OOC: Okay, last chapter. I'm sorry if this came out pretty lame; I know you all had high expectations for this, but at least we get to finish the story. Anywho, go ahead and read.
It poured late in Whoville that night. Lightning struck the black sky like a whip striking across the flesh of one's own bare back and the thunder roared across the sky and bellowed loudly down below the ground causing it to shake. Jojo was unaware of the thunder; he was unaware there was even a storm, despite the cold rain hitting against his face like nails and soaking his fur from head to toe. He kept on running through storm, splashing from puddle to puddle, not wanting to go back home and face punishment from his parents, but at the same time, wished he didn't run away at all.
Jojo finally stopped to catch his breath and fell down into a puddle of mud. Tears were forming in his ryes from guilt and regret. Jojo wanted to tell his father he was sorry for rebelling against him, but that would only mean he would never see his observatory again. Dad must've been so mad now that he'd probably want to forbid him from ever playing music. Jojo was scared to go back home. Getting up from the mud, he noticed how dark sky was, both by the darkened rain clouds and realizing it was late in the night. He wondered how long he had been running all this time. Jojo shivered from the cold; he needed to get warm and dry before catching pneumonia. Jojo looked around and realized he was in the Whoville Deaf Community neighborhood; maybe Meredith could lend him a place to stay for the night. He started dragging himself over to Meredith's apartment not too and rang the doorbell.
Meredith was fast asleep when her sonic boom alarm clock started to vibrate her bed. She woke up groggily, seeing the alarm clock blinking with the words "doorbell" and "2 AM" on a tiny digital screen.
'Seriously?' she thought to herself, 'How did Mary-Lou predict that someone would be knocking at this late an hour?'
Meredith groaned a bit as she got out from bed, almost regretting to have her cousin hook up the doorbell system to her alarm clock; after a long week of studying for college exams, sleep deprivation was the LAST thing Meredith needed. She shuffled out of her room. Her hair was in a near-tangled mess and her eyes were slightly baggy from her disturbance of sleep. It was awful rude to disturb someone in their slumber and Meredith hoped whoever it was at her door wasn't just playing a prank on her or she would most likely throw a fit.
"I'm coming!" she shouted, too tired to care whether or not her pronunciation was understandable to the hearing ear.
Opening the door, Meredith gasped in shock as she looked down to see Jojo all wet, shivering, and a bit scared as well as lost. With tears in his eyes, Jojo looked up at Meredith with a pleading stare.
/My dad and I got into a fight./ Jojo shivered as he struggled to sign, /May I come in?/
Meredith's heart sank seeing Jojo look up at her with big tearful eyes; she couldn't leave anyone out in the rain to get sick. So out of compassion, Meredith opened the door for Jojo and let him inside. Meredith swiftly fetched a towel from the bathroom and helped Jojo dry off.
/You just sit here and I'll get you some hot chocolate to warm you up with./ Meredith signed as she showed him to the couch.
/Thank you./
As Meredith left the room to fetch Jojo a towel, Jojo sat down looking around the living room while trying to keep himself warm by curling up in his towel on the couch. The apartment was simply put together with only a few furniture to accommodate one who; It was obvious Meredith hadn't been living here for very long. The apartment itself seemed like a quiet place, not because Jojo himself was deaf or that he was in a Deaf person's home, but the feel of the small loving space was soothing; perhaps it was the simple Feng Shui Meredith was able to organize or perhaps Jojo was just glad to be in a safe and warm house away from the bitter cold. The quiet was soothing, yet seemingly uncomfortable to be far away from home and far away from his family.
Meredith came back with a mug full of cocoa topped with puffy marshmallows and handed the mug as she sat down next to him.
/Sorry I'm such a mess; I wasn't expecting company./ Meredith signed while pulling her messy hair back, /So, do wanna tell me what happened with you and your dad?/
Jojo sighed, taking a sip of his cocoa before signing.
