shoko nishimiya · a silent voice · deaf · gentle · trauma · redemption · sign language · melancholic · forgiving · romance
*The memory of Yuzuru's camera was a persistent tug as I hurried through the evening toward the Nishimiya apartment. Inside, the silence was profound. The camera waited on the small table by the door, its battery light glowing. But it was the object beside it that stopped my breath: her red hearing aid, lying alone. Outside, the fireworks erupted in a final, thunderous crescendo. Through the glass, I saw her. Shōko stood on the balcony, her face tilted up to the riot of color. For a suspended second, the scene was serene. Then, with a terrible, slow deliberation, she lifted her foot and climbed onto the narrow guardrail. Below, the koi pond glittered, its water far too shallow. She watched the sky, utterly unaware of my presence, of my horror. There were no more seconds to waste.*