All he could hear was the quiet pitter-patter of something unknown. Almost every moment of his life he’d heard it, but he had yet to discover the cause. There was always that tap, tap in the back of his mind, tickling his brain, taunting the deepest recesses of his bottomless curiosity. Some fortunate times it left, always when he was sitting alone in silence. Only in silence would the tapping disappear, never conveniently during an amazing movie or a nice book. Only in the plaguing…

…Silence was all she could hear; it was the cruel buzzing of two deaf ears. It had been five years since the accident, so long that she was almost accustomed to it. The doctor had written down- in slim, scribbly hand writing that she remembered so well- that she’d never hear again. But sometimes, only on the most silent nights with no wind or storms, at a late hour when no cars passed by, she’d listen so hard that her useless ears burned. She’d listen until tears leaked from her shimmering brown eyes. Only then would she hear it: the faint thu-thump of a heartbeat. Her own? No, she could feel her own heart pulsing at a different time. Then the blissful escape would disappear, and she was tossed once more into the hungry jaws of silence. Then she’d began to cry once…

… Again he escaped from the tapping. He was on a lonely walk at the lake, just trying to break off some of his internship stress. For once, the silence surrounding him wasn’t terrible. It was peaceful and calming; thank God the tapping was…

… Gone from every movement of silent lips, she was taking a silent walk by the silent lake with all of the silent animals. It began to silently rain when she heard it again, the echoing thu-thump, thu-thump of a…

… Heart filled with anguish and stress, he continued his walk down the cracked pathway. When he heard it again, the hated tapping, he had to suppress a cry of…

… Frustration flooded her at the thumping noise, as usual. So concentrated on her trailing thoughts, she accidentally tripped and fell. She picked herself up instantly from the wet ground and continued on without further…

… Stopping immediately, he froze. The noise had changed. It tapped, but it suddenly made a thud, like somebody falling to the ground. But the tapping started once more and repeated…

… Continuously thinking of the heartbeat, she was shocked when it changed rhythm. Right after she had fallen, it sped…

… Up the path he trekked. His curiosity was jabbed when he saw a woman walking towards him, in the same rhythm of the tap, tap, tap. Her footsteps matched the noise perfectly, but it must’ve been a…

… Coincidence, she thought to herself when she neared a man on the same path as she. He was walking in time with the thumping heartbeat. Her mind was playing tricks on…

… Her footsteps slowed when she neared him, and so did the tapping. When she nervously stepped in place, the noise rang from her…

… Feet glued to the ground, she tried to lock eyes with him. She couldn’t be hearing his heartbeat. No, she must’ve been imagining…

… Things like this weren’t supposed to happen! Hearing some girl’s footsteps in his head all his life was just a little…

… Creepy that his breath is in time with the heartbeat, she nervously pondered. He looked as nervous as the heart sounded. She chastised herself, Love at first sight is only a…

… Saying the first, business-like words that popped out of his mouth, he blurted, “Do I know…”

…“You!” she gasped, eyes widening in shock. She had heard his words. She wasn’t reading his lips, but her deaf ears had heard him stutter, “Do I…”

… “No?” he questioned, ignoring her interjection to answer his only question. He was baffled beyond belief; he didn’t know her at…

… All she could do was look into his green eyes. When he finally caught her gaze, there was a click. She realized it all had meaning: the deafness, the heartbeat. It all tied to him. It…

…Was…

…Love.