by David Allen
Steve moved a little further out on the branch to get a better vantage point of the yard next door. He leaned forward to look between some branches and his foot brushed against one of the books. The nudge was just enough to dislodge both of the books from their hold. Steve turned and grabbed for them but it was too late. The books were sent tumbling down through the branches of the large oak tree.
The awkward attempt to grab the books caused Steve to lose his balance. His body twisted clumsily and he fell from the branch on which he was seated. He grabbed at the branch below him as he fell and was able to hold on with his right hand. The jerk from the sudden stop caused his body to swing into the main trunk of the tree with a hard thud.
The impact forced most of the air from Steve’s lungs. His heart raced and he could barely catch his breath. He remained motionless for a few seconds before he was able to readjust his grip.
Steve grabbed a nearby branch and lowered himself slowly downward onto a larger branch. A huge gulp of air refilled his lungs as he secured his position. He waited on the branch for a few more minutes as his heart settled down. Then he slowly lowered himself back down to the solid ground.
Steve glanced next door to see if any of the commotion was noticed. Luke remained on the swing. He and the swing were still motionless. It appeared as if he was unaware of the entire event. Wow, he really can’t hear a thing, thought Steve.
The old copy of Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea took quite a beating on the way down. It lost its front and back cover and several pages on its trip through the tree. The hardcover book on sign language fared much better with just a small nick on the cover and a few bent up pages. Steve gathered the books, the cover and the torn out pages and set them aside in a pile. He then proceeded to walk over to the fence and toward Luke.
This behavior was totally out of character for Steve. He would never approach anyone. Maybe it was some courage that was gained by stopping his near fall out of the tree. Maybe he felt some compassion for Luke. Maybe he saw someone like himself in Luke. Whatever the reason, Steve was slowly making his way over to the fence. He was going to try and find a friend.
When Steve reached the fence, he was to the left and behind Luke. He began to move forward along the fence until he came into Luke’s field of vision. Luke stared straight ahead. His hands were in front of him. From this new vantage point, Steve could see he was slightly rocking back and forth. Steve wasn’t sure if Luke saw him or not.
“How could he not see me?” he said aloud. Steve gave a slight up and down wave and Luke did nothing. “Oh man, maybe he’s blind too,” Steve whispered aloud.
Several minutes passed and Steve took another step forward. He raised both of his arms in a big sweeping motion a number of times. This time Luke turned his head, just a bit. It was almost unnoticeable but Steve picked up on it. Luke was now looking directly at Steve.
Well, I don’t think he’s blind, Steve said quietly in his head. Steve approached the fence. “Hi, I’m Steve,” he said rather weakly. He waited for a few seconds. There was no movement. There was no recognition.
“Oh, stupid, he’s deaf, you have to sign,” he muttered to himself.
Steve thought for a moment, and then gave a slight open palm wave from left to right, the sign for “Hi”. Luke shifted slightly but there was no response. Steve again gave the sign for “Hi”, but this time he spelled it out. The book on sign language had mentioned that most of the time you should spell it out. Still there was nothing from Luke. He remained absolutely still. There was no recognition at all.
Steve didn’t give up. He waved his arms again and then spelled out “Hi”, and then gave the sign for “friend”. This time, Luke seemed to understand Steve’s signs. Luke raised his right hand and gave a slight left to right wave toward Steve.
The odd wave perplexed Steve. It was not the same as the open palm sign that was illustrated in the book. He didn’t know if it was a sign that meant ‘Hi’ or if it was something else. Maybe it was nothing more than just a plain old wave. Steve signed again. “I am S T E V E,” and then he again gave the sign for friend.
Luke then did something he had not done for years. He stood and slowly began to walk to the fence, toward Steve. As he approached, he signed, “I am L U K E.” Luke then looked at Steve and raised his arms and made the sign for “want”. He then joined his hands and made the sign for “friend”.
* * *
Karen Jackson was in the house. She was just starting to get some ideas together for dinner. There was a large garden window over the kitchen sink that looked out over the back yard. Every few minutes she would peek out the window to check on Luke. She was startled to look out and see that Luke was no longer on the swing set.
From Karen’s view out the window, Luke was nowhere in sight. Karen panicked. She raced out of the house and into the back yard. At first Karen did not see Luke anywhere. Panic was taking over when she spotted Luke next to the fence. She could see Steve standing on the other side.
Karen had seen Steve in the oak tree several times during the prior week. She expressed her concerns to Joe. She felt he was spying on her and Luke. She did not like his long hair and dishevel appearance. She thought he would pick on Luke. Now her worst fears were being realized.
“He can’t hear you,” Karen shouted loudly as she ran toward the fence. “He can’t hear you! He is deaf.”
Steve didn’t respond. He stood next to the fence unable to move. He could tell by her tone something was wrong. It must be something that I did, he thought.
“He is deaf, he can’t hear you. You do not need to talk to him.” Karen reached the fence and was breathing heavy. “He can’t understand you,” she said loudly. “Just leave him alone.”
Steve stood deathly still with his arms at his side. He wanted to say something to calm her but his mouth was frozen. He wanted to run back to the oak tree but his legs would not respond. He could do nothing.
