Fiva

Just recently, a huge meteorite struck Thebes. Not only did it knock out his eye, but both his eardrums were completely ruptured. At first, poor Thebes's ears bled. Then everything calmed down, but no hearing aids could restore his hearing. He was deaf.

He still recognized all his friends, but they could only communicate by letter. He could speak, but he couldn't hear himself. People tried to tell him something, but he couldn't hear others. At night, Thebe lay and cried loudly, uncaring of the time. Even after a couple of months, he still couldn't accept the fact of his deafness. Thebe felt ill mentally and physically, as if he had lost contact with the entire boundless world. His friends—the moons of Jupiter and other planets—supported and still loved him, and he greatly appreciated their support, but no one could ease his grief. His siblings Euporie and Elara, his closest friends, gave Thebe a hearing aid. But even it couldn't restore his hearing—only distant sounds, as if from sixty or seventy meters away.

Phibe began to forget the voices of his friends. He cried every night, unable to hear himself or anyone else. Perhaps he would get used to it someday, but that would take a long time. For now, he cried, lying on his bed as usual. Half the night had already passed. Phibe's eye was swollen and red. He desperately wanted to hear voices and sounds again.

Suddenly the door opened slightly. Phoebe quietly sobbed and said:

-Come in...