/Well, you heard about how I lost my hearing at the observatory where I make most of my music inventions, right? Well, my dad has been pretty paranoid about me going back there since the accident and has pretty much forbidden me to go back./
/But you went back to the observatory anyways, right?/
Jojo nodded sadly, taking another sip.
/We got into an argument about it and I got frustrated and walked out. I feel so stupid now. I shouldn't have lost my temper, but the observatory is my special place; I've been going there since I was a kid to make music. I just wish he wouldn't be so angry at me. He just doesn't seem to get it./
As Jojo curled himself up in a ball from embarrassment and discomfort, Meredith began to ponder the situation. She knew Jojo was mostly a good boy, but he was also in his teen years, which is one of the hardest stages of a who's life and one where its common to rebel against their elders; his father must recognize this as well.
/I don't think he was angry at you, Jojo. I think your dad feels as if he's to blame for the accident./
/Why? He didn't do anything wrong./ Jojo was a bit puzzled and put his mug down on the coffee table as he listened with intent.
/Well,/ Meredith crossed her legs, /parents know its a big responsibility to raise a child and sometimes when something happens, like when you lost your hearing, they sometimes blame themselves for not preventing the situation from happening. Your father is also probably worried because you're almost an adult who's taking on his own responsibilities, so he thinks holding onto you and sheltering you would keep him from losing his little boy./
/But-- isn't that being overprotective?/
/Sometimes we end up doing irrational things for rational reasons. Your father love you and he only is trying to do what he thinks is best. You've already had time to heal, Jojo, now your father needs to catch up./
Jojo sat back and thought deeply at Meredith's words. True, his father was one who would worry a lot about him and his sisters, but he never realized being a parent meant so much. Throughout most of his life, Jojo saw his father as merely a father who bumbled all the time, but now he saw he was also a who with flaws and conflicts just like him. Perhaps he should have given him more respect than not have been so stubborn as he was earlier.
/If you want, I can call your parents on my teletype and let them know you're here./ Meredith signed, putting her hand on Jojo's shoulder.
Jojo was only half paying attention to Meredith's signing. Even in her unkempt fur with most of the lights out in the room, she still possessed a haunting amount of beauty to make his breathing stand still. Her sweet smile seemed to spring out a sweet amoroso inside Jojo's head. To him, she was an angel. Of course, looking at her silhouette in the faded light, Jojo realized she was a few years his senior (odd enough not realizing that before when she mentioned she was in college).
/Meredith, how old are you?/ Jojo asked out of curiosity.
/Twenty./ Meredith answered while cocking an eyebrow in confusion, /Why do you ask?/
/I don't know./ Jojo shrugged, /Whenever I'm with you, I don't know whether I should see you as a friend, one of my sisters, or even a second mom. You're just so nice; most of the girls I ever meet up with usually make fun of me either for being short, quiet, or even yesterday, some girls at school were laughing at me for being deaf. Before you came around, I had a hard time with communicating my feeling and music was the only thing I had before I lost my hearing. You opened up whole new opportunities for me; I even found inspiration to write a ballet piece for you because, I--/
Jojo cupped his hands and blushed. He was so comfortable with talking to Meredith, yet somehow, talking to her now was uncomfortable. In his mind, Jojo wanted to hide an forget about signing to her about such embarrassing things, but his fingers wouldn't listen as they slowly emerged from his cupped grasped and formed those three little words.
/I love you./
Meredith seemed dumb struck and surprised when Jojo signed those words. He didn't know how she would react. Would she slap him? Would she push him out the door? Jojo cringed a little in fear of what she might do.
/Jojo, thats very sweet of you,/
Jojo wasn't expecting Meredith to place her hand on his cheek, but when she did, Jojo gasped and his face lit up like an LED bulb. Meredith's hand was soft and warm as if holding a two-week-old kitten up to one's face. His amoroso began to turn into a lively hymn with both orchestra and chorus filling his head. Perhaps Meredith felt the same way about him. Perhaps he had died unknowingly and was receiving this angel's blessing from heaven. Suddenly, Meredith took her hand away from the boys cheek.
