Ball of Silence

Ball of Silence - Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Over the next few days, life is good. Sina has transformed into a different person, so relaxed and positive. And I? The crystal changes me a bit more every day—I wonder into what. Jaiah—the monster of sensation.  My entire body acts like a sensation reception machine.

I enjoy everything in innocent amazement, but most of all I enjoy to hear. I don't need earplugs and headphones when I leave my room. I filter out whatever I want. It's great, and yet, I am oddly disappointed that the sounds fail to overwhelm me.

Has the crystal already realized that a human is never one hundred percent content? At least I'm not. Do thoroughly content humans exist? I haven't met one yet. Life is a state of continual desire, searching for something more.

Yes, the crystal understands that. If it were entirely happy, it wouldn't be showing me Neverworld every night. Very soon, I find myself anticipating Hriff's magic message with the rendezvous coordinates.

We find cargo to Benlam and jump there. Sina observes her ritual of coming to the bridge for the jump, but she doesn't retreat afterwards. Instead, she stays and watches our docking maneuvers with a relieved smile.

We haven't been to Benlam for quite a while. Almost immediately, we find a cargo to Torlam, but Sina still doesn't trust herself and fears doing two jumps in one day. Apart from that, it's Priar's birthday, so we decide to have a party in the bender's bar. Because we'll all be there, Sina doesn't bother with a bodyguard.

I am going to a bar for the first time since my special hearing is back. I add my earplugs and headphones to my bag, along with the crystal. I don't think I'll need them, but you never know.

Flin and Priar form the vanguard while Sina and I follow arm in arm. We pass a couple on our way to the bar, and the woman is holding a baby in her arms. There is affection in Sina's eyes. Oh, dear... kids! Kids are unthinkable for me now. I would much rather find Neverworld... I decide to avoid the topic of children for as long as I can.

Security guards search us before we enter the bar. To my satisfaction, they are now the norm.

Benlam's bar looks like any other bender bar: Spartan decorations, loud music, dancing, and a little less noise around the tables and at the counter.  

Sina has reserved a table in a quieter corner. She has ordered a birthday cake, which comes with big "ohs" and "ahs", and the bartender plays the oldest song of the human universe, "Happy Birthday." Priar looks like he wants to hide in a mouse hole, hiding his face self-consciously behind his gray hair. Sina teases and hugs him and kisses his good cheek. We toast our mysterious future, drink beer, and eat our cake.

Wonderful, I don't need the headphones and earplugs.  We are munching on the cake, soft and squishy. The forks clack on the plates, out of rhythm to the music, but it doesn't bother me. People laugh, talk and dance. Feet stomp on the dance floor. I hear it all in unique intensity, but without pain. I haven't suffered from a headache in ages.

They are playing a song that Sina likes so she drags me onto the dance floor. She puts her arms around my neck and we dance cheek to cheek to the love song. I am a horrible dancer, but she doesn't seem to mind.

My eyes turn towards the door because the air around it compresses; massive bodies are approaching, fast. I stop dancing.

"What is it?" Sina asks.

The air explodes with gunshots. They are so loud no crystal could have prepared or protected me. I wince, as if I am hit, and fall to the ground. My knees simply give way. My hands fly to my ears to cover them.