Signing Hands

Signing Hands

Short Stories in English Compiled by The Bangalore Editorial

Silence wrapped around his room when Emre suddenly woke up and sat upright in his bed. He felt something moving near his bed and looked around. A pair of glowing eyes glared at him from the leg of the bed. Before he could move, it came into the spot of light that pierced through the windowpane. His cat, Teku was moving around in the dead of the night. He felt anxiety gradually leaving his body and went back to sleep almost instantly.

Sun shined brightly outside when Teku jumped on Emre’s bed and gently nudged him to wake up. Emre woke up to the slight tickle of Teku’s soft fur and put food and water out for it. He loved this alarm more than the regular one which would wake him up heartlessly. Teku would then lazily roam around in the house sleeping in the weirdest position one could possibly imagine. It was smart enough to inform Emre when someone was at the door by tugging Emre’s jeans. Emre lived with one more family member, Isra, his younger sister, who worked for a local telecommunications company called Avea.

Isra signed to Emre while patting it on his head, “Did you feed Teku?” to which Emre nodded. The cat let out soft purrs while Isra put on her coat and left. Emre sat in the living room reading the crisp newspaper instantly. He had been looking for work for a few days since his last job as a miner became unbearably strenuous. It is funny how firstly his job was so stressful and now sitting idly at home became too. Unpaid vacations were a luxury for them. There was an ad from the local grocery store looking for an employee to help around with storing and managing the supplies.

He got a jolt of energy and immediately got up to get ready to rush to the store. He quickly splashed some cold water on his face and brushed his teeth. He almost fell trying to change out of his pyjamas in the blink of an eye. He couldn’t handle his excitement about the opportunity and fear of losing that job to someone else all at once. He managed to look presentable and put on his coat to leave when Teku came running towards the door. He signed to the cat, “Wish me luck Teku!” and left the cat with a blank face wondering what in the world was happening. The store was only a couple of blocks away from his house and since he couldn't find any other job at that moment, this opportunity couldn’t have knocked on his door at a better time. Just as he walked out on the street, a tall man, wearing a long coat and a woollen hat, unaware of his surroundings bumped into him. The stranger tumbled a little and said something hurriedly.

Before Emre could even try to talk to him, the stranger left. Emre didn’t know if he apologised or cursed. Most of the people in Istanbul didn't know sign language and were indifferent towards it. This wasn’t the first time this happened and he knew it wouldn’t be the last. He was used to it by now, so he continued his walk feeling every thud of his steps on the uneven gravel footpath.

He reached the store after walking for some fifteen minutes and stole one more glance at his reflection in the window panes to set his hair. As soon as he opened the grocery store’s gate, he felt the vibration of a bell ringing above the door. He looked around for the manager. It was tedious to explain to any of the employees who he was looking for, so he decided to roam around on his own. He found the manager with a clipboard in the last aisle. The manager recognised Emre and signed, “Hello” with a smile. Emre signed back. He was one of the few people who were considerate towards his impairment.

Emre pointed out the ad in the newspaper and explained to him how he recently left his old job to find a more peaceful one. The manager agreed to hire him, so they both went to his office and signed an offer letter. Emre shook the manager’s hands with gratitude and picked up some groceries on his way out for the celebratory dinner he planned to cook for Isra. Emre walked back home with sparkling eyes and his steps got lighter as he was on cloud 9 even though he carried more weight. He took a bath, had a hearty lunch and did the rest of the chores of cleaning and laundry.

Isra returned home in the evening and the whole house was filled with aromas of spices. They sat at the table for dinner together with Teku lurking around their legs looking out for fallen pieces of meat. Isra was surprised and asked Emre, “What is all this about?” Emre signed, “I’ll tell you, but firstly how was your day at work?” Isra replied, “It was good.” Emre was slightly shocked; Isra usually goes on and on about her day, not leaving out any detail. She smiled and completed her dinner patiently, while Emre excitedly told her that this special dinner was for the celebration of his new job where he would start working tomorrow.

Emre learned to read people’s lips while they spoke and it became slightly easier for him to communicate with the customers. A few weeks passed away peacefully. One fine morning, he went out for a walk with his sister. As soon as he stepped out of the gate, a stranger gestured, “Good morning.” Emre smiled as he walked. It was not often when people would sign to him just like people talk to each other. To his surprise, everywhere he walked, people communicated in gestures. Isra smiled mysteriously all the time. Emre was confused and pleasantly surprised as to what was going on. They caught a cab to go for errands when the cab driver signed, “Hello sir, off to where?” He signed back with a smile, “To the City Mall, please.” They reached the mall in some twenty minutes and tipped the driver generously. Just before the entrance, there was a big bright screen on which a girl was talking in sign language.

It caught his eye and he realised the girl was talking to him! It was a live video conference and she signed, “Hello Emre, we at Avea have launched a video conferencing tool which would help people with hearing impairments communicate better. This was a small surprise that we, along with Isra curated for you.” Isra excitedly further explained how people from their neighbourhood had been taking lessons to learn sign language for the past few weeks. Emre shed happy tears as he met the whole crew behind this act. It turned out his sister had been planning all this for the past few weeks.

Hope you enjoyed: Singing Hands - Short Stories in English, written by Tanisha Chhajer