Short Story

SOUNDS OF SILENCE

Nancy's Notes 🖊️🎶

It’s a sad commentary when two people are out spending time with each other and yet they are miles apart – or so it may seem at first glance; this is not always true as we will soon learn in the case of Dan and Josephine.  

This was the lesser of two evils as far as our young couple was concerned for, you see, people would talk about them no matter what they did and they are still too unsophisticated to grasp the concept that what other people think of them is not their problem. 

I know I’m one of the guilty ones when I see two people out together, each one glued to their cell phone, totally ignoring the person they’re with; my first reaction is “how stilted and stifled is this relationship, how bored are these young people that they can’t even carry on a conversation with each other?” and I think of my husband of 50+ years and how we always find something (or someone) to talk about.

Perhaps I’m the one with the problem of being judgmental and jumping to conclusions.

Let’s go back to the case of Dan and Josephine, the young couple in our photo; what people observing them are not aware of is the fact that both Dan and Josephine are deaf and since they have been ridiculed, teased, mimicked and stared at for using sign language while out in public, they have opted to carry on their conversations via text. 

Maybe next time we should remember to mind our own damn business and not jump to conclusions; there may be a very good reason – a personal and sometimes difficult decision people are forced to make – and it’s not our place to point fingers …. even if they really are just ignoring each other. 🙈 🙉 🙊

NAR © 2023

October 4th #1MinFiction Challenge
Sunday’s Six Sentence Story Word Prompt!

43 thoughts on “SOUNDS OF SILENCE”

  1. Excellent twist (to the opening scene).
    A good (and lifetime process) lesson to eschew judgement of others.
    If nothing else, it leaves so much more energy for our own life/existence*

    *daily supply of energy in people is many things, one thing it is not is increasingly abundant

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  3. To borrow from ceayr, “Chapeau”, Nancy. I’ll admit to a silent lament for what appears to be a growing loss of communication through spoken conversation. Your story is an excellent reminder of the many reasons we cannot know why people are on their phones so much. Why should it matter to us?

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    1. That’s an excellent question, Denise: Why should it matter to us?

      I would have to say the simple reason is that, as human beings, we cannot keep our noses out of other peoples business which, if taken a step further, may have something to do with why we’re always waging battle against each other … whether it’s over a parking spot or a country. Human nature is messed up and now the cell phone has become the albatross around our necks.

      Thanks for sharing your comments today.

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  4. I could certainly see the scene, and didn’t guess as to their reason for texting. It’s a good reason. There are some valid reasons, but the exceptions are outnumbered by the number of people who do not put the phones away when out with others. It seems rude to me, disrespectful to those in company. And I enjoyed the writing, it unfolded like a mystery on an old time tv or radio show.

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    1. Thank you, D. I appreciate your comments.
      It is rude and disrespectful to be so engrossed by a cell phone, especially when one person is constantly checking their phone while the other is ignored. How sad and embarrassing for that person. It’s very common these days which is why so many young people have little to no social skills.
      Thanks for sharing your thoughts; I’m glad you enjoyed my story.

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  5. This is an excellently written, thought provoking piece.

    I was thinking that one possible reason why they were momentarily both looking at their phones (as passersby who observe for only a moment, we don’t know how long a scene like this would last or what actual percentage of their time together is spent like this) could be that during their conversation, one person mentioned a video they had watched recently, and was sending it over Facebook Messenger, and the other person was waiting to receive it so that they could add it to their Watch Later list on YouTube, and then they would have both put the phones back down and continued their face to face conversation. That’s a scenario that could have been observed of one of my friends and me on several occasions.

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    1. This may be hard to believe but that thought never crossed my mind until I started to write this prompt. I’m a little embarrassed that I never realized that before and should be more conscious of giving people the benefit of the doubt.
      Thanks for your thoughts, D!

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      1. This was my wakeup. Quite a few years ago, we were driving with a young couple, the daughter of a friend and her fiancé. They were in the back seat, and while my husband and I were chatting in the front seat, they were both on their phones, texting, I remember thinking how disconnected these two were that they were ignoring each other in favor of their phone. Then I heard her laugh, and a moment later, he laughed, and I looked back at them and asked them with great amusement if they were texting each other, and they both grinned loudly! She said they didn’t want to disturb our conversation!
        I wonder what they were texting…

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  15. Ermmmmm … Peder and I did this while having a meal at outdoor restaurant in Cannes, and each text we sent back and forth got filthier and filthier until we were in near hysterical laughter. Two oldies sitting at a table, texting away, laughing over our iPhones, and nobody had a clue.

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  18. I wouldn’t change a single letter of your ink, cara. It is a trap we all are, more or less, prone in falling into… neglecting to identify a perspective beyond ours.
    Such a simple task… yet, so elusive.
    Brava, Nancy. 👏
    Well said is an understatement for your Sounds of Silence.

    (and yes, you took no prisoners with the Disturbed/Miles video…❤️)

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