“Would you… walk me home?” I paused. It wasn’t truly home, was it? Just temporary. “Rental home…”
And it wasn’t that far from here. I scolded myself. I could’ve just said the pier first and then asked if he’d walk me home.
He nodded.
And the silence drifted in. Was it insensitive to ask him? Even if I meant nothing by it? Even if it was just information about him and I wasn’t going to judge?
I saw the house looming in the near distance and hopped on the train. I had to know something by the time we got there. Anything.
“Uh… are you mute?”
He nodded once, not meeting my eyes. I watched him in silence for a moment, then I smiled a bit to myself. Well, maybe I could learn a few somethings.
“Do you know sign language?” I asked gently.
He turned to me, meeting my gaze, staring at me for a few seconds. When he nodded again, I caught just a flicker of confusion in his expression.
“I’m Katherine. I would say you can call me Kat, but if you can sign it – I mean, I know you can, but if you want – you don’t have to, but anyway, it’s K-A-T. I don’t know how to sign, so–” Goodness, to think I’d start rambling in front of him so soon. I cut myself off, trying to ignore my embarrassment rising into my face.
A hand landed on my shoulder and I stopped next to him, looking up at him with wide eyes, only to see a smile there.
My god.
It was perfect there.
His smile was so contagious that I started to smile immediately after seeing it.
He let go, only to move his hands into three definitive symbols. The first reminded me of a peace sign. And the other two looked very similar, but with minor differences in the location of the thumb. His lips moved along with each of the three letters, as if he’d spoken them aloud before.
My smile widened and I was practically bubbling up with happiness.
“That’s my name?”
When he nodded again, I think I squeaked in excitement. It didn’t put him off though, as he just continued to smile at me, amusement glittering in his eyes.
“Show me the alphabet and then you can tell me your name,” I said quickly, before I lost my nerve. Who knew if I’d even be able to pick any of it up? But heck, I was willing to try my hardest if he was willing to teach me a bit.
And at my bold suggestion, his eyes seemed to sparkle, like really sparkle happily. It took my breath away. A slight flush adorned his cheeks before he nodded enthusiastically.
“Good.”
Spending the next few minutes together, standing there, he taught me. He showed me each of the letters in the alphabet and then had me form the shapes with my fingers, correcting them every so often until I had it right. In each of the letters, I had to let myself not get mesmerized by the movements of his mouth. It truly looked like he was silently saying each letter, but no sound came out. Not that it mattered, I was more focused on the fact that he had lips. And I wanted to–
I pulled my mind out of the gutter as fast as I could and took in his lesson, focusing on the fingers on our hands, saying the letters as I made the motions with my fingers, all on my own. At the end of making my way through the alphabet, he gave me a big grin and nod.
Then, when he was sure he had my full attention, he showed me four letters with his own hand. It was different seeing them out of order, but I did them back, figuring out quickly which letters they were.
As my heart boomed in my chest at this new information, I spoke the letters aloud as I made the corresponding ones with my hand.
“N-O-A-H.” I stared into his eyes as I spoke his name. “Noah.”
This time, as he smiled, his eyes looked more shimmery, shinier than before. Was he near tears? Did people never take this time to know him and learn his name? Did he have anyone…
“Do you… would you mind so much if we strayed from the path back to the rental home… and maybe go to the pier to chat some more?” I nearly lost my nerve as he stared at me in wonder. “Um, uh, do you want to chat more? With me?”
He nodded, the smile coming back and warming my heart.
We walked the length of the pier, mostly in silence. But it was comfortable.
And the view was pretty good too. The moonlight shining over the ocean waves, looking both ominously dark with the backdrop of a black night sky as well as peaceful and serene with the rolling waves and sounds to match.
We sat down together at the end, side by side, our legs dangling over the edge.
I tried my best not to restart the conversation with an odd observation… but I couldn’t really contain it any longer. I’d seen the vines. I could tell Noah was a wolf shifter from feeling and smell alone…
“May I ask… about your twin?”
His gaze snapped away from the scenery to look at me in disbelief, like he wasn’t sure he’d heard me right. It wasn’t a no. It was more surprise.
“I guessed,” I told him honestly, with a small shrug.
He inclined his head. It wasn’t quite a nod, but I took it that he was allowing me to ask. So I did. As gently as I could with my limited resources in asking him questions besides those of ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers.
I held out my left hand. “Brother?” Then I held out my right hand, hoping he’d catch on to what I was trying to do. “Or sister?”
He paused for just a second before he took my hands in his.
Huh?
Lifting my left hand with a pointed expression, he then used both of his to adjust my hands, making my left into a pointing finger and the other he raised to my forehead, adjusting the movement there before slowly bringing it down to my other hand, situating the pointer fingers at an angle.
Then he pulled back and did the movement himself, flawlessly.
And then it clicked when he grabbed my right hand with that same expression as before.
That first one was the sign for brother. And now this was going to be the sign for sister.
Like a dutiful student, I patiently followed along as he made my thumb drag along my jawline first this time, before landing in the same pointer finger pose as before. He pulled back again and showed me it at a slightly faster pace.
Sister.
“Ah. I see.”
I tried it myself, both brother and sister, saying them aloud as I did so. He nodded when I was done. And then he made the sign for brother again.
And that was the answer to my question.
“Brother, then.”
He nodded. His gaze drifting down, his eyes narrowed as he thought something over. Before I could apologize for asking, in the case that I might’ve touched upon a distressing subject for him, he grabbed my hand and held it up, fingers extended to the sky. He pointed to himself and then to the hand he raised to take mine, intertwining our fingers briefly before he pulled us apart gently.
When his gaze met mine again, there was an edge of sadness in the shape of his eyes.
Him and his brother. They were together, they were close, and then they–
My eyes widened.
“You two got separated?”
When he nodded with an affirmative, I sighed. I couldn’t even imagine how hard that must’ve been – how hard it probably still was for him.
“I bet you miss him.”
He held up his hands, palms facing each other and gestured, bringing them wide.
I copied him.
That must mean ‘a lot’.
He smiled faintly as he watched me.
In the spur of the moment, feeling so much for Noah who had been separated from his brother, I took his hand in mine, firmly, before taking a deep breath, and staring off to the sky. I spoke aloud with hope of a miracle for him.
“I hope you find him again someday.”
I knew he couldn’t respond aloud, but I knew with certainty that if I looked at him, the tears might just escape my eyes.
But then I felt his fingers on my chin, and I turned with their help to look at him.
Almost like blowing a kiss, he put his hand to his chin and then extended it toward me. There were tears in his eyes too.
“Is that thank you?”
He nodded with a smile, even as a few tears slipped from his eyes. Some fell from my own too, almost as if in response. Without any question or deliberation, we both reached our hands out to each other to brush them away, mine for his cheeks, and his for mine. We were both gentle, both caring.
“It’s hard to hold out hope alone. I’ll hope with you.”
Nodding again, he leaned his head on my shoulder. I leaned my head against the top of his and we stared out at the ocean once more.
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