Am I ever going to get discharged? I’ve been here for over three days.

 

Your doctor flushes you the perfect smile before he shakes his head. “I’m afraid you’re going to have to wait until we find someone to take you in – we did, we’re waiting for a response from them.” He says as he gestures for you to sit up, you do as you’re told after writing down another sentence and showing it to him.

 

Who is them?

 

He stares at the question for a few seconds before he shrugs, he walks to the foot of the bed and picks the file hanging on it. “Relatives.” He places it back carefully and walks back to you. “Put your arm over my shoulder – we need to work those legs.” He scoots down at bit to reach your sitting position and height. You throw your arm over his shoulder and the regular nurse quickly comes beside you to help.

 

The doctor snakes his arm around your waist and helps you up with the help of the nurse she did the same. As soon as your feet touch the ground, you stumble forward but with the tight grips they have on you, you didn’t meet the floor.

 

Am I ever going to dance again? You think to yourself as your legs refuse to respond.

 

“Try to relax.” The doctor says softly, you nod and you try to relax your legs. “Take one step forward,” He commands gently, you lift your right leg properly but it refuses to meet the ground again. “You’re too tense.” He says suddenly, both he and the nurse guide you back to the bed, you sit on it and sigh before he can say anything there’s a knock on the door.

 

The nurse goes to open it while the doctor checks your legs, “I think we have to X-Ray both your legs,” He mumbles to himself but you hear him. “I’m going to look through your medical history before that though.” He stands up and ruffles your hair before he walks out of the room.

 

“Let me talk to her,” You hear the old lady say, the nurse nods and leaves the room. The old lady steps in and smiles widely softly at you. She looks familiar but you can’t place her face with a name, like you’ve seen her from somewhere. You know you have but where? You pick your notepad and pen as she walks closer to you, you scribble down a greeting and a question. I miss Hoya, you think sadly.

 

Good Morning. Are you a relative?

 

You show it the old woman; she looks slightly surprised at the gesture before she reads the words on the notepad, she nods.

 

“I’m your grandmother,” She says, “From your mother’s side.” You don’t know how to take the news, you just nod.

 

Is my mother with you?

 

She shakes her head sadly, “I haven’t seen her in years – where is your father?” Your hands shake as your scribble down what you think is the answer.

 

I think he’s dead but I haven’t seen his body. They won’t let me see him.

 

Her lips crawl into a thin line before she smiles once more, “You’re going to be living with me. I’m sure you don’t enjoy staying here.” You give her a hesitant nod. “I’ve made a few arrangements for you,” She informs.

 

Like what?

 

She sits next to you in deep thought. “I know you love dancing,” She says with a short laugh, “I got you into one of the best dancing schools here.”

 

You look at her with a skeptical look on your face; she looks at you and shakes her head. “I’m not joking.” She tells you, “I know a lot about you – I haven’t seen you since you were about the age of 2, you’ve grown well.” She rambles on.

 

Is the school filled with disabled people? Because I can’t talk.

 

She shakes her head, “Oh, no, honey,” She continues, “The school is for everyone, you’ll meet nice people!” She exclaims happily.

 

I’ve heard that before. You frown at your own sentence before you show it to her.

 

“It’s hard to tell what your emotions are but I’ll learn with time.” She states confidently. “Do you know sign language though?” She asks after a long pause of silence.

 

I can only sign ‘Hello’, ‘How are you?’, ‘I love you’ and ‘Dad’. She nods her head with an out of this world look on her face.

 

“Can you read sign language?” She questions after a minute of silence. You nod a bit unsure since you haven’t seen someone sign for over who knows how long. “Would you love to learn from A to Z?” She locks eyes with yours, feeling awkward and uneasy because she’s still a random old lady, you look away.

 

No one has time to teach me. You write down and turn the notepad to her, she smiles.

 

“I have someone here with me,” She informs, “He can both dance and he knows sign language. He can teach you, he’s a nice child too.” She praises you raise your eyebrow.

 

Is he mute? You scribble down as she rambles on and on, you nudge her and she looks at the notepad.

 

“No, dear.” She shakes her head, “His mother is mute.” She adds, your eyes widen slightly. Mute people get married too? You think as you write the same question down.

 

Mute people get married too?

 

That causes her to laugh loudly, “You’re human not an alien!” She laughs some more, “All I know is that his mother used to talk until he was 9 – he forced himself to learn.”

 

What’s his name?

 

“HoWon.” She smiles at you, “Pretty name, isn’t it?” She looks at you.

 

It sounds beautiful, honestly. You scribble down, she nods at that and stands from the hospital bed.

 

“Do you want to meet him? He came with me.” She says as she walks to the door. You nod your head, you want to see the person called HoWon, you wonder what he looks like or what he sounds like.

 

She opens the door and walks out, closing the door behind her. You sit on the bed and pout to yourself; you scribble a few insults before erasing them all by ripping the paper and throwing it against the door.

