Paper Cranes

Part Six

Cas and I met up again, and he was still trying to give me that cheesy excuse of photography. We sat on a park bench in the town center and just sat there the whole day. He perched at one end of the bench facing inward, and I sat opposite with me legs crossed. This way we could see the hand signs the other person was making. Casper hadn’t spoken to me by mouth for a long time. It felt like we were one and the same; I forgot that he even had a voice. I forgot that I didn’t have one either. It just felt like two teenagers using their own secret language to communicate in a way nobody could understand.

I jumped off the bench and stood facing him, signing, “A friendly game of sherades?”

“You start!” he smiled eagerly.

I watched as Cas responded in sign to what I was acting.

“Movie. Five syllables. Four words. Lion? Dog? Skipping? Witches? Wizards. The Wizard of Oz!”

I nodded pompously and sat back down, waving for him to stand up and take his turn.

It was nearly seven when I got home. Dad was still at work and Moira was out doing the food shopping, my sister said. I nodded and went up to my room, helping myself to a tube of bacon flavoured Pringles on the way up. I closed my door and dived onto my bed, pulling out my phone from my jeans pocket. I went to check Casper’s text but suddenly my door flung open. “Sis…” Sophie sounded like she was ready to cry.

“What’s wrong Soph?” I immediately locked my phone and dropped it onto my pillow.

She walked to my bed and sat facing me, twiddling her fingers nervously.

“Mum doesn’t want me to tell anyone.”

“About what? I’m sure she wouldn’t mind you telling me.” I signed.

“She said NOBODY. Like it was super super secret. And I’m not sure how to feel about it.”

“Tell me, please. I promise I won’t tell her you told me.”

“Um…” Soph looked at her hands, biding time, trying to think. I let her. “Mum’s, well…”

I waited. I wasn’t going to rush her, even though I desperately needed to know.

“Mum’s gonna have a baby.”