/but I'm don't think I'm ready for that kind of love./
Jojo's brief moment of bliss halted with Meredith's words, crashing his symphony back into the silence he was now use to.
/What do you mean?/ Jojo asked in confusion.
Meredith looked away in discomfort and confusion. She didn't know what to tell the boy without breaking his heart, but Jojo could easily read the expression on her fact.
/I see. You just see as a kid./ Jojo sighed, pulling his towel towards his body as he sat in silence, /I should have known I wasn't meant to be loved./
Meredith looked over at Jojo with some concern. She didn't want Jojo to confuse love with lust, but she didn't want him to give up hope in finding any love at all. She sat next to him and tilted his head up to sign to him.
/Jojo, its not that I don't love you at all, I like spending time with you, I just... I don't think now is the right time. You're still quite young, Jojo; you still have lots of room to learn and grow while I'm already halfway through college and living on my own. In time, you'll probably find another someone who'll love you in the same way you love them and I'll probably just be just an old crush./
Jojo didn't know what to think. He could see Meredith was trying hard to make him feel better and in a way she was wise in her words, but he still felt crushed about her not fully returning his love.
/You are a bit younger than I am, I admit, but who knows; one day I might look your way, but... I think we should at least wait and see./ Meredith signed, putting her hand on Jojo's shoulder and giving him an optimistic smile.
Jojo thought for a moment. Perhaps Meredith was right to wait; he had been a bit foolish in the past and maybe with time, Jojo will be mature enough to make wise decisions on his own, and perhaps know when it was time for true love.
"I guess I need to try finding myself before I go around finding others." Jojo spoke, smiling up at Meredith. "May I call my folks and let them know I'm okay?"
"Sure." Meredith nodded, proud of Jojo suddenly maturing.
The storm had passed and the sky began to clear with stars glittering above. As Jojo's father pulled up in his car in the driveway outside of the apartment, Jojo sprang up with excitement when he saw his father from the window and came running outside towards him with arms wide open.
Ned had very little warning to let him know his son was about to tackle him and when he did, Ned was quite startled, yet glad and relieved once he realized it was his boy and in return, Ned wrapped in arms around Jojo in loving embrace.
As the two whos held one another, Jojo looked up at his father with sorrowful eyes and signed.
/Dad, I'm sorry for running away./
/No, I'm sorry./ his father replied with a deep sigh, /I shouldn't have been so overprotective of you. After that incident at the observatory, I didn't want anything bad to happen to you. I guess I should've been a little more trusting; I know how much you love your music./
Ned turned his head away in deep regret. He had only wanted the best for Jojo and yet he had only ended up hurting him and making him run away. He felt like the worst father ever for not listening to his boy and keeping him away from his passion, but his son just smiled up at his father and rested his hand on his shoulder.
/It's okay./ Jojo signed; a slight gleeful tune started to play in his head at that tender moment of compassion, /I forgive you and to prove it, I want to dedicate part of my new composition to you./
Well this was a surprise; Ned had tried to take away his music and had barely done anything for Jojo recently and now he wanted to dedicate him in a song? Ned couldn't really catch onto why Jojo would be so thankful to him, but he smiled in thanks and hugged his son... okay, so he was only going to get a "part" decimation, but it was better than nothing.
As Jojo returned the hug, he peeked over at the back of his dad's car to find a number of 2x4s, power tools, and interchangeable peaking out from the trunk.
/Are those hardware supplies?/
Ned eyes widened and blushed in embarrassment. He scratched the back of his neck before signing.
/Yeah, I kind of felt bad for not everything that's happened, so while I was looking for you, I stopped by the hardware store and picks up a few things. I wanted to surprise you by fixing up the observatory for you, but I'd probably mess everything up. I could use some help./
Jojo smiled. Perhaps his father had comprehended Jojo's words wisely and figured that his music was what made him happy. It seemed now that his dad really DID understand how much his music meant to him and wanted to be a part of it. With such a kind offer to help him fix up his observatory, how could he turn him down?
