I am not allowed into the rain, for fear of losing my sense. I must watch from behind windows, underneath a roof, in a dry, secure location. Rain is not my friend, but I wish it otherwise. I check the weather reports on a daily basis. If it looks like it might rain, I must bring a rain jacket, bring a rain coat, and minimize my time outside. I could run, I could play in the puddles, but with extreme risk.

It started raining today, and I had no umbrella, no rain jacket. Just a simple plastic bag. With a moan, I resigned myself to my fate and placed my ears into the plastic bag, then stepped out from under the sanctuary of the warm, dry place.

What I saw was not what I expected. What I felt, which was previously forgotten, was awakened in me again. I could see with clarity, smile into the wind, smell the petrichor, and dance in the rain. Though people walked past me, though they were chatting and talking and cramming for classes,

I heard nothing.

But, with the presence of nothing came something. Freedom to dance in the rain, freedom to ignore and seek and chase and play in a puddle and not have any worries, freedom to taste the rain on my face and let it fall on my hair, and just simply freedom. As I walked around campus, I marveled at how fresh and clear the world seemed to be. There was no sou-

Water. I could hear water. I stared in shock at the fountain. It was faint; but I could hear it. I was standing beside it, yet it sounded as if it was thousands of yards away. However, the simple act of hearing naturally and on my own almost brought me to tears. So this is what I was missing out on? Then the skies crashed and thunder cracked, and I whipped my head towards the noise in surprise. Hearing two things? Without my ears?

Then I looked at the time, and realized that I needed to reenter the world of the hearing. So with a sigh, I stepped away from my desire to chase down more natural sounds and entered the warm, dry place. As I put my ears back in, I realized.

There’s nothing like finding a sound just for you in a world of silence.