My almost-two-year-old doesn’t talk. “It’s not worrisome yet,” the doctor says. Meanwhile, I teach us more sign language. He likes this better than words. I watch him experience sound — lean his head into a cardboard box and yell, follow the vacuum, touching its tube as it hums. When I was three I was able to speak, but I didn’t. It wasn’t a choice. My throat cinched and my body filled with relief. At bedtime, I read a singsong-y book. His small, warm hand presses my jaw and lips. I exaggerate so he can feel my words.
Ella Mei Yon Harris is a designer by day and a writer before sunrise. She's currently writing a memoir about her Chinese-Nicaraguan family. www.ellameiyon.com, Twitter and Instagram @ellameiyon