Waiting for July (Coming Soon)

Waiting for July

Waiting For July


Although White Rose all special needs school was supposedly built specifically to embrace a united diversity among the disabled, the departments don’t interact that much. I don’t know if it’s different for other department or perhaps other students in general because sometimes I can hear strange voices conversing with one or two of the all too familiar voices of my fellow ‘blind buddies’ so now that I think about it, maybe it’s just me. Ah, it’s definitely just me, I’m almost certain someone would’ve offered me a chance to walk with them under their umbrella by now if I socialized more, what with my squatting forlornly just out of reach of the rain. By the way, Isn’t that common etiquette or something? Maybe I’m expecting too much, it’s not as if they owe it to me or anything. It’s not as if I asked anybody and they refused.

Mother is always busy and it was only because I wanted her to trust me that I convinced her to let me go home on own instead of taking the school bus. I’m very familiar with the road by now but if I stay much longer than now she’d get home before me and she might change her mind. God I hate the rain.

There’s a change in the sound of rain, there’s someone holding an umbrella in front of me. I raise my head from where I’m crouched out of nothing but courtesy as it’ll coerce whoever I’m facing to speak more comfortably, convinced I’m listening. This person doesn’t speak though so I assume they may be blind and not at all intending to speak to me. We don’t have many aphonic students in this school, the majority of them are either deaf and mute or selectively mute. Not to be bigoted but I cannot understand why a person would willingly give up one of their gifts for self expression under any circumstance.

“Ah yhu nod ko-in ohm?” It’s a girl talking I believe, I can tell that much from the terrible attempt at speech. I’ll take it she has a speech-language impairment.

“Come again?” I say, getting on my feet.

“A-e. . .” She stops attempting her sentence and the echoing sound of raindrops on her umbrella moves towards my side until it stops and I assume she’s under the roof next to me. Her wet sounding footsteps, although not very clear because of the rain confirms it. She’s quiet for quite a while and I turn to face her, wondering if she decided to leave. She takes my hand, spreads my palm upwards and begins to tap her finger on it. Morse code. Although it’s a compulsory communication skill in this school as is sign language, goodness knows I suck at both. However, I get the gist of what she intends to say, I think.

Are you not going home?

“Ah, I am. I just. . . the rain.”

“Mm.” I assume she nods and then she begins to tap again.

Shall I walk with you? She taps.

Her nails are somewhat sharp although not too long and her fingers around my hand feel long and thin and a little hard.

“I don’t mind, my house is not very far.”

“Mm.” What does that even mean?

“Mah nay eek uh-lai.” She says when I’m under the umbrella and we begin to walk.

“What?”

“uh-lai” She speaks like there’s something lodged in her throat, like she’s trying to force her voice through but it’s stuck.

“Eee, mmeee, Jilai.”

“You. . .” I offer slowly.

“Mm.”

“You’re what?” Even though the teachers always tell us to never be ashamed of our illnesses enabling us to let each other know of them if they’re not too obvious during introductions so we could communicate better it’s still a little awkward. Then again maybe it’s still just me.

“J-ai. Uh-lai!”

“Lie, je. . .lie.” What?

“Ugh.” She grunts in frustration and that was quite easy to understand. I figure it’s been a while since she got quite frustrated since she probably only had to sign to the other students. She wraps her hand around my forearm and taps with her pointer finger on my bony wrist.

July, I interpret.

“You. . .were born on July?”

“Mm-mm.” I assume she’s shaking her head. “Mm-mee, eee, Ju-uh-lai. Mm-me.”

“Wait, your name is July?”

“Mm! Mm!” I take it I was right. “’an-k G-God!”

I can’t help but laugh. I laugh a lot because what are the odds? She doesn’t seem pleased though so I force myself to calm down and turn to her with a smile because I know for a fact that she can see me.

“Well, nice to meet you July, I’m June.”

[Coming Soon] 😉😊✌️