Aborted Words

Here’s my take on “silence.” This piece was inspired by the Weekly Writing Challenge. I’ve wanted to write this experience for a long while, but didn’t have the right form for it. This challenge, gladly, has given me the frame I needed for my silence.

It is a Tuesday and I’ve just finished my Process class. I sit outside the library on an old, wooden bench, waiting for my friend as restless, groggy university students stream by me. Some stop, looking up at the peeling yellow walls, some make a quick right to the Tim Hortons, while others artistically swim through idle students, running to classes they’re already late for or buses they’ve already missed. In this familiar chaos I see my TA and wave. She smiles back as she hurriedly walks on.

I turn away from my class and see my friend approaching. I get up, collect my books, and we walk towards the food court.

“Yo I am so hungry!” Books cascade to the floor as she drops her bags in front of a BMO. “I need to take out some money. Is that okay?” She shuffles forward without waiting for a reply.

“Why wouldn’t it be? You don’t need my permission to take out food. I mean money.” I follow her in the line, laughing quietly to myself, not wanting to sit on the bench again. “How was class?”

“Lord, lord. Hell if I know what that man was talking about. I hope class gets cancelled next week.” She slides her card into the ATM.

“I feel you man. This class is pointless. It was $2000. For what, I don’t know. The lectures could be taught by an undergrad. I don’t know what I’m going to do for the exam. This course has no structure, all she does is ramble on for an hour and let us go an hour early. I mean, I would like to leave an hour early if I actually felt like I was getting something out of this course. Honestly, if you were there—”

“Isn’t that your TA?” She asks, nonchalantly cutting me off with her hand at the money dispenser.

I jerk my head and look. I see a women with cropped blonde hair, brown rimmed glasses, green turtleneck and black slacks. She sees me staring and waves before she leaves the building with another woman. “Yup, that’s my TA.” I smile at myself and help my friend carry some books.

“That man-woman.” She forces out a laugh. It wasn’t a question.

I frown. “She isn’t a man-woman, she’s just gay.”

“Come on, who is she kidding. She’s a man. Where do you want to eat. Knowing you we’re going to walk around this building for two hours and end up eating nothing.” She opens the door for me and we walk towards the student centre.

I try to answer, but I’ve lost my hunger. Despite how much I try, my appetite won’t be revived, won’t be goaded, and won’t be stirred – like the words I let go, unformed and forgotten.

Here’s 99 other thoughts on silence. Check them out and let me, as well as these creative bloggers, know what you think.