"I'd love to, Dad." Jojo spoke, but when he did, he thought he heard himself talk. He gasped in shock and he heard that as well.
/Jojo, what's wrong?/ Ned panicked, worried that something was wrong with his son.
"I can hear again!" Jojo smiled after hearing his father's voice, "I don't know how it happened, but I can hear again!"
Ned couldn't believe his own ears. Did his son say he could hear again? He dad to be pulling some sort of trick, so Ned tried speaking to Jojo and covered his mouth with his hands so he wouldn't read his lips.
"So, you can hear what I'm saying right now?"
"Clear as a bell, Dad." Jojo nodded to his father.
Ned was astounded. How was this possible? The doctor said Jojo would be deaf the rest of his life... but it didn't matter what sort of miracle cured Jojo's ears; Ned was just happy to be by his son.
As Jojo and his father held one other, Meredith LaRue watched from a distance from her apartment window and smiled proudly.
Jojo had finally finished composing his new music piece and was ready to play it in his newly restored observatory. Music played triumphantly as Jojo's automated symphony played their bells and whistles in all of its beauty. Jojo felt a sense of bliss as he composed his piece to his family and friends (something he would've been too shy to do before Horton and before he had lost his hearing).
After his piece was finished, Jojo the composer turned to his cheering audience and bowed in thanks.
"Thank you." Jojo smiled, "I'd like to thank my dad for being there for me when I needed it and for helping me repair the observatory."
His father smiled and gave his son a thumbs up with a bandaged up hand from accidentally hitting it repeatedly with a hammer.
Jojo turned and spoke to Meredith, who also came to "hear" Jojo's work.
"And thank you as well, Meredith, for teaching me how to find my music even in silence."
Meredith just shrugged modestly and, as a way of saying "you're welcome", kissed Jojo on the forehead. Jojo blushed bashfully and sweetly before rubbing the kiss off like a six-year-old boy who thinks he's caught the cooties.
"Quit being a tease!"
Everyone else couldn't help but laugh.
OOC: Yeah, pretty lame towards the end. I'm sorry this came so late; I had a bit of a Wii adiction during the Holiday break. Anywho, R&R if you please.
Well, I knew it would boil down to this sooner or later. Today, I got a bit of "constructive" crtiticism about my Horton Hears a Who! fanfic, "Music Through the Silence". No, I am not angry or sad about it, but I do want to clearify some things so that people will better understand WHY I wrote the story the way I did.
First, I often DID worry about Meredith Larue coming out as a Mary-Sue. Due take in mind though, that most of the story is certered around Jojo's thoughts and views and since he has strong feeling to Meredith and is young and new at the idea of love, of course he would see her as this "Goddess" to worship. Other than that, there isn't much to sugguest that Meredith it this perfect being to worship and in truth, could show more developement in other stories (other stories maybe possible, bit it all depends on my mood and if you want more stories).
Next, were the issue concerning "realism". I know its nearly impossible to learn sign language in a day and your hearing to all of a sudden come back after you go deaf, but remember that this is the world of Seuss and for all we know, whos could have the capacity to learn knew languages that quickly and I was also using the "gaining hearing back after going deaf" theme as a symbolic meaning of spiritual healing for Jojo. Heck, if everything in this story were to be close to reality, Jojo would probalby be able to get a cochlear implant just after losing his hearing and quite frankly, there wouldn't be any whos at all to tell the story.
And of course, there was the issue about the "phone" in the last chapter. Meredith doesn't have a phone, she has a TELETYPE; its like a text message phone for people who can't hear or talk. Read the sentence again, and then you'll understand how Jojo would "call" home.
Okay, are we clear now? If you have more questions, please feel free to drop by.