7 “A Silent World”

Seven 

The world was silent in the year 2019 for Florence Emry.

Florence paused, her breath catching in her throat. A wave of panic threatened to engulf her, but she fought against it, forcing herself to remain calm even if there was a voice in the back of her head that kept asking her how she was going to remain calm? She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in, as deep as she could, while she was trying to steady her nerves and her fast heart beating that was pounding inside her chest. With renewed focus, she listened intently, straining to hear any sound. The silence was deafening. No matter how hard she tried, she could not detect a single noise. The world around her seemed to have been muted. And a silent world was… terrifying. 

Her gaze shifted to the beeping machine, its rhythmic pulses a stark contrast to the eerie quietness that she was hearing. It was functioning normally, she thought, its electronic voice a constant presence in the room where she was in. Yet, even its familiar sound seemed distant, almost unreal. Where was the sound? She wondered, as panic was growing inside her a bit more and more. She was trapped in a world of absolute silence, a void that filled her with a growing sense of dread. A silent world was indeed truly terrifying and it was making her pulse rate increase.

In that moment, Florence realized the profound impact that hearing played in our lives because she was now panicking a bit more, and more. It was more than just a sensory input; it was a connection to the world, it was a thing she completely needed for her love in music, it was also a way of interacting with others and understanding her surroundings. Without it, she felt disconnected, adrift in a sea of silence. She was feeling as if her breathing was faster now, the more she worried about the fact that she could not actually hear. 

The silence was so profound, so absolute, that it was almost physically painful. It was a heavy, oppressive weight that seemed to bear down on her, crushing her very own core in her spirit. A silent world of nothing. The world around her had been transformed into a silent, desolate wasteland.

Desperate to break the stillness, she cupped her hands around her ears, as they were gently hitting against her earlobes, straining to detect even the faintest whisper of sound. More panic was growing in the back of her throat, causing her to feel as if she was wanting to vomit something out. Florence tried to shout, to call out into the void, but her voice was lost in the deafening silence. She was screaming as loud as she could, but she heard nothing.

It was as if she was totally trapped in a soundproof chamber, completely isolated from the world since she could not even hear her own voice.

Fear seeped through her soul, creeping more under her skin, a cold, clammy hand gripped her heart as if it had long claws that made her heart bleed profusely. The realization that she was deaf was a terrifying prospect. She could not accept it. It was a loss that she could not fathom, a void that seemed impossible to fill. She could not strongly accept it. Her love for music, what she was going to do without it? She was planning to get a degree in music, so how was she going to do it now? The world, as she knew it, had been irrevocably changed. 

Florence felt a surge of panic, a desperate need to escape this silent prison. She wanted to scream even louder, to lash out, to break free from the chains of this terrible affliction. But all she could do was sit there, paralyzed by fear and uncertainty with the reality that she had gone deaf.

“What happened? Why could I not hear? Am I going to be deaf forever?” Florence thought worriedly.

For sixteen-year-old Florence, the world was a cacophony of sounds before the accident. The laughter of friends, the rumble of traffic, the soothing melody of her favorite songs, the piano pieces she loved to play due to the fact that it was her hobby ever since she was a little girl knowing that her mother always inspired her with music and singing—all were a part of the tapestry of her life. 

But then, a car accident shattered that world, plunging her into a coma for five days that she did not even know about in the first place. This new reality was hurtful, truly. A new reality she never expected, that when she would be awakened after the accident, the silence was going to be deafening and absolutely heartbreaking. A new reality she never expected, that when she would be awakened, she was going to be deaf. The initial shock of realizing she was deaf was scarily overwhelming. 

A nurse who was rushing entered the hospital room right away, she had heard Florence screaming her heart out, her face etched with concern as soon as she heard Florence’s loud screams from the outside of her hospital room. It was a scream of panic and being lost at the moment, and the nurse feared the sound of a girls’ cry. “Hi! I thought I heard you screaming. We are so glad you are awake. How are you feeling?” The nurse asked, her voice clear and distinct.

Panic turned to confusion but at the same time Florence’s entire body was panicking. She could see the nurse’s mouth move, but she could not hear the nurse’s voice, could not hear the beeping from the machines in her room, not the distant hum of the hospital and not the sound of the busy street outside the hospital from her window. 

NOTHING. 

Florence attempted to speak, but her voice was barely a whisper. “What… What happened to me?” She wished she could hear her own voice, but nothing at all.    

The nurse hesitated, her expression somber before answering, “You were involved in a terrible car accident. You were in a coma for five days. We have some very difficult news for you. Your mother…” The nurse’s voice trailed off as she noticed Florence’s vacant and very lost stare. Leaning closer, the nurse’s eyes were filled with more concern, so she decided to change the subject and ask again, “Are you okay? Can you hear me?"