HEARING HIM

Above the dialogue on the television and the soft hum of my laptop I heard Willem call out, as if in the distance - and more like a question than a statement -- "Hello?"  It was his voice.  So much so that I replied to him... "Hello?"

Never before in my life have I ever wanted so badly to hear a voice emanate from somewhere other than what we are programmed to understand.  I answered back with a hope beyond measurement; beyond expression...  A longing...  Such a longing.

After turning off the television, and over the hum of my laptop, I heard the unfortunate reality of the ethereal hello: it was only my stomach.  The mundane physical reality of hunger.  So earthly.  So disappointing.  So real.