What the Impossible Sounds Like

I was always caught between two worlds. The silent one, where I read lips and hands. And the resonant one, where every slammed door and angry shout rattled through my bones. I hated both.

Because of my condition, and the crushing debt Dad left behind, Mom homeschooled me from an early age. She was my light between the worlds, and I was hers. Her laughter was my comfort, her music my therapy. Her instruments were the only things she refused to pawn off, and I was glad for it. The harmonies of the piano, the cheeky progressions of her flute, and, of course, the melodic chords of her acoustic guitar.

I loved when she rambled about music theory, or the artists who inspired her, even knowing I could never become one of her heroes myself. But that didn’t matter. I was fine as long as the angelic waves of her compositions reverberated gently within me, as if hugging the deepest part of my body and soul.

Until one day, I found myself drawn to a door.

The rotten wood and rusted hinges did nothing to make the entrance at the end of that foul alley inviting. What drew me was the melody, impossible yet undeniable. I wasn’t sure if it was a whisper, an instrument, or a trick of the mind. All I knew was that its hum was calling to me, and I was going to answer.

I didn’t hesitate. I opened the door and stepped in.

A tender light poured into the room, dispelling the darkness and lifting me into the air. Weightless and warm, I savored the feeling of floating without destination. Away from the city, the sirens, the screeching brakes of trains. Away from the endless noise. Even the ringing in my ears had faded in this pocket of caring peace. For the first time in my life, I felt like I belonged.
But… what about Mom?

Shadows suddenly streaked across the floor as gravity returned. I landed before the black crossroad. A chasm etched into the fabric of this endless void.

“How fortuitous for us to meet here, at the threshold between worlds.”

The voice came from everywhere and nowhere at once. Panic surged through me as the wierdness of the situation began to settle. I turned and ran into an invisible wall. There was nothing in the way, but the harder I pushed, the stronger the force pushed back.

“There is no way back for one such as you. Only eternity or damnation awaits those who stumble into this place.”

I froze, staring into the abyss at my feet.

“Yet there is a third option for you. Swear allegiance to me, and I will grant you a new life.”

My hands trembled as I signed into the air, desperate that the voice might understand.
I want to go back. My mom is waiting for me.

“I am also a prisoner of this realm,” the voice replied. “Free me with the life I grant you, and I will return you to your world, unbound by the afflictions that torment you. We have little time. Decide.”

Tears welled, blurring my vision, as Mom’s face flashed before me. Her laughter. Her music. My light.
I had already lost it, no matter my answer.
But if I agreed, there was at least hope.

I clenched my fists, resolute, and gave the only answer I could.
“I swear to set you free.”

“What noble resolve. Then let our next meeting be less desperate.”

The unseen force shoved me forward, and I fell into the abyss.
I don’t remember how long I descended. I only know it ended on soft fur beneath me and the steady rhythm of some great beast’s breath.

And then came the sound. A sound I will never forget.
Once more, tears filled my eyes as I experienced the first sound I truly heard in my life.

A heartbeat.