Leap of Faith by Cassidy Shay (the giving tree read aloud .txt) 📕

She just looks at me, her face emotionless. For a few seconds, we just stare at each other, neither of us saying anything. Then, it hits me. “Have you been able to hear more of what I’m saying?”
    She nods. "I can hear you, Mikey. The other night, I heard you tell me 'Happy new year,' even though I wasn't facing you when you said it. And today I've heard every word you've said." 
    I was leaning my elbows on the table, but now I lean back against the booth, suddenly feeling about three times my weight. I just stare at her, not sure how to react. She looks down at her hands, almost looking ashamed. 
    "Amia," I say. "That's... um...” She still has her head facing down, but she nods anyway, acknowledging that she heard me. "Woah. This is... well..." I stammer, the words not coming to me. "This is... Amia, this is amazing!"
    "I thought that it meant my ears really were beginning to heal, even though the doctor said it wasn't going to happen. But it's only you, Mikey. I can't hear anything else. I can hear the radio, and you. I can't hear the traffic outside the window. I can't hear people talking to each other. I can't hear chairs scooting across the floor when people get up from their tables. I can't hear any of that. It's complete silence, until you start talking." She looks up at me again, and I see a couple tears about ready to fall. 
    "Amia, come here." I get up and move to her side of the booth, wrap my arm around her shoulder. "This is a good thing. It means that either you're healing, or God's working some wonders on your life."
    She starts laughing. "I thought we already established that, didn't we?" I feel her shoulders shake against my side, and her laughter goes on for several seconds. She straightens up, moves my arm from her shoulder. "I'll be alright. It's just frustrating sometimes. I'll focus on one thing, and try so hard to hear it, and it just doesn't come. It's like starving a kid for ten years and then telling them they can have a crumb of bread, and nothing more." She wipes a finger across her eyes, and it comes away wet. 
    "I... I don't know what to say, Amia. This is... I mean..." I just drift off, and she laughs again. 
    "Don't worry about it. Please don't let it change anything. Just keep giving me the crumbs, and it'll be enough. I guess I need to work on being grateful for what I have, instead of complaining about what I don't have. Especially given the circumstances." 
    She smiles, and I notice her beauty in a new way. Of course she is physically beautiful. I’ve thought so since the day I met her. But her personality, her new-found faith, shine through and give her a radiance that you don't see in very many people. I feel butterflies in my stomach, just from looking at her. 

“Let’s change the subject,” I say. “Ask me anything that you want to know.”

She thinks for a minute, and then smiles. “I’m not very good at this kind of stuff. I never know what to ask.” I don’t say anything, just wait. “Fine,” she says. “Why do you like me?”

The question takes me by surprise. I guess I expected a funny question, something hypothetical or from when I was a little kid. I take a moment to think about my answer.

“I’m not sure,” I say, and she scoffs. “No, it’s not like that, but it just… I mean I was obviously interested in being your friend because you were new and you could hear my radio station and then you show up at my school, I figured it was God telling me that we were meant to meet each other.” As I talk, I play with her hands on the table. “But then I got to know you, and I just… I really started to like you. You’re smart, you’re beautiful, you’re kind.” I sigh. “I guess… I don’t know. I just really enjoy being with you, and not just in a friendly way. I don’t really think I have a reason for why that is, it just is, you know?”

She thinks about my answer for a second, and then nods. “Okay. Now you ask me something.”

“Okay,” I say, thinking for a second. “At that party, what made you decide to hold my hand?”

“I actually ran into an old friend of yours,” she says. “She told me that you guys had known each other for a long time, and she could tell that you liked me. But, she also said that you wouldn’t want to do something that could accidentally ruin our friendship, so you wouldn’t do anything unless you were absolutely sure that I liked you back.” She shrugs. “I guess you aren’t quite as confident as you seem. But I didn’t really know how to convey that message without just… doing something.”

“What old friend?” I can’t think of anyone that would have been to that party that would know me well enough to feel comfortable actually telling Amia all that. Or even knowing all that.

“Her name was Brittany,” she says. “Red hair, really pretty actually.” Brittany. I lean back in the booth, and intertwine my fingers with Amia’s. Brittany was there? “How do you guys know each other?”

