By Way of Introduction

He was born near deaf, with only a rudimentary concept of sound, deaf to the dripping tears, deaf to fluid motion, struggling through the rain that weighted his clothes, struggling through the frost and fervor that caused him to shiver with genetic defects.

Struggling against all the hands that would plunge him screaming beneath the water.

To breathe and speak in fluid terms became an acquired taste, much like the honey of ancient Egypt, much like the curing of weathered leather, much like struggling until the gaunt porcelain cracked like hard boots on salt crust. And they thought it was an affectation…

He was aware it was hard silence. Especially for one so young to bear.