sunrise of a voice
by Ivy Nabangi
Timmy had always stood out.
From the moment he was born they knew he would be a different child.
He hardly cried as a child. Only babbled. Not much though, only enough to let them know he had a voice.
His parents always wondered why he never spoke. Taking him to various doctors only frustrated their efforts. They each said the same thing. Tommy was perfectly fine, perfectly healthy.
They were once referred to a speech therapist, who met with Tommy three times a week. Needless to say her well intended efforts were in vain, as no word ever made its way out of his mouth.
His parents were heartbroken. Feeling like they probably were not doing enough to help their child break out of his shell tore their hearts apart. His mother, particularly, wondered if perhaps while she was carrying him those nine months maybe she had exposed him to something that had such adverse effects.
She felt as though she never really knew her son. Nursing him, caring for him and loving him was becoming so hard when all around her were questioning his intellectual capacity and capabilities.
The only thing she knew for sure was that her baby loved the sky. She knew he loved staring at the stars, pointing at them and drawing the various constellations. Her motherly spirit took this as a sign that he was probably more capable than he was given credit for.
His parents invested in all things astronomy, buying him binoculars, and various books with images of the stars, moon and sun. In the mornings and evenings she would find him with his father, taking pictures of the sunrise or sunset, a bright smile on his face.
Oh how it warmed her heart to see him actually live and experience life.
They came to love and adore their unique child like never before. They learnt to hear him. Learnt to speak to him; learnt to sit with him, in his silence.
One early morning the mother woke up bright and early and found Tommy outside, taking pictures of the sunset.
However, this time he was on his own.
Smiling, jumping up and down in jubilation.
She went outside, eager to see what had made him so happy.
Looking into his eyes she saw a glimmer spark from within them. A glimmer she had never seen before-A glimmer of hope.
He looked back at the sunrise, perhaps he wanted her to see something, she figured. She looked into it, its beauty inexplicably radiating onto her.
He looked up at her, tears welled up in his eyes, now glistening like crystals, and said...
"You are my sunrise, mama"
Photo of Ivy Nabangi
BIO: Ivy Nabangi is a student with a love for creative expression, particularly through literature and music. She is seeking to share her work and stories with the world, and to capture different human experiences in a creative yet relatable way.