Karen took Luke by the hand and gently pulled him back toward the house. Luke twisted his body to face Steve. He tugged against his mother’s arm. Luke then raised his right hand, extended his fingers with his palm down and signed a perfect “bye-bye” to Steve.
Karen caught a bit of Luke’s hand motions out of the corner of her eye but was not exactly sure what she saw. She turned around and caught sight of Steve still standing at the fence. Steve slowly raised his right hand and signed back to Luke.
“Bye-Bye L U K E.”
Karen immediately stopped. Her jaw dropped. “You signed,” she said. “You signed, you signed Luke’s name. How do you know his name?”
Steve looked up at Karen. She still sounded mad. Steve stared at her. His mouth was still frozen. He could not speak.
Karen picked up on the fear in Steve’s eyes. She lowered her voice and asked again in a softer tone. “How do you know Luke’s name?”
Steve looked over toward Luke. “He signed to me,” he said in a barely audible tone, as if he was being scolded.
“He signed to you?” Karen asked softly, looking for confirmation from Steve.
“Yes.”
“What did he say?” asked Karen trying to control her excitement.
Steve looked at the ground. “He said his name was Luke. He said he wanted a friend.”
“When did he say that?”
”Before you came out.”
“What did you say?”
“I said I was Steve and I wanted a friend too.”
“And he… Luke signed to you? You understand sign language?”
“Yes,” said Steve. He nodded slightly.
Luke continued to tug at Karen’s arm. She let go and Luke eagerly walked back to the fence and to Steve. Karen raised her hand to her mouth and let out a gasp. It had been years since Luke had actually approached anyone other than her or Joe. She was stunned and stood in silent amazement as tears began to flood her cheeks.
As Luke walked to the fence, he raised his arms slightly and gave the sign for “want” an
d then the sign for “come”. He then joined his hands and gave the sign for “swing”. The signs were perfect and Steve easily understood the meaning.
Steve looked over to Karen and saw she was crying. He did not understand the reason for the tears but he suddenly felt less fear.
“Is everything alright?” asked Steve.
“Yes, everything is wonderful,” said Karen. She wiped the streaming tears from her cheeks. “I think Luke wants you to come over and swing with him,” said Karen. “Would you like to come over?”
Steve didn’t answer. He didn’t know what to do. He wanted to go over and swing with his new friend but he still hesitated. He was afraid.
Luke smiled and put his fingers through the fence and touched Steve’s hand. Karen moved closer to the fence. She had not seen Luke act like this with a stranger in many years. She really wanted Steve to come over to see how Luke would respond.
“You can come over for only a few minutes if you want. Luke would really like it,” she said gently. “It would make your new friend very happy.”
Steve thought about it for a few seconds and looked up at Karen. Her cheeks were still wet from her tears. Steve nodded slightly. “Yes,” he said quietly.
Chapter 11 - Awakening
Joe Jackson pulled his car into the driveway on Friday evening. He had no idea what happened earlier that day. He had no idea what was waiting for him inside his house or how his life was about to cross paths with Steve Peterson and be changed forever.
Inside the house, Joe’s wife Karen was sitting on the sofa in the family room. She was weeping. After years of watching her son fall deeper and deeper into his world of silence, she had finally witnessed a change, an improvement. She had witnessed an astounding improvement.
Luke not only used sign language with someone outside of the family, but he actually attempted to speak words. This was something he had not done in almost two years. He would not do it for the doctors or the therapists or high priced specialists. He would not do it for his mom or his dad. But he did it today. He did it for his new friend from next door. He did it for Steve Peterson.
Karen sat at the table and watched Luke with amazement. The change in his personality was dramatic. She felt as if her dreams were finally being answered. She and Joe were going to get their miracle after all.
Joe maneuvered his three-year-old Honda Accord into the cramped two-car garage. The walls of the garage were lined with empty cardboard boxes from the recent move. Two roomfuls of furniture that didn’t fit into the décor of the new home filled the second bay. Joe and Karen now wished they had sold the furniture instead of moving it.
The small Accord was a tight fit amid all of the clutter. Joe brought the car to a halt just as its front bumper came to rest against the back of an old sofa that was waiting to be picked up by the Salvation Army. Joe pressed the remote control and the doublewide garage door started its slow and rasping decent.
The week that just ended had been rough on Joe. There were pressing deadlines and a lot of overtime. Between the house move and the hours spent at the office, Joe was exhausted. Tonight he was a little late arriving home but the big project at work was now done and over. Things would be able to get back to normal at home and at the office.
“Thank god it is Friday,” Joe said aloud. The words brought out a smile. The major pieces of the move were complete; the house was getting into shape. Joe hoped that he and Karen would get some time to relax. Maybe they would get out and meet some of their new neighbors, he thought.
Joe left his briefcase and his problems from work on the passenger seat of the car. His mind focused solely on the next two days. He scrambled from the car and made his way through the maze of boxes and unwanted furniture toward his sanctuary.
“I am home”, Joe called out as he opened the door into the house. There was no response. Joe slipped off his shoes and pushed them aside. Joe called out again. “Hello, anybody home?”