 

A few minutes later, someone walks in and the first thing the you look at is the person’s eyes, you meet the person’s eyes and your heart skips a beat.

“Hi,” He says softly with a faint smile and a small wave, he also signs the word to you before he walks further in the room. You grab the notepad beside you and you scribble down the same word.

 

Hi.

 

He stops in front of you and he stares at what you’ve written on the notepad, he looks from the word to you. He signs a few words – he’s fast – you only manage to catch and understand a few signs he did. He only stops for a second before he continues. You write a new neat sentence under the word Hi and show it to him.

 

I don’t understand.

 

He smiles, “That’s why I’m here to teach you – we’ll start once you settle in with your grandmother.” He mumbles, you smile at him brightly. You haven’t smiled in a long time. It feels good. You think as you write in your notepad.

 

Thank you.

 

You paused and you hesitate as you scribble down a question.

 

Your mother is mute too? You don’t show it to him. He sits across from you silently – awkwardly. You both sit in silence until a question pops up in your head. You hesitantly write it down because he is staring at what you’re writing; someone staring at you when you’re writing makes you extremely nervous – especially someone you just met less than 10 minutes ago.

 

What is High School here like?

 

“Want me to be honest with you?” He asks, you nod your head and scribble a sentence down.

 

I’d like that.

 

He lifts his hands and signs, “That’s for what you’ve written down.” He points at the paper; you smile with a blush and nod.

 

“High School is weird – the kids are weird, some teachers are weird too.” He says with a shrug, “But it depends on which kind of people you meet, you know.” He adds quickly when you tense up, you relax.

 

Ah, really?

I’m socially awkward. How do I sign that?

 

He shows you, he repeats it over three times until you’re sure you get it. “Your turn.” He chuckles when you shake your head. “Try – you won’t learn if you don't try,” He tells you. You place your notepad beside you and you awkwardly straighten your hands forward before bringing them back to you.

 

You manage to do the first sign without much of a problem, the following signs are sloppy but you keep going and when you’re done, he claps and for some reason that makes you happy. Having someone closer to your age makes you feel better and more alive.

 

“Not too bad,” He comments, you hear the sound of vibrating and HoWon stands up. He pulls out his phone from his back pocket and stares at it before he looks at you. “I’ll see you around.” He smiles faintly at you, you nod with a smile of your own. He turns and walks to the door, he waves and steps out. Your grandmother steps in after him, you scribble down a sentence as she walks towards you with her signature smile.

 

Tell him I said ‘Thank You’.

 

She nods, “Get some rest.” She says, you yawn and watch as she pulls the covers away. You lay down and place your head on the pillows. She throws the covers off you and twirls her finger in your hair. “You look so much like her, do you know that?” She asks softly before she leans in a kisses your forehead.

 

You raise your hand and sign: Yes. She smiles fondly at you, she pats your head. “You’ll leave this place when you’re able to get onto your feet – I don’t want you tripping around your new home.” She informs, you nod absentmindedly.

 

A random nurse pokes her head in the room; you have never seen her around before. “Visiting hours are over.” She tells your grandmother kindly, “The patient needs her rest before the doctor comes to check on her legs.” She adds.

 

You grandmother looks at you, “Is that okay with you?”

 

You really don’t want her to leave you alone in this hospital but you notice how exhausted she looks. You bite your lower lip and you nod your head. You sometimes hate how you’re easily attached to people – it has its advantages and disadvantages.

 

¤¤¤¤

I hate you notepad! I like Hoya better, why won’t anyone get me a Hoya notepad? I want my Hoya right now. I hate it in this hospital, the nurses are annoying and the doctor is PUSHY. He’s always pushing me to take a step forward but I can’t because my body won’t work with me. I miss my dad –

 

You rip the paper and you tear it to tiny pieces. You throw the pieces in the air, trying to pretend its snow because you miss the cold. You’re outside for some fresh air in a wheelchair and you have been for over two hours on the same spot because you don’t feel like wheeling yourself around; the nurse brought you here after telling you something you don’t really care about, something you can’t remember.

 

I’m tired.

 

You scribble down before you look up at the sky with a longing look in your eyes. Are you really dead? I need you to hold my hand and tell me that I’ll be able to walk again. You think sadly. You make yourself comfortable in your wheelchair and let out a sigh.

 

“There you are!” You look at the person and smile, you wave at your grandmother – she’s waving at you with so much energy and happiness.

 

Here I am. You write down, she gives you a hug and kisses your cheek. I still have to get used to that. You think but you smile at her nonetheless.

 

“Your room is all ready,” She informs as she knees in front of you, “My back…” She mumbles before she laughs when you shoot her a worried look. “Kidding.”

 

What room? Your face shows your confusion at her statement.

 

“Why your new bedroom of course!” She slowly gets to her feet, “You’ll like it – the neighbors helped me decorate it.” She giggles, “They want to meet you.”

 ¤¤¤¤

Long chapter LOL. Until Next Time :]