I live in a world without sounds. You wake up in the morning with a silent alarm clock. You brush your teeth without making a noise. The stairs do not creak as you descend, and you quietly glide across wooden floorboards. You run the water in the sink, you put your toast in the toaster, and you pour the juice into your glass, all without sound.

Then, you walk out the door into your noiseless universe. People open their mouths, but nothing comes out. You see laughter, but cannot hear it. You see screaming, you see crying, but if you were to close your eyes, you wouldn’t know any suffering.

There are books everywhere. People walk around (silently, of course) carrying little black books, holding up written messages to anyone who will look. Stores lined with books – books written by somebodies, and books written by nobodies, people who just want to get their word out from inside of their head. Coffee shops lined with books full of conversation, books covering the shelves of grocery stores, and books at the schools and offices.

It takes less effort to read than to write. People would rather simply look at a page covered in writing than to take the time to write something out. More than we “speak,” we “listen.” We have become much more willing to listen.

Movies consist of moving words, the news is subtitled, and the radio no longer exists. iPods, walkmans, and CDs went extinct years ago. Where the sounds went is no longer known. It has been too long with too few words for anyone to remember.

Some say that one day, without any warning, a loud siren was sounded and caused everyone to become deaf. They passed on their deafness to their unborn children, who passed it onto their children. It wasn’t the sound that wasn’t being made; it was the ears being unable to hear.

Some say that our world became too wired. We texted, we blogged, we social-networked far too much. We stopped speaking to one another face to face, and the need to speak with our voices and to listen with our ears slowly disappeared.

Things may be complicated – it is easier to sneak up on a person, for a burglar to break in, or for things to break without being noticed. It is also harder to alarm or warn a large group of people (sleeping, or awake), to convey emotions, or to hear soothing words. Things are missing, but most people do not know what those things are. They have lived like this, soundless, for as long as they can remember.

We can sleep soundly at night and ignore the cries of those who need cry out. We can communicate when necessary, listen more willingly, and take in beautiful sights. All is well in this world without sound.