baby fat. His lips were drawn into a scarlet pout.

His torso was clothed in a grey knitted jumper and the edges of a white shirt were just about showed beneath. His trousers were black, his legs were quite tall, and he completed his look with a pair of Doc. Martens.

Although Nora was sure Leo had been to see the house before, she showed him where all the different rooms were, pointing to each room, all the while moving her hands in the ways she had been taught by her mother.

Leo nodded along, noticing the beacons in every room, even the toilets. Of course, these would be needed to alert him when a visitor came along. They arrived at his room last and when she was sure he didn’t need any more help, Nora waved and mouthed, ‘See you later.’

He gave her a warm smile, thankful for her mature attitude towards him. He had worried that she would treat him with negative indifference, but she did not seem like she was planning on this kind of behaviour.