Most people just thought Alanis was stupid because he did not respond when they spoke to him, even when they found out most people treated him like he was some kind of dull-witted child who needed everything explaining slowly four times. I suppose it doesn't help that I sound like an idiot when I speak! He thought bitterly. People often tried to correct his speech but nothing ever worked because even though he could make the shapes with his mouth he knew he would never know what the words he spoke REALLY sounded like.

Deafness was his curse.

      Of course he could make out really loud sounds by the vibrations they made, and when he played his violin he could 'hear' through his chin but it was not what the music REALLY sounded like.

Music was his love.

Fate is not, or so it appears, without a sense of irony.

      Alanis was a brilliant musician, he played the violin and pipe beautifully and even composed, though the music was always melancholic.
      He knew that there were other deaf people who lived happily and got on with their lives (he had never met any but had been told of them) however he knew he would never be one of them. One reason why was because they were not born deaf, he supposed that having your sense of hearing taken away must be a terrible thing but they at least had the memory of sounds and, more importantly, music. Another reason was that many of them were not totally deaf as he was.

      Sensing his increasingly depressed mood Alanis' starry winged snake Xirian flew over to him and curled up around his neck in an attempt to comfort him. It worked... a little.
      "So where sould we go now?" He asked Xirian.

An image of Alanis' parents.