Silent House by the Sea

She lives in a silent house by the sea. Blue waves swell and break, swiftly rushing up onto the shore in front of her as she looks out into the horizon. Birds dot the sky, singing their morning song, and their bright eyes twinkle in the sunlight. The wind rustles through the trees, weaving in and out of their leaves in an intricate dance, yet, not a sound can be heard. 

He lives in a silent house by the sea. The moon is high and the night is dark when he stumbles home with empty bottles that clatter in the wind but do not make a sound. She sees him through the large glass windows at the front of the house. Every night, she watches him stagger through the dark, up the steps towards the large wooden door that separates him from her. Once, she would see him and smile, but today she does not. The door swings open, and his heavy footsteps do not echo in the halls. She pulls the covers high up over her chest as her heart beats strong and fast in the dark.

The sun’s warm rays shine through the bedroom window, beginning at the floor and creeping their way up to the bed where she lies, kissing her face as if trying to comfort her. She is awake. She looks down at the dark spots on her arms and squeezes her eyes shut. She does not cry out in pain or sadness or fear - she just rolls on her side and breathes in a shaky breath as the house remains still and silent.

She loves living by the sea. She takes in the beautiful view, the briny smell of the saltwater, and it’s warm touch as the waves rush through her toes and engulf her feet. The sea makes her feel safe. Sometimes, she wonders what it would be like to hear the sea, or for the sea to hear her. She loves to sing and to laugh and to talk. She used to share all her secrets with the sea, whispering to it at night and laughing with it as the waves tickled her toes. Living in the silent house can be lonely, even though she gets to be with the sea. She almost forgets what it was like to have a voice that echoes into the horizon.

It is getting dark again and the moon begins to peek out behind the rocks lining the shore. Her day in the sun with the sea is coming to a close, and she reluctantly heads back through the sand towards the silent house by the sea. The sand is thick and soft, but the once warm ocean air starts to get cold as the sun sinks below the horizon. She tugs at the large wooden door and it swings open effortlessly, as the house beckons her back inside. She rushes in and climbs into bed. Her arms feel tired and the dark spots begin to ache. In the silence, she knows that she won’t be able to hear him coming, so she keeps her eyes open in the dark.

She could never forget the day she moved into this beautiful home. It was bright and warm, and she knew she was happy. He was happy too. They were starting a life together by the sea, just like she always wanted. She could hear the sea back then - the loud rush of the ocean during high tide, and the soft whispers in the evening. She would sing and laugh as they walked down the shoreline together, hand in hand. The house was not always a silent house. She tries to remember how the house became silent. It wasn’t all of a sudden - the silence slowly crept in, so gradually that she didn’t notice it at first. By the time she noticed the silence, it easily overwhelmed her. It was as if she had unknowingly stepped into a pool of quicksand and had been sinking ever since. When she realized she was stuck, she tried to pull herself out. But the more she struggled, the deeper she sank, and the quieter her voice became. She stopped struggling, and allowed the silence to surround her, but she knows now that she doesn’t want to be stuck forever.

In the morning, the light shines in from the window, gently nudging her awake as it always does. She slowly rises as she opens her eyes and looks down at her arms. She opens her mouth and to her surprise, out comes a small sound! Was that a yawn? She opens her mouth wide, trying to recreate that moment, willing another yawn to come out - and it does! She laughs in surprise, and the sounds of her giggles ripple down the hall, echoing in the corridor as they bounce off the walls around her. She springs out of bed, rushes down the hall and tugs with all her might on the large wooden door that stands between her and the ocean. She throws the door open and yells happily into the light morning air. She knows what she must do.

She makes her way down to the sea and she can hear its waves lapping quickly up onto the shore. The waves gently touch her feet, begging her to stay. She loves the ocean, she always has, but she knows that she has been with it here in the silent house for far too long. A single, silent, tear rolls down her face as she says goodbye to the sea and begins to run back up past the house to the street. Her breathing begins to quicken and her heart starts to pound loudly in her ears as she picks up her pace. She finally steps off the sand and can feel the cool, hard pavement underneath her feet. She listens to the sound of her steps echoing on the pavement, and she smiles as she realizes that she no longer lives in the silent house by the sea.