Transient Silence

The walk back up to the house was slow. Clouds drifted lazily overhead, the afternoon sun beginning to throw long shadows across the path as birds called from deep within the surrounding forest. Ylfa - back in her usual outfit, with her and Eny’s folded kimonos tucked neatly under her arm - walked with her fingers laced through Jere’s. Eny was once again sprinting ahead, seemingly bottomless in her energy.

It was a dramatic change from her recent exhaustion. Whatever connection she’d had with Jaka the night before, brief as it was, seemed to have cleared every issue with her magic.

Jere’s processors didn’t like that. Nothing ever fixed itself cleanly. Sudden improvement often meant something worse was waiting down the line. But he also decided he would cross that bridge when they reached it. Worrying early would only cloud things.

Learning to balance emotions was complicated, but so long as he had strategies - methods - to regulate them, he found they were not as catastrophic as they first felt. He likened emotions to volatile tools: handled properly, they could help immensely. Mishandle them, and the consequences could be far larger than they ever appeared.

Unfortunately, he concluded, he still had a long way to go. His processors had already chosen a benchmark: as soon as his heart stopped racing whenever Ylfa made even a small advance, then he could consider himself to have full emotional control.

That thought pleased him, so he let it remain.

Suddenly Eny whirled around, beaming so brightly it was almost blinding.
“I want to have a sleepover!”

The declaration came completely out of nowhere. She must have sent it telepathically as well, because Ylfa’s eyes widened a split second later. Jere’s sensors lit up as the magical communication fluttered between the girls, catching fragments of it - the percentage counter ticked upward - before Eny turned back to him, grin widening.

“Mama says that it’s okay, Papa!”

He frowned.
“Where would you sleep over?”

“With Aunty Effie!” she replied without missing a beat.

That was new. His processors immediately logged the unfamiliar terminology as he probed further, still climbing the hill.
“Did Effie tell you to call her that?”

Eny nodded enthusiastically.
“Yeah! She says I’m practically family now.”

He nodded slowly.
“Did she invite you over?”

She shook her head, golden hair bouncing.
“No, but I’m sure she won’t say no if I ask nicely!”

A small smile tugged at Jere’s lips. Childish optimism - one of the most extraordinary forces in the world.
“Might as well try then.”

“Yeah! I’m gonna do it tonight!” she chirped, before spinning around and skipping off again, giggling.

Jere watched her go - and caught Ylfa giving him a raised eyebrow out of the corner of his eye. He glanced her way, and she smiled warmly at him. His heart thumped at the simple gesture.

He sighed inwardly. Yes. A very long way to go before he could claim emotional mastery.

He looked ahead again - just in time to see Eny’s small body crumple forward, hitting the ground face-first, limp.

Ylfa let go of his hand and broke into a run, hurrying to make sure Eny was all right. Jere followed close behind, but before they reached her she raised her head, a dazed look clouding her expression.

“I feel funny.”

Ylfa flashed a look at Jere and signed quickly.

What did she say?

Jere signed back, confusion racing through him. Normally Eny talked to Ylfa either right before or right after she spoke aloud. If she hadn’t said anything… He switched to speech immediately.

“Are you alright?”

She nodded - but she clearly wasn’t.

“I think so.”

Then her eyes widened.

“I can’t hear your head again. Why can’t I hear your head?”

He tapped Ylfa’s shoulder and signed quickly.

She’s lost her telepathy again.

Ylfa nodded, but it was a serious problem - Eny couldn’t read sign language yet, despite her attempts to learn with Ylfa. She’d now have to communicate through Jere for everything. The burden shifted entirely to him.

He was already miles ahead.

“Did you trip?”

She shook her head, confused.

“I don’t think so… I just found myself on the ground…”

Ylfa picked her up, unable to hear the conversation, kneeling to cradle the girl in her lap. Jere pressed on.

“Did you see anything?”

“No.”

“Hear anything?”

“No.”