“Um, we used to go to the same church, and so we met in Sunday school. I don’t really remember why out of the whole group of kids, we ended up being friends. But we were best friends. And then eighth grade came along, and we decided that we’d try dating.” I laugh, remembering the conversation. “And it was exactly that. It’s not that we particularly liked each other that way. We just were good friends and felt like everyone else was pairing off. And going and finding someone we actually liked would just be too much effort, so we decided it would be best to just date each other.” She laughs, which makes me laugh. “I know, it’s ridiculous. Eighth grade logic.” I shake my head. I had pretty much forgotten all of that until now.

“She was my first kiss. We dated up until the middle of sophomore year, and by then we actually had developed real feelings for each other.”

“What happened?” she asks.

I sigh. “Well, she moved across town, started going to a different school. And then she started hanging out with Jake, that guy that was at the party. And then they started dating.”

She leans her head on my shoulder. “I’m sorry, Mikey,” she says. She sounds like she really means it. It’s been a long time since I saw or talked about Brittany. And it reminds me that I have a whole lot of memories and history before Amia came along. We don’t usually talk about that kind of stuff together. I just wrap my arm tighter around her shoulders, and then the waitress brings us our food.

 

I pull up to her driveway, and she turns to face me. "Thanks for taking me out," she says. She has a smile on her face, and I smile back at her. "And thanks for not being totally weirded out by the fact that I can hear you."
    I laugh. "I don't think it's fully registered yet. We'll see how I am by the time I get home." She laughs too, and then unstraps her seatbelt. 
    "I should probably go inside now. I have to get all my stuff ready for tomorrow, and apparently tonight is family game night." She rolls her eyes. "I don't think I'll ever get used to that man being around so much."
    I reach for her hand. "Hey. Just don't worry about him. Be nice to him, but you don't have to become his best friend. And try to understand where your mom is coming from. It would be like if your aunt came back to life and everyone criticized you for spending time with her because she'll probably just die on you again." She nods her head. "And maybe he really has changed. Maybe he deserves a second chance."
    She smiles and leans toward me. "Thanks, Mikey. You're the best." We share a quick kiss, and then she pops the door open. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Amia

 

The next month and a half fly by, and Mikey and I get even closer. I continue being able to hear Mikey talk, and it doesn't go away like I thought it would. It doesn’t take long for the whole school to find out that we’re a couple now, and it seems like people pay more attention to me than they did before.

As Valentine's Day approaches, Lisa keeps bugging me. 
    "What are your plans?" she asks. I just shrug. I'm sitting at the breakfast bar doing homework. "Well it's like tomorrow. You have to have something planned." She's standing across from me, leaning her elbows on the counter, and she looks right into my eyes. 
    "Lisa, I don't know," I say. "We're hanging out, but I don't know what we're doing. It's not a huge deal, it's just another day." I gather all my papers into a pile and stand up. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be finishing my homework in my room." She rolls her eyes, disappointed that I didn't have some elaborate plan to describe. 
    Mikey and I decided that we were just going to do something small- neither of us saw the point in going all out with the teddy bears and chocolates and flowers. 
    When I get to my room, I turn on the radio and close my eyes. I let the sound surround me, and I treat it as if it's going to be the last thing that I ever hear. Eventually I fall asleep, still in my clothes, with my homework scattered on the bed around me. 

Of course in the morning, I regret not finishing my homework. I rush to get it done, and I get to school a minute before the bell. Somehow, I’m still there before Mikey is. At the end of class, I walk over to Mikey, who looks concerned. "Are you okay?" I ask.
    "Yeah," he says, and shakes his head, as if to clear away some thoughts. "I'm just tired." I think about his response, and how it really just means that he's not really sure what's wrong. "By the way, I won't be on the radio today. My mom and dad said that I need to come straight home, because they need to talk to me about something." 
    "Oh, that's alright. Are we still hanging out?" He nods, and then puts his arm around my shoulder. He starts to smile. 
    "Of course. I'll text you tonight and talk about what time I'll pick you up, and all that stuff." We're at the Spanish classroom now, and he hugs me good-bye. "I'll