Mikhail Tomas was once a child most people believed would never make it. People told his parents it was tough luck that he'd gotten the shaft when God passed out lives, abilities and problems.

You see, Mikhail was only a little baby when the doctors informed his parents that he was deaf. He'd never hear anything, they were told, and he'd probably never speak. This crushed the boy's young parents. He was their first child, their only son, and they'd had high hopes for his future. His father, an elementary school teacher, saw his dreams of Mikhail's future crumbling before his eyes. His mother worried what her son would go through. His Aunt May (at the time age twelve) saw it as very sad, his Uncle Maxwell -only a child himself at the time- didn't quite understand it. His grandmother believed it to be the will of God and it would all work out in the end.

Only two people believed in him from the start, his grandfather and his Uncle Jaycen. Jaycen didn't see his small nephew's disability as a handicap. He himself had been a silent child, however, it was of his own choice. Jay often found himself at a loss for words at the injustice of the world. Even as a small child he had realized that things were very wrong with the indifference others spoke towards one another with. He, a boy who knew the world wasn't listening, simply refused to talk. He spoke sign fluently and opened his mouth only when he saw the need. Jaycen Alyxander was a lad who, when asked "why not?" responded simply with "Why? Why talk when the world won't listen?" He was Mikhail's interpreter, mentor and friend. His grandfather, called "Poppy," was a man who'd faced his own share of adversity throughout his life. He'd come to terms with himself at age forty-nine, shortly after Mikhail's birth, and he no longer doubted God. He was a man overflowing with the wisdom of experience, who'd looked a challenge in the face every day and believed that there was no try. He never told any one they couldn't do anything, rather he encourage their best efforts. Mikhail was no different. Rory, the baby's father, felt his son had no life, no future, no nothing. He couldn't understand his father's denial of Mikhail's "problem." But what Poppy saw was simply another challenge to be met with hard work and persistence.

Mikahil's parents struggled to come to terms with their sons impairment for two years. By that time, the child -then an energetic toddler- knew various words and phrases Jaycen and Poppy had taught him. He was proving to be an incredibly bright child; a child who would someday be deemed "gifted." Also by this time, the boy had a baby sister, Lyra, who became his biggest fan. As a small child, Lyra never acknowledged the fact that her brother was different. He was simply "Misha," her brother that spoke with his hands. As Lyra's vocabulary grew, so did her ability to sign. Her biggest thrill was seeing Uncle Jay so she could learn a new word and share it with her big brother.

By the time Mikhail was six and Lyra was four, their parents were both teaching full time at the local elementary school and the children spent quite a bit of time with their grandparents. Their grandmother, "Nonny," was all too pleased to have them around. Rory was her oldest child, he'd been born when she was only eighteen (her husband had been twenty-seven), and the youngest of her five children was a year younger than Mikhail. "Aunt" Matty was in kindergarten with Misha for half the day. The boy could've easily been in first grade, he was quite smart, but, because of his handicap, he was kept out a year. Lyra, unhappy at the prospect of staying home all day, would watch from Misha and Matty at her grandparents screen door every morning, their four cats gathered around her feet. She'd gleefully announce their return from "kindygarden" and rush out to play with them.

As Misha grew older, he learned of the cruel nature of children. He became very sensitive. A boy in his class, Renny, was teased because he had no father. Only Misha bothered to find out that Renny's father, Malachy, had been very sick and died when he was only a baby. A girl classmate, Cyann, was afraid to sing during music class, so Misha taught her how to "sing" in sign. Another boy, Liliang, was often shunned because of his Chinese ancestry. Misha saw no difference, only a child in need of a friend. He was often picked on himself, but if he noticed, he never complained. All his battles were humbly fought, as he himself said, "through the grace of God." No one could hurt him, for he loved every one and, he often signs, love is much too strong.

He was trained in the martial arts by his father, who still doubted his abilities, and excelled due to his sensitive and aware nature. He joined his high school wrestling team and earned himself both the respect of his peers and the nickname "the Silent Dragon" through the strength and passion with which he trained. In the four years he wrestled, the only matches he lost were when he took pity on his opponents due to their great ignorance. He was often underestimated because he lived in a world void of sound.

When asked why he has been able to accomplish so much, he credits his success to five people.

First his grandfather Poppy, who always encouraged him to dream. "Poppy," he says, "never told me I couldn't do something. I often found him asking me why I wasn't doing it instead."

Second, he attributes much of who he is to Jaycen. Jaycen was some one who understood his every feeling and frustration, some one who didn't speak, some one who, instead, listened.

Third is his love for his sister. Lyra often saw him as the most amazing person and he strived to give her reason to.

Next comes his favorite aunt. Matty, from the day she was old enough to understand that he couldn't hear her, had never been frustrated by the fact that he often didn't understand her. Instead she tried harder to help him get the message, to know what she was saying and to spread his own message. She was relentless; she did not give up.

And last of all, he credits God. "People call it a curse. I say it's a gift. God was kind enough to give me this life and maybe He restricted it, but only enough that I couldn't just cruise on through. He offered a challenge and I accepted. It's always a learning experience. You live, you learn. I learned who I was because of that. Most people don't learn that until they see the angels coming to carry them home. Maybe," he smiles, "I'm just lucky."

~

Author's Note: This isn't a true story, despite it's Chicken Soup-esque style. It's based on characters of a much longer, unpublished story of mine and I thought I'd put it here because I like the way I wrote it. I hope you enjoyed it.