His processors scrambled, but there wasn’t enough evidence. His sensors detected the same low energy output from her body - suggesting another connection with Jaka - but she wasn’t being spoken to, and she hadn’t had any visions. And it wasn’t night. The pattern was broken.

He thought hard, trying to determine what to do next.

And then Eny answered for him.

“I feel really funny.”

He seized the lead with both hands.

“What kind of feeling?”

She looked down at her hands, Ylfa’s arms wrapped around her.

“It’s like… a buzzing. Tingling. Like something’s flowing through me.”

Ylfa’s frustration was growing, unable to understand a word, but Jere was too focused on Eny’s condition to stop.

“Magic?”

She shook her head.

“No, it’s different. I think. I don’t know.”

Her voice cracked.

“Why can’t I hear your head, Papa? It feels weird.”

He shrugged helplessly.

“I don’t know. Can you-”

And then she screamed.

It wasn’t pain or fear - just a sudden, sharp child’s scream. Ylfa, unable to hear, simply held her tighter, while Jere’s eyes widened - not at the scream, but at her hands. They were glowing. Slowly at first, a bright, pure gold like sunlight pushing up her arms. Ylfa recoiled slightly, startled, but before she could fully react the light burst.

With a soft pop - like a finger pulled from someone’s cheek - the light exploded outward.

It swallowed everything nearby. Ylfa squeezed her eyes shut and hugged Eny closer, overwhelmed by the sudden glare and the strange, rising hum in the air.

Then her heart leapt.

Noise.

Her ears twitched - an instinctive motion she hadn’t felt in so long - as the world’s sound crashed back into her.

And then, just as suddenly as it began, the light vanished.

The hill path returned to normal. Birds kept chirping. Leaves rustled in the breeze. Jere, who’d been blinded by the flash, scanned their surroundings. Nothing appeared out of place.

But Eny was beaming.

“I’m okay now!”

She slipped out of Ylfa’s arms, bounced to her feet, and began skipping in circles around them as if she hadn’t screamed seconds earlier. Jere stared, stunned - until the lack of motion drew his gaze. Ylfa was frozen in disbelief.

He signed to her.

Are you alright?

She blinked, staring at Eny, then at Jere. Her mouth trembled - and then she spoke.

“J… Jere?”

His eyes widened. His heart thumped hard. Again she spoke, hurriedly.

“Jere. Jere. Jere.”

She laughed - pure joy bursting out of her - as she sprang to her feet. Her ears twitched in every direction, drinking in every sound. Her face lit up brighter than he had ever seen.

“Jere! I can hear! I can hear!”

She ran straight at him and threw herself into his arms, tears of joy already spilling free.

“I can hear!”

She pulled back just enough to look up at him, her hands gripping his shoulders, her face lit with uncontainable happiness.

“Jere! Say something! Say my name!”

His organic mind could barely keep pace. His processors were scrambling for explanations, but his heart was faster.

“Y-ylfa.”

She laughed again, a joyous, breathless sound, and buried her face in his shoulder.

“I can hear! I can hear!”

She pulled back again - and before he could react she surged forward and kissed him. It was sudden, short, but overflowing with emotion. She wanted it to linger, he could tell - but excitement won out as she broke away, breathless.

“Jere! I love you! I love you! I love you! Now you say it!”

Slowly, he regained control. A smile spread across his face.

“Ylfa. I love you.”

She gave a giddy, half-sobbing laugh and hugged him even tighter. Eny watched with wide eyes, not fully understanding the magnitude of what had just happened.

“Can Mama talk again now?” she asked.

Jere managed a glance her way, but Ylfa turned so fast she nearly pulled him with her.

“Yes! I can hear you too! We can talk normally!”

Her laughter collapsed into sobs as she clung to him, trembling with joy.

“We… we can talk again…”

He held her close as tears ran down his clothes, the silence she thought would last a lifetime now shattered - just a memory swept away in a burst of gold light.