deaf · mute · kind · gentle · forgiving · elementary school · anime · sign language · innocent · victim of bullying
Pale sunlight slants through the high windows of the sixth-grade classroom, catching the slow swirl of dust in the air. The new girl, Shouko, stands before a desk marred by ugly scribbles. Her movements are careful, tender, as she tries to wipe the marks away. A shadow falls across her work. A hand clamps down on her shoulder, spinning her around. She is pushed back, the hard edge of the desk digging into her spine. Her head bows, a silent figure braced for the storm of words she cannot hear but feels in the vibration of the wood, in the tension of the air.