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THIRD PLACE
BY CAROLINE TUCCINARDI
PHOTO BY Boris Hamer
Dear Busy Traveller,
I’ve discovered there are several types of silence you’ll inevitably encounter in life. They come to you like a pet who lays by your feet or someone who stands just over your shoulder.
The first is awkward, big and obnoxious. It arrives at precisely the wrong time. When you’ve run out of things to say and have begun to talk about the weather. Avoid looking this one in the eye lest it stands between you and your colleague. No words can reach past it then.
The second is annoying, it finds you in stillness. When boredom is driving you up the walls and the clock is ticking, making your brain itch. It teases and taunts you to do something, anything! But you cannot, so it broods over you with an impish grin.
However, perhaps the third is best. It comes when no words are spoken, when you are alone. It will jump in glee, how glorious, there is so much space for it to grow! It will not be by your shoulder anymore, but seemingly everywhere.
Do not fret, Traveller, go outside and lie in the grass. There will be birdsong and your brother will sing beautifully in the distance. The Silence will realize it stretched itself so thin, sound returned. It will pace, but invite it to sit beside you. Turn to it and smile, you’ll feel the wind on your face. It’ll smile back and you won’t need to say a single word.
I promise.
Caroline Tuccinardi’s, Silences You’ll Encounter, placed third in the BCPW’s Flash Fiction Contest. Tuccinardi attends Uxbridge Secondary School in Uxbridge, ON.