Without words
By
Alessandro Ghebreigziabiher
In the future, hopefully far...
“Conrad!”
...
“Conrad...”
...
“Want you come here for a moment, yes or not?”
“What's up, Mommy?”
“Nothing, Lisa, mom would like to inform her grandparents of the good news.”
“Which one, Mommy?”
“Which one, Lisa? Your little brother, remember?”
“Ah, yes, him...”
“Don’t be jealous, you will see how it’ll be beautiful and we’ll all be happier, believe me.”
“It means that... Conrad! He's always with that virtual helmet on his head, fuc...”
“Don’t say bad words, Mommy.”
“No, I didn’t say it, I stopped before, come on...”
“As you say, Mommy. I'm going to call Daddy.”
“Yes, thanks. And wait a minute…”
“What?”
“You are too perceptive for eight years.”
“What does perceptive mean, Mommy?”
“You don’t understand every word, but all the rest you do, right?”
“I go.”
...
“What’s up, Mary?”
“Finally! What were you doing?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing... yes, I know that you’re using that stuff to watch gir...”
“Mary…”
“What does Daddy see in that thing?”
“Nothing, Lisa, really nothing, darling.”
“Okay, can you tell me why you called me?”
“I called you because I cannot connect with mom and dad, I wanted to inform them of the news, sending the ultrasound, talking...”
“What is the ultrasound, Mommy?”
“Your brother's photo, what the hel...”
“Mary?!”
“Sorry, sorry, it’s the pregnancy stress, okay? I didn’t want it, we had been waiting this birth for a long time, now, I wasn’t hoping for it anymore. And then your daughter wants to learn the whole dictionary...”
“Mommy, could you avoid talking about me as if I weren’t here?”
“And she talks me back too...”
“Anyway you're right, Lisa, forgive me. Now can we go back to the connection problem, dear Conry?”
...
“I'm sorry, Mary, but there seems to be a serious problem, here, and it's not just about us. Apparently some kind of virus has infected the global system and the transmission of images and videos is suspended, as well as the audio files.”
“What should I do now? Is it possible that I cannot let my parents know I'm waiting for a baby?”
...
“Come on, Mary, don’t cry like that...”
“Yes, Mommy, don’t cry, please...”
“You make it easy, you! I already know that my mother will weigh this forever, a year at least. I’m already hearing her: I was the last one to see my nephew’s ultrasound. She will repeat that eternally to relatives and acquaintances...”
“Don’t exaggerate…”
“I’m not the exaggerated one, here, she is.”
“What?”
“Exaggerated.”
“What does it mean that grandma is exaggerated, Mommy?”
“Lisa, stop it, please…”
“She said that her grandmother is a little apprehensive, honey, like Mommy too.”
“Conrad?”
“What?”
“Could you avoid talking about me as if I weren’t here?”
“Sorry.”
“Anyway... except for recording video and audio, taking pictures and sending images, there is no other way to communicate with my parents? What was the name of that instruction we used once...”
“Writing, Mommy.”
“Yeah, Lisa, good! Can we use it, Conrad?”
“No, babe, recent devices, like ours, don’t provide that stuff, the sets of letters...”
“One moment…”
“What is it, Lisa?”
“Wait here.”
“Where is she going, your daughter?”
“Probably to the vocabulary, she is so affectionate that she holds it embraced when she sleeps.”
...
“Mommy, Daddy, I know how to let the grandparents know about my arriving brother.”
“How?”
“It’s true that we cannot send images, audio or video, writing function no longer exists, but there is still the drawing function in old models like mine.”
“I don’t remember how to draw…”
“Me too, Mary, I've always been a mess...”
“Daddy?”
“Yup?”
“Mommy?”
“Yup?!”
“I can draw...”
“Who taught you that? The school doesn’t do it anymore.”
“I learned it on my own.”
“How did you learn to draw?”
“Simple. It was enough to understand what it means. Trust me, I'll take care of informing grandparents without words...”
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