You are not a keyboard but you like your space. You are the type of introvert that likes going out alone, enjoying the city and its cuisine with your ears plugged. Your last date was a disaster. The poor boy was confidently talking in some strange accent. You stared and even nodded. It was when he asked about your third favourite colour that he realised how you were nodding to whatever was playing under your hijab and not him.
While other girls insist that a bag is part of their dressing, earpieces are always in your bag. We both know what happened the day you forgot your earpiece at home. Forget about that, let us talk about the day it got stolen. Remember how you became a producer and created a scene by accusing your coworker of theft. You were petty. Ordinary earpiece. Well, the ordinary earpiece came like a newborn wrapped in a white shawl. You found it somewhere close to the charger while unboxing your Samsung S9. You talked to your dealership on how to get a new one. Bring fifteen thousand naira was the response. Yes, ordinary earpiece.
Every night, you listen to sang songs to knock you out. You have a lot of problems. These days you just drown in sad songs—as if to remind you that you are not alone.
Last night, as you were about to sleep, you remembered your mother. Your mother hates earpieces. Every time she sees you with one, she reminds you about your cousin. According to her, Zubaynah lost her hearing to excessive exposure to high audio frequencies. The frequencies damaged her eardrum. You were five the last time you saw Zubby and you can still remember the Nokia phone with the colour screen. The one that came with a earpiece—that she carried around always.
You imagine how it feels to be deaf. How you wake up the following morning not hearing your alarm ring. How the wheezing sound of the standing fan, the one that disturbs you every time you make phone calls, loses breath. How the shower respects you to drizzle silently, and you can't even hear the crackling of the bathroom door. You imagine raising your voice so high to greet your neighbours because you can't even hear your own voice. You try hard to listen to how you sound but the only thing you feel is your lips departing to release hot air. You are deaf but not dumb. You imagine the possibility of being deaf and still be able to talk. You imagine if being deaf is buy one, get one free—since being deaf is a groom walking down the aisle hand in hand with his bride, dumb. You wanted to search Google. You have the keyword in your head—“can you be deaf and not dumb”; but you're too tired. You just assume it's possible, since deaf people can use hearing aids—like your cousin Zubby. You're not sure if she can still talk since she refused to continue using it.
Every night, you listen to sang songs to knock you out. You have a lot of problems. Like someone possessed, you removed the earpiece from the jack, paused the song and tossed it far away. You have a lot of problems. You don't want to add being deaf to the list.
©Abdulhameed Ridwan O
— Cranium X
