...Damien stared at the words for several seconds....
...Nice to meet you, Damien....
...His chest tightened unexpectedly....
...It had been a long time since someone had written his name with such warmth....
...He picked up the pen....
...Nice to meet you too....
...Lyra's smile widened....
...For a moment, neither of them wrote anything....
...Yet the silence didn't feel awkward....
...Damien was used to silence....
...Most people became uncomfortable when conversations stopped....
...Lyra didn't....
...She simply stood there, studying him curiously....
...Then she wrote again....
...Do you always work here?...
...Damien nodded before answering....
...Six days a week....
...Lyra's eyes widened....
...Seriously?...
...He nodded....
...That sounds exhausting....
...It is....
...She covered her mouth dramatically and shook her head....
...Damien couldn't help smiling....
...She was strangely expressive....
...Everything she felt appeared on her face....
...It made her easy to understand....
...Lyra quickly wrote another question....
...Do you ever take a break?...
...Sometimes....
...That's not enough....
...Damien raised an eyebrow....
...She pointed accusingly at the notebook and wrote:...
...You need a hobby....
...He laughed silently....
...The movement caught Lyra's attention....
...Her eyes brightened....
...There it is....
...Damien tilted his head....
...She grabbed the pen again....
...Your smile....
...You should do that more often....
...The words caught him off guard....
...He quickly looked away....
...Heat crept into his face....
...Lyra seemed pleased with his reaction....
...A customer suddenly approached the counter....
...Damien excused himself with a small gesture and walked over....
...The customer asked a question....
...Damien focused carefully on the man's lips....
...After years of practice, he could understand most people if they faced him directly....
...Most....
...Not all....
...The customer paid and left....
...When Damien turned around again, he expected Lyra to be gone....
...She wasn't....
...She was still waiting....
...Something about that made his heart beat faster....
...Most people got impatient....
...Most people left....
...Lyra stayed....
...She smiled when he returned....
...Then she wrote:...
...Now where were we?...
...Damien found himself smiling again....
...You were telling me I need a hobby....
...Correct....
...And I'm right....
...Maybe....
...Definitely....
...Damien rolled his eyes....
...Lyra laughed—or at least he thought she did from the way her shoulders shook slightly....
...The sight alone was enough to make him grin....
...She glanced toward the clock hanging on the wall....
...Her expression changed....
...Damien immediately felt disappointed....
...She was leaving....
...I should go....
...The words appeared on the notebook a moment later....
...His chest sank....
...He hated how quickly he'd gotten used to her presence....
...Lyra gathered her things....
...Then she paused....
...She wrote one final sentence....
...See you tomorrow?...
...Damien stared at the question....
...Tomorrow....
...She wanted to come back....
...To see him....
...He picked up the pen....
...I'd like that....
...A genuine smile spread across her face....
...Good....
...She tucked the notebook back toward him....
...Then she lifted her hand in a small wave....
...Damien waved back....
...He watched her leave through the glass doors....
...Sunlight briefly surrounded her before she disappeared into the crowd outside....
...The store suddenly felt emptier....
...Much emptier....
...Damien stood there for several seconds before returning to work....
...As he organized a shelf nearby, a shadow appeared beside him....
...His manager....
...The older man was looking at him with an amused expression....
...His lips moved....
...Damien looked up and read them....
...You've been smiling all afternoon....
...Damien immediately looked away....
...The manager smirked....
...Who was that girl?...
...Damien pretended not to understand....
...The manager rolled his eyes dramatically....
...Then he pointed toward the door where Lyra had left....
...Pretty. girl...
...you're ...
...Smiling....
...Damien groaned internally....
...The manager laughed silently and shook his head....
...Good for you, kid....
...Damien looked down at the products he was organizing, trying to hide his embarrassment....
...But the small smile on his face refused to disappear....
...That evening he returned home....
...The apartment looked exactly the same....
...The cracked ceiling....
...The worn furniture....
...The empty rooms....
...Nothing had changed....
...Yet somehow everything felt different....
...Damien sat on the edge of his bed and stared at the notebook page he had torn out earlier....
...The page where Lyra had written her name....
...Lyra....
...He traced the letters with his finger....
...A strange warmth settled inside him....
...Most people remembered that he was deaf....
...Lyra remembered that he was Damien....
...For the first time in years, the loneliness didn't feel quite so heavy....
...He lay down and stared at the ceiling....
...Tomorrow....
...She said she would come back tomorrow....
...And for the first time in a very long time......
...Damien found himself looking forward to the next day....
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