| "Valentine" |
| I snap my fingers in front of her face, and she looks up quickly.� "Are you listening to me?" she smiles and nods vigorously.� "Then what did I ask you?" she smiles her evil grin. "Are you listening to me?" she spells out quickly with her hands, still smiling. "Ha-ha." I spell back, saying it aloud at the same time.� It's hard to believe she's gotten so good at reading lips and expressions.� "Come on, they're probably waiting for us." I've gotten so used to talking with both my hands and my voice that sometimes I don't realize I do it.� She signs 'okay' and we begin to walk toward her apartment.� We chatter lively with our hands and mouths as we reach the door.� I remember when she couldn't speak and I couldn't 'talk' with my fingers. ~*~Flashback~*~ "Excuse me," I ask the girl sitting in the chair in front of me, walking into my dressing room.� "Excuse me." I speak louder as I tap her on the shoulder, she spins around quickly, smiling.� "Can I help you?" she continues to smile, still without an answer.� "Can. . .I . .help. . .you?" I ask again, slower and louder.� Gently, she furrows her brows and shakes her head no. "She won't answer you, Lance." Justin's girlfriend, Raven, says, walking into the room to get her bag.� "And even if she did, you couldn't understand her." Raven rummaged through her bag and pulled out a small book. "What do you mean 'I wouldn't understand her?" what's she speak, Russian?"� Raven holds out the book to me "She's a deaf-mute." Justin answered, stepping into the conversation.� I take the book, looking at the title.� 'How to Learn Sign-Language' is written across the top in bold print.� Justin signs something to her, and she laughs.� Her laughter is clear and bubbly.� She grabs my hand and shakes it, letting go and spelling rapidly with her hands. "She says hello, and wants to know your name." Justin laughed at my confusion.� I nod. "I know that." I lied.� I watched as Justin spelled out something with his hands.� She answered him mouthing the words soundless.� He nodded.� "Raven, what are they talking about?" I ask her as she watches them, there hands moving at a furious pace. "You." she states simply, flashing me a smile. "Me?� What about me?" I whined. "She wants to know a little bit about you, name, likes, dislikes, stuff like that." Raven told me as she walked up to Justin. "Will you translate for me?� Who is she anyway?" I asked, joining them. "Sure, she IS my older sister." Raven smiled.� I nod again. "Alright.� Raven, tell her my name, alright?" "Lance, here.� I'll show you how to tell her yourself." she went through the motions, saying what each meant aloud.� I fumbled slowly through the motions.� The girl used a couple of the signs that Raven had said meant 'my name,' and 'is'.� There were a bunch of letters after that.� "She says 'my name is Stephanie, but every one calls me Steph.'" "Tell her I'm glad to meet her." Raven went through the motions, still repeating the words aloud. "Raven, lets go, hon." Justin said as I noticed Chris in the doorway, animating words to a laughing Stephanie.� Chris stepped in the room as Justin and Raven walked out. "Am I the last one to know about Steph, just like Raven and Lauren?" I ask Chris as Stephanie spelled out something to him. "I guess so." Chris answers before turning back to Steph with an answer to her question.� "She says you're cute." Stephanie hit him.� "Ouch!" I laughed as she blushed. ~*~ end flashback ~*~ If there were no words, No way to speak, I would still hear you. Now, we couldn't be a closer couple.� Stephanie helped me learn sign-language, and I helped her speak, not that she needed to, but she wanted to.� She's always been strong like that.� Sometimes I can't believe her and Raven are sisters.� She's up-front, and loves to speak about her ability or disability, depending on how you look at it.� Raven, on the other hand, is not loud.� She's shy and very submissive.� I guess that's why her and Justin broke up.� There are no hard feelings though.� Their break-up really snapped me into realization, I never want to loose Stephanie. If there were no tears, No way to feel inside, I would still feel for you. I remember how every time it rained, we would curl up in the living room, in front of the fire place, the only light coming from the flames.� I tried to make up these little poems for her, but I was terrible at it.� She just liked to laugh at them. And even if the sun refuse to shine Even if romance ran out of rhyme. It was there that I first kissed her.� We had been studying for our exams for about two full hours and were both tired.� She fell asleep sitting up, so I laid her back for her to be comfortable, and before I knew it, I had pressed my lips to hers.� She awoke with a start, but when, or I guess, she realized it was me, she relaxed and put her arms around my neck. You would still have my heart Until the end of time. You're all I need, My love, my valentine. I also remember how we used to take long walks on the beach.� Even if we weren't 'talking,' I always knew what was on her mind.� Quite often I would surprise her with little gifts, just because.� I felt that I really couldn't do enough. All of my life, I have been waiting for All you give to me You opened my eyes And showed me how to love unselfishly I sat up quickly.� I had a dream that something had happened to my Stephanie.� What a dream!� Steph was still sleeping peacefully in her bed across the room.� Slowly, I slip out of bed and creep� over to her bed.� Even in my dreams, she couldn't be more beautiful.� I hope she never leaves me. I've dreamed of this a thousand times before And in my dreams I couldn't love you more I would give you my heart Until the end of time You're all I need, My love, my valentine. Today is another rainy day, and we're stuck indoors.� Of course, the one day I plan something outside, it's got to be raining. And even if the sun refused to shine Maybe I could find some good music and we could just sit by the fireplace, like the old days.� I do have a new poem for her. Even if romance ran out of rhyme "Stephanie, what do you see when you close eyes?" I ask slowly, holding her close to me. "Love, I see love." she signed.� We never needed many words when we were alone.� I watched her hands as she shaped the words.� Her fingers were so graceful, so beautiful. "You see love?" I ask, confused. She nods gently, "I see you, my love." I smile. "Marry me?" You would still have my heart until the end of time Cause all I need to you My Valentine You're all I need, my Love, My Valentine |
 |
 |