1. The Sound of Silence | Through the Peacock’s Eyes
2. Listen to the silence | Master Of Disaster
3. Weekly Writing Challenge: The Sound of Silence | JGTravels
4. Eight Things I Wish I Knew Before I Taught at a Boarding School | Kosher Adobo
5. The Sounds of Silence* | Icescreammama
6. underwood | yi-ching lin photography
7. Weekly Writing Challenge: The Sound of Silence | Under the Monkey Tree
8. Moments | anonim0us
9. Moments | anonim0us
10. Silent Agony | Broken Light: A Photography Collective
11. Silent crimes | Speaking Voiceless
12. The Sound of Silence is a beautiful thing | Amanda Montomery
13. Weekly Writing Challenge: The Sound of Silence | A mom’s blog
14. Hug Her Back | Fish Of Gold
15. Media Blackouts Insult My Intelligence | Bumblepuppies
16. As Loud as Silence | Chimerical Chicanery
17. Unspeakable | Musings of a Soul Eclectic
18. Aborted Words | The Backwords
19. Weekly Writing Challenge: The Sound of Silence | carojesu
20. yesterday’s snow lets | y
21. A SILENT SONG | Diary of a mind
22. A Common Baby Myth: Babies Should Sleep in Silence.. Ssshhh! | Peek-a-boo: Baby and You!
23. Silence « mediumblackdog
24. Never Give Up, Never Give In: My Epiphany! | Hope and Faith
25. Brady’s Silence (explicit) | Stories From My Mind
26. Coyote Hill | The Seminary of Praying Mantis
27. A Silence Louder Than Words | snapshotsofawanderingheart
28. Weekly Writing Challenge: The Sound of Silence | Tales from the Motherland
29. When The Silence Almost Deafens You | Unload and Unwind
30. Classy Broad
31. The Day I Found My Voice | A Path of Living Stones
32. When you said “Nobody loves you” | So Not Simple
33. Finding what you didn’t know you were looking for… | Crap I Blog About
34. WWC: The Sound of Silence | Learning the Anishinaabe Way
35. Who Said So? | Buzzy Beez
36. Silence challenge | knovak616
37. The Silence Welcomes Me | StormieSteele
38. Weekly Writing Challenge: Have you seen me? | Life of A Fallen Angel
39. Silence | Perspectives on life, universe and everything
40. The Things We Don’t Say | A Sign Of Life
41. Breaking The Sound Of Silence | At least we made it this far…
42. In the silence of a word | MC’s Whispers
43. From Silence Came Wisdom | Lifeinpawprints’s Weblog
44. Blog challenge – The sound of silence « Defy The Narrative
45. Could the end of ‘that time of the month’ be related to that time of the year? | Minnesota Transplant
46. Weekly Writing Challenge: The Sound of Silence | Echoes of My Past
47. Good Grief | Wittyburg.com
48. silence and snow | from dreams to plans
49. Weekly Writing Challenge: Sounds of Silence | Reflections and Nightmares- Irene A Waters (writer and memoirist)
50. Jumpers for goalposts… | Dreaminspice
51. Weekly Writing Challenge: The Sound of Silence | Pop-Culture-Referenced
52. The Silent Sisters | 22 going on 33
53. Weekly Writing Challenge: The Sound of Silence | Bringing Out the God-Colors in the World
54. Suicide no. 27: Vow of Silence | derekalanwilkinson
55. Silent White | Mary J Melange
56. Weekly Writing Challenge: The Sound of Silence | Your Original LUPUSDIVA….
57. Weekly Writing Challenge: The Sound of Silence | No Apologies
58. Cable Cut-off | The Zombies Ate My Brains
59. Silence so Loud | My Weigh To Lose
60. Silencing the Critics’ Chorus | V Learns Something New
61. Silence of the Blog « ph.d. in creative writing
62. Life: The Search For Someone Who Understands You | Paint Before Death
63. Silence | Dandilyonz-4-U
64. Remaining Silent | Bits of Life
65. Inexhaustible Treasure | Love in the Spaces
66. HOW DOES SILENCE SOUND? | SERENDIPITY
67. A moment in Paris | The Bohemian Rock Star’s “Untitled Project”
68. Weekly Writing Challenge | Fit 4 Life, LLC
69. No More Honesty | Among the Whispers
70. The Silent Storm | Martialing Art
71. I’m excellent at taking criticism (see? that sounds weird, right?) | sincerelyimitated
72. My worst nightmare is coming alive, the silence is the glue to it all | From One Crazy Life To Another
73. This is the absolute FPiTS! | Thorough and Unkempt
74. Weekly Writing Challenge: The Sound of Silence | My name is Ellie and this is who I am.
75. Ah-kya-kha-loo-i | I’m a Writer, Yes I Am
76. Don’t Change That Channel-er ! | Once Upon Your Prime. . .
77. Enjoy the Silence | Kokopelli Bee Free Blog
78. “Oh” | Gnome Lover
79. Breaking the Silence on Autism | Love, Support, Educate, Advocate, Accept…
80. Weekly Writing Challenge: The Sound Of Silence | imagination
81. Weekly Writing Challenge: The Sound of Silence | sailingthroughthefog
82. Weekly Writing Challenge: The Sound of Silence | alysslombardi
83. Minnie’s Quite Silent | Minnie | A Personal Blog
84. Silence Breaker | thenaturalprofessor
85. I’m Hoping My Mother Ignores This One. | meg lago
86. Weekly Writing Challenge: The Sound of Silence – Silent-phobia | SA:ME (사메)
87. Favorite quotes from Alabama literature | Andrea Reads America
88. A resounding silence. | Multifarious meanderings
89. Weekly Writing Challenge: The Sound of Silence? | seikaiha’s blah-blah-blah
90. What I Didn’t Say | My Newingness
91. litadoolan
92. Shamed Silence Broken | Ever Upward
93. THE SILENT TREATMENT | DANDELION’S DEN
94. #1 | Justin B.
95. society | yi-ching lin photography
96. all of life is a | y
97. The Long Unspoken | the intrinsickness
98. Being Silent Nevermore: The Psychology of Raising My Voice For Those that Have Been Muted « psychologistmimi
99. A Borrowed Identity to Fill the Silence. | W.T.F.
100. Footfall | Tell Tale Therapy

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