Spring is greeting me with a breeze and rays of sunshine are tickling my nose and cheeks. My first freckles of the year. I walk towards the wall and I can feel how the floor gives in to each of my steps. I sit down on the wooden floor and look at the planks that have lost their colors over the years. A rusty charm that I like. With my back leaning against the wall, I slide down and rest on the floor. I let my fingertips run over the floor with my eyes closed and enjoy the moment I have to myself for being the first. After a while I can feel the floor softly swinging and I can tell that a single person is entering the room. I smile because I don't need to open my eyes to know whom these steps belong to.

Hoik smiles at me. A smile only a few people get to see. It's something like a secret that we share without him knowing it. He has a gently smile but hides it, being unsure of himself. He doesn't like to stand out but he does with his presence and his looks. Today he is wearing a long sleeve shirt. His clothes are loose enough to feel comfortable but not too loose that they would hinder his movements. He is a dancer and I'm his silent audience.

Soon after the other students join the room and warm up. The class only has a handful of students. Some are older and some are younger. We live in a small town and it surprises me that a place like this exists. The few that are attending today start to warm up and stretch at the bars. It doesn't take much to realize that Hoik is the best dancer of all. He is shy about it and he always says that it is not hard to be the best amongst a few and shows me his shy smile. The old madame is entering the room and the students are lining up according to height. They will be accompanied by the old piano that is catching dust in the front left corner. Madame accepts my presence because I don't disturb the class. I never do. I sit at the wall quietly and let my palms rest on the floor before the piano starts playing. The rhythm of the dancing steps compliment the melody leaving the piano, the composition tingling my hands. 

I am deaf.