Her, Me, and the Christmas Ornament.

Because the star at the top suits her so well, I handed it to her gently.
I carefully wrapped my hands around hers, guiding her fingers to trace the shape so she could recognize it.
It was a star-shaped Christmas ornament, glowing with a dull silver light.

🔷🔷🔷⛄️

She is blind.
Her vision had been fading since she was born,
and she says she can now only perceive the slightest bit of light.

Her name is Yuki.
She was a beautiful girl with fair skin and long hair tied loosely in the back.

I met her at a coffee shop.
I happened to pass by while she was being harassed by her ex-boyfriend.
Even though she couldn't see, she was clearly uncomfortable with the words and the atmosphere he was creating,
and she kept repeating in a small voice,
"Stop it, please stop."

I spoke up to the ex-boyfriend, saying, "Don't you think that's enough?"

The ex-boyfriend was startled,
snorted, and left the shop.

For some reason, seeing her relieved expression made her feel incredibly dear to me, even though we had just met.

⛄️⛄️⛄️

I often played quizzes on dates with Yuki.

As Christmas approached,
we played a game of guessing the tree ornaments.

The bell, the reindeer, the angel, the Santa Claus ornament.
Yuki learned them one by one by touching them.

This is Santa, isn't it? Hehe, it has fluffy fur on it.

That's his beard.

I said, teaching her as she touched the ornament and put it back on the Christmas tree at home.
I guided her hand to help her put it back.

This is the reindeer, right? It has antlers.

To me, her smile was as beautiful as the Virgin Mary.

⛄️🔷⛄️

Around that time, I began to feel that my own hearing was suddenly getting worse.
I didn't want to worry Yuki, so I kept it to myself.

Because she is blind, the phone is an important means of communication for her,
but I started to reduce the number of calls I had with her, as if to hide my failing hearing.

That lovely voice of hers, which sounded like ringing bells, began to reach me with a faint static.

I was so confused and in such pain that I wanted to tear my chest open.

Why.

🔷🔷⛄️

I feel like I'm going deaf, too.
I've become ill.
Little by little, I'm losing my hearing.

It seems to be progressive.

I spoke slowly, word by word, to Yuki, whom I hadn't seen in a while.
Yuki, who asked, 'It's been a while, what's wrong?', lost her words.

⛄️⛄️⛄️

Yuki, who cannot see, and I, who am losing my hearing.

Through sounds, many notes, textures, sign language, and every possible form of communication, we convey our feelings to each other.

Holding hands to share each other's warmth might be the best way to express ourselves.

Words are unnecessary.

I wrap her cold left hand in both of mine and slowly write on her palm, 'It's cold, I'm hungry.'

Yuki chuckles and uses sign language to say, 'Let's eat.'

Even in the cold winter, we will be fine because we convey our feelings by warming each other's hands little by little.
We avoid wearing gloves as much as possible because it would prevent us from writing on each other's palms.

Instead, our palms are precious to one another.

On her hand, I string together words of love.

I gently place a silver star in her hand and let her trace its texture.
Silver, rough, star.
As Yuki repeats those words a few times, she whispers into my ear, where my hearing still faintly remains,

It's beautiful, thank you.
Let's eat a delicious meal.
Let's take the star for the tree and the decorations home.

Because she spoke slowly, I managed to hear it.
I want to hear her voice more.
Because the time left for my hearing might be short.

Did you notice that I placed
a ring with her favorite star motif
on the tip of the star ornament
I had Yuki hold?

Has it been since high school? I wrote a novel for the first time in a while.
It makes me feel embarrassed,
but it was fun. Love is a wonderful thing, isn't it?
Wishing you both happiness.

Thank you for the project✨