The Deaf Child

The Deaf Child In an age and land where no one had ever found before, there was a stele enchanted with the word “Catastrophe1175” on it. In the period the stone was signed, there were neither humans nor animals, just a pacific age that only belonged to harmonies. The peace lasted forever until the birth of humans. Then, humans started to evolve. Every century, a new lifestyle would get developed and passed to the next generation. From chopping animals to pawing ground, chasing rabbits to hunting bears. Then, humans eventually approached the point where they killed humans. “The appearance of humans was just pathetic,” said the Universal Monkey, the greatest judge of the Universe. Time passed, and the world changed; the only thing that didn’t was the stele, and would never be changed . The story began in 1160, in a village named Cereal. A child opened his eyes, found himself in the place of nowhere. He heard nothing, not even his own heartbeat. He saw a marble in the distance, bright and shiny just like hope. He tried to figure out how to move; he made himself to the spot. The marble started to glow, he gently petted the ball, what

1 he felt was fresh air mixed with sunshine. A man picked him up, and the warmth of the palm blossomed on the baby’s skin . “Hey chief! Put that dirty kid down; he belongs to the garbage hole !” Someone yelled in the back. The Chief ignored him and took the child home. Five years passed, and the child still heard nothing. People called him Miles. He’s the one unique person in the village. When other kids were planting the seeds, he was playing with sand. When others were slicing down woods, he was messing with lights. When others were asleep, he was the only one awake and making his sketch design. Time traveled, and days went by. One day, he heard something, a voice from himself. “Not all men are truly alive, so be the special one that is.” The sentence enchanted in his heart. It was the only thing that he remembered and would never be lost. People mocked him, making fun of him. ”what a fool,” “such a useless waste,” “go get yourself lost,”

2 These words came to him every day, but he heard nothing, nor any scorn. For Miles, it was not him. the one who couldn’t hear, but them, the one who couldn’t speak. He was still himself, the special one; always different from others. The person who truly loved and protected him was the Chief. He was the only person that made Miles heard. Not the sound, but the love. At the age of twelve, Miles found a way to mix sand with fertilizer to make it into a huge sponge. He was happy about the new invention. People didn’t stop the laugh. “What are you going to do about it? Sponge your waste?”. Still, the Chief was the only one who came to stop the mock, yet it didn’t matter to Miles; he was a deaf. Then, he began to make discoveries of light. He snipped glasses into a few pieces and bounded them back into the wooden candle. The fire’s light glowed so much that it nearly burnt his house; he smiled, and only because it was a brand new discovery to himself. In the night, Miles finished his drawing sketch; it’s a design of a basement house. He showed it to the Chief, the Chief made a pleased smile on his face. “Miles, it doesn’t work like that, let me help you.” Even though Miles couldn’t hear anything, he could see the light in his eyes, twinkling, charming. The chief bent

3 down his knee, took out the carving pen, slowly fixed through the stone sketch. At that moment, Miles heard the sentence again. “Not all men are truly alive, so be the special one that is.” He noticed that the Chief was the one that was alive, because he was different from all others. The idea of finding self-identity was always what Miles was looking for, and he knew he would be the one that succeeded. Three years after, the year 1175. The Universal Monkey started the trial of “Catastrophe.” “Humans are nothing special,” he said. Then, he made the Ocean rise. The flood washed through the land. Nothing was left, it was as neat as water making ripples on a filled pound. Only Cereal Village survived, the sponge Miles made absorbed the floods. What was next was the fall of flame. Fire dropped down, burnt all houses into ashes. Only Cereal Village survived, the basement Miles and the Chief designed gave the villagers a second life. At last, the sky was blacked out. It was an eclipse; no lights, not even shadows appeared. Everyone’s sight was vanished. So on, Miles took out the wooden

4 candle he made, the candle blinded the sky, a beam of light shot up to heaven. The light was his hope, the hope of humans, and the call of himself. “The child named Miles would be the only reason for making humanity go further,” Said The Universal Monkey, he saw his uniqueness and made Cereal Village to keep their life. People looked into Miles' eyes, no more mock, no more ridicule, only a deep look of “we thank you.” The Chief hugged him. His palm was still the same kind of warmth. It was the only thing that didn't change, and would never be changed.