Kenneth stepped off the airplane, his steps were wobbly and his hands were shaking as he proceeded to walk into the terminal. He glanced around, heart pounding in his chest. It was just sixteen hours ago that he had left his mother to embark on this journey, just sixteen hours ago that he had walked backwards, waving and telling her he loved her with his hands. His mother had wept and wept, and all he could do was watch, smile, and reassure her he would be alright. Although, he wasn't sure she had been able to read his signs clearly, with all the tears blurring her vision.

     Now, he was in Ontario, Canada. Alone, scared, and without anyone to reassure him that he was going to be alright. Kenneth had been so confident for his mother, but now that he was here without her watching, here with all these pale people, here with all these smiling, but frightening people. In that moment, all he wanted to do was fly home to Madrid, but that would be impossible. The only option he had was to walk on, and so that's what he did.

     The signs didn't look like they did at home, and he found he couldn't understand what they said. Maybe, this move was going to be a bigger challenge than he thought. He only knew Spanish Sign Language... and Canada was obviously an English-speaking country. He cursed himself for being so stupid, and sighed in defeat. Kenneth had always wanted to learn more ASL, watching a few videos on his phone. Guess this would be the time when he'd need that knowledge the most. Over time he had learnt how to sign a few common phrases, such as "Hello" and "Where's the bathroom?", and what were the odds that he'd even find someone who knew how to sign ASL? Let alone SSL... What am I going to do? He thought, his mind becoming a frenzied place of chaos. The only person in this whole entire building who could sign to him in his language would be his host father, and Kenneth didn't even know what he looked like! There really wasn't anything he could do right now except keep walking. He had his host family waiting for him somewhere, and he figured that if he just walked around, maybe they'd recognize him from his photographs. Kenneth wandered aimlessly, looking around at the weirdly written words on the signs, at the way they popped out. He became fascinated with the way the words had pattern to them, and he wondered what they sounded like. As he imagined words, he grew calmer and more confident in his new surroundings. In fact, Kenneth grew so comfortable that he forgot all about his host family until someone grabbed ahold of his arm.

     Suddenly, Kenneth's heart was racing as he spun around, eyes wide and fearful as he was taken by surprise. This type of thing always happened to him, where he isn't on guard and then someone spooks him. So, once he sees the tall, dark-skinned man's brilliant smile and an even more beautiful sight: that of SSL in the man's movements.

     'Wait, wait, slow down. I didn't catch all of that,' Kenneth signed with a nervous smile. He stared at the man's hands, excited and ready to see what he would say next.

     'Welcome to Canada, Kenneth.' The man signed in near perfect sign language. Actually, it was so good even Kenneth was surprised by the quality. 'My name is Danny Sparks. We don't live very far from here which is great. Here let me take those bags for you.'

     He nods and hands the bags over, giving Danny a good lookover. The middle-aged man looked younger, with a freshly shaved face and happy crinkles around his dark, dark brown eyes. His hair was a deep black, and his hands were unusually large, with a blindingly white smile to match. Kenneth then looked passed him to the young girl, watching him with an obviously fake smile and tired eyes.

     Danny followed the Italian boy's gaze and smiled, "Come here and introduce yourself, Kaya. Remember, I showed you how to sign it last night?"

     Kaya sighed as she came to her father's side, arms falling from their crossed position across her chest. She looked at Kenneth with eyes as dark as her father's as she signed, 'Hello, my name is Kaya.'

     Kenneth gave her a smile as he nodded, his hair bouncing against his forehead as he replied, 'Nice to meet you.'

     He wasn't all that surprised that she couldn't understand him, and as he watched Danny's mouth move into all sorts of weird shapes he figured he was telling his daughter what he had signed. He watched for Kaya's reply or something, but all he got was a slight nod. Kenneth wasn't sure how to feel about Kaya's reaction to him, whether he should feel as queasy to his stomach as he did or not.

     'Well, let's take off,' Danny signed, before chuckling to break the tension between his daughter and the new boy. Kenneth gave his new father a smile and nodded, following behind the him.

     The drive home took less than twenty minutes, and Kenneth was almost sad to stop. The new scenery filled his mind and he grew more excited about his new life with each kilometer they travelled. Kaya had taken the backseat, and every now and then he would feel her piercing gaze fixate upon him. He would catch her gaze in the mirror and smile slightly, but she would just look away. Confusion was all that Kenneth felt for his new sister, which sort of brought his excitement levels down. He didn't want to cause any trouble with his host family, and he definitely didn't want them to hate him.

     As they pulled down a long, gravel driveway Kenneth had to wipe his hands along his pants. They always grew sweaty when he was nervous. But this time his nervousness was mixed with shots of excitement. This was his life now. The newest deaf boy in Canada, how cool was that? Maybe not as cool as it was to other people, but the thought of it made him smile for a split second. Suddenly, the house came into view and his mind was blown. The house was huge and grey, with pretty coloured flowers in pots hanging from every window. There was a back porch with little white fairy lights strewn across the railing and the front steps were made out of concrete. The garage opened up and Danny lurched the car forwards toward it. Inside the garage, Kenneth spotted a few bicycles and scooters. There were large puffy animals and things he had never seen before in his life. Safe to say, he was amazed. Danny parked the car and glanced at Kenneth with a simple smile before slipping out of the car. Kenneth followed suit and watched as Kaya put a little more swing into closing the door before hurrying off inside, not paying the two of them anymore mind. He watched as Danny most likely called her name, his hands held out at his side, palm up as if to say "Seriously?". He wasn't entirely sure what he should do other than grab his bags from the backseat of the car. It was more of an SUV really, if you wanted to be more specific with its tinted windows and odd-shaped body. HE grabbed ahold of them and shifted them onto his shoulders. If he was being honest, they were quite heavier than they needed to be. His mother had told him to pack only what he needed before giving him money to buy new things once he arrived in the new country. He had wanted to heed her advice, but he couldn't bear to leave a few valuable and sentimental items behind, which, seriously made his carry-ons and suitcase heavy.

     After showing Kenneth his room, Danny had left him, saying goodnight and that he would most likely be gone for work by the time he woke up. He had nodded and smiled as his host father shut the door, leaving Kenneth by himself. He thought it was obvious he wasn't going to see Kaya again until the morning, but he just wasn't tired. So, he explored his room. The walls were a creamy brown that reminded him of the sandals his mother had bought him a week before. He had wanted to take them with him but she had told him that he would have no use for them in this new country. His bed was double sized, much to his surprise and very comfortable too. There were navy sheets with red and grey stripes, and the pillows had matching designs. There was a deep mahogany desk in the corner with a small, cream coloured lamp, bringing a nice light to the room.

     Kenneth flopped back against his bed and pulled out a book. He sighed and set it against his chest, gazing up and the ceiling. He thought about home and what his mother might be doing, and he missed her greatly. 

//AN//

Well, sorry I haven't updated in such a long time... better late then never, yeah?

Sorry if there's a ton of errors, I only skimmed over this one for errors! Feel free to point them out to me if you find them, thanks :)

Remeber to vote and comment!  ;)