Chapter 12 - THE MAN BEHIND THE SCAR
Salvatore told me about his scar one evening.
We were walking along the lakefront.
The wind was cold.
The water dark.
He touched the mark along his cheek.
People think I got this in a fight.
I looked at him.
Didn't you?
He shook his head.
Car accident.
I frowned.
He continued.
I was seventeen. Rafael was driving.
My heart tightened.
He survived without serious injuries.
Salvatore looked toward the lake.
I didn't.
He explained that the crash left him with facial injuries and months of rehabilitation.
His deafness had nothing to do with it.
But people assumed the scar and deafness came from the same event.
He rarely corrected them.
Why? I asked.
He shrugged.
People believe what makes them comfortable.
I looked at him.
Does that bother you?
He considered.
It used to.
Then he smiled faintly.
Not as much now.
I took his hand.
We walked in silence.
A comfortable silence.
Not empty.
Not lonely.
Full of things we understood without needing to explain.
Then Salvatore stopped.
He looked at me.
His hands moved slowly.
I love you.
My heart stopped.
I stared.
He smiled nervously.
You don't have to answer.
I laughed through tears.
Then signed:
I love you too.
May you like
And when he kissed me, the city disappeared.
For once, silence felt like the most beautiful language in the world.
