I have never realized how I take people who can hear for granted. Especially the people who live in my house.

No one is home, they're out camping, and I'm home...alone!

I hate it.

My ears all of a sudden hear everything (or so it seems...). And I hear all these noises I've never noticed before, and I'm not sure if they're normal or not. I've taken for granted mom and dad, who could always tell me what some noise was if I got startled.

But now? My vivid imagination takes over. I won't even tell you what I imagined.

I decided I wanted a treat. And what better treat than raspberries? It was around nine o' clock, and after I faithfully watered mom's plants, I grabbed a blue bucket and started picking. I never realized just how addicting raspberry picking could be! I started on the outside...then I started to get pulled in the middle of the huge patch. Time passes by...and before I know it, I can't even see the raspberries. The big pale yellow moon is staring at me, and I realize that I can't see anything through my spectacles. (Yes, I was/am wearing glasses at the moment.) And all I do see