There was no response. The silence that met Joe was very unusual.
Karen and Luke were both in the family room. They had been back in the house for only a few minutes. Luke wanted to return outside to play with his new friend.
Luke was excited. He repeatedly raised and lowered his right hand and signed ‘outside’. The sign would repeat several times, and then Luke would sign through the letters of Steve’s name.
Karen was focused on Luke’s newfound awareness in communication. She could not get over the dramatic change. Luke appeared happy, the first time in years. He smiled and kicked his feet with exhilaration. Karen’s heart soared along with Luke’s spirit. The sound of Joe’s car and the creaking garage door failed to register with Karen. She was totally absorbed with Luke. The calls from Joe went unanswered.
Silence greeted Joe when he entered the kitchen. The air was absent of any cooking aromas; the oven was mysteriously cold. Curiously, Joe proceeded through the kitchen.
An unfamiliar laugh caught Joe’s attention. He turned toward the family room and spotted Karen.
“So there you are,” Joe said with a smile in his voice. “Are we going out for dinner tonight?”
Luke was facing the kitchen. He saw his father walking in. Luke quickly signed out the letters “H” and “I” to his father.
Joe was immediately taken aback by Luke’s actions. This was the first unprompted sign he had gotten from Luke in many years.
Joe approached Luke and signed back. “Hi,” signed Joe.
Luke looked up at Joe and attempted to breathe the word “Hi” to his father. Joe’s eyes grew wide and his jaw dropped. He was shocked. He looked over at Karen. He could now see the tears streaming down her face.
“What is going on? Is everything alright?” asked Joe.
“Yeah, everything is great.”
Joe pointed at Luke. “Did you teach him that?” he asked Karen in a hushed and somewhat stunned tone.
Karen wiped the tears from her eyes. “No, it wasn’t me,” she replied softly. “It was Steve.”
“Steve? Steve who?” asked Joe.
“Steve Peterson, the kid from next door.”
“The kid next door? You mean the weird kid with the long hair? The one that’s always sitting up in the tree out back spying on us?”
“Yeah, that’s Steve.”
Joe was eager for information. “How, when?” he inquired.
“Today, this afternoon. I walked out back to check on Luke and found him by the fence with Steve. I was nervous at first. I thought Steve might be picking on him. Then I saw Luke sign to Steve and Steve was signing back.”
“The kid next door was signing to Luke? Is he deaf too?” asked Joe.
“No, not deaf, but he is quite strange though.”
“Strange? In what way?”
“Well he is quiet. And I mean real quiet. I felt like I had to pull the information out of him. It was like I was forcing him to talk. I finally got him to tell me that he saw me sign to Luke when he was up in the tree. That is how he figured out Luke was deaf.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, and get this. He told me that he went to the school library and took out a book on sign language so he would be able to talk to him.”
Joe deeply furrowed his brow. “Is that what he said?” asked Joe.
“Sounds pretty strange huh? He reads this book on sign language and learns to sign in less than a week. I watched him sign and he is pretty good at it too. I would have guessed he had done it for years.”
While Joe and Karen were talking, Luke walked around the back of Joe and gave a tug on his jacket. Joe turned to find Luke attempting to mouth the word “Hi” again. Joe signed “Hi” and reached down and hoisted Luke up into his arms.
Tears were once again flowing down the cheeks of Karen. “He has been doing that almost non-stop,” she said.
Joe’s eyes began to tear. He gave Luke a big hug and held him close. Joe wiped his eyes with his free hand. “How did this all start?” he asked.
“Well,
I convinced Steve to come over to go on the swing set with Luke after Luke signed for him to come over and swing. After he was here for about a half an hour, they stopped swinging. Steve and Luke started signing a lot and then Steve just starts to show Luke how to mouth some words. I really didn’t think anything of it at the time.”
“What did you do?”
“Nothing, I just watched. Then Steve started to gently push on Luke’s chest and showed him how to blow out the air to make sounds. He did pretty much what they do in Luke’s sessions. I guess I was a little amazed that Luke seemed to understand what Steve was doing so I didn’t stop him. And then it happened. Something clicked and Luke just followed along with Steve. He hasn’t stopped since. Now he is using signs that he hasn’t used in years.”
Karen reached down and picked up a damp and wadded up paper napkin from the table. She soaked up the flowing tears from her cheeks.
“A few minutes before you came in I could actually hear him speak the word “Hi”. I could hear him say the word. I could easily make it out. It was almost perfect.” Karen again wiped her eyes. “It is a miracle,” Karen said, between sobs. “It’s truly a miracle.”
“How long was he with Steve?” asked Joe.
“The three of us were all together for maybe two hours, maybe a little bit longer. Can you believe it? Over three years with the experts and they couldn’t get any improvement. Now, a couple hours with the kid next-door and he is trying to speak. It just doesn’t make any sense.”
“No it really does not make any sense,” Joe said. “Maybe Luke was just ready to start communicating again. Maybe it was just time for him.”
Karen shook her head slowly from side to side. “No, there was something a little more to it than that. You had to see it happen. It was like there was some kind of inner connection between the two of them. It was really kind of weird, almost spooky.”