Close Silence

Close Silence

Fourteen people went into the room. The walls were white and bare. Seven white chairs faced seven black chairs with a small gray table in the middle.

The people were instructed not to talk.

A large clock above the door ticked away the minutes. After ten minutes the people began to fidget, some coughing lightly. A man in a brown suit adjusted and readjusted his tie. Thirty minutes. One man began to snore softly. Two people began nodding their heads drowsily. Another yawned widely.

“When are we going to get started”, whispered a gentleman. The door opened and the man was led from the room. The snoring gentleman was awakened and also ushered out.

They were instructed again not to talk.

They avoided eye contact, some zoning out. Three hours in a woman in a long blue skirt began rocking side to side, her tapping legs crossed at the ankle. She stood up abruptly and left the room.

Thirty minutes later the lights in the room dimmed slightly. There were soft groans as the remaining people struggled to stay awake.

Some time later, an attendant came in. She wore a white robe and surgical mask. Her feet were bare. She went to the far end of the room and touched a section of the wall. The wall slid back to reveal a urinal, toilet and sink. She left.

The people in the room looked stricken, disbelief. After a few hand gestures the women formed a silent wall around one of the toilets. They took turns, their faces red in embarrassment at the loud sounds of their piss. The men turned their heads discretely away.

When everyone had been relieved, the attendant returned. She closed the wall. Warm wet towels were distributed. Food was served.

The attended nodded gently and left.

After a while the participants were shown how to unfold the chairs into cots. The lavatory walls were opened again. They closed. The lights were dimmed to darkness. They were instructed to sleep.

A man cried out in his sleep. He was removed.

When the participants woke, the clock was also gone. The room was dimly lit.

They were instructed not to talk.

The lavatory walls opened at irregular intervals during the day.

The food was served through a slot in the door.

They were instructed not to talk.

They were given clean robes to wear.

The lights were dimmed.

The silence grew. It filled the room until they could fill it on their skin.

They slept.

They ate.

They were instructed not to talk.

They slept.

They pissed.

They ate.

The men’s beards grew long.

They ate.

They slept.

They pissed.

Silence grew deeper. A tangible presence pressing against their throats.

Why are we still here, a man yelled. The group turned and stared. His mouth had not moved. The man looked around in a frantic shock. His mouth opened without sound, gaping like a landed fish.

The door opened. A man in white came in. He had short cropped hair, dark eyes and a wide nose. He had no mouth.

He held up his hand.

You are learning to Speak, he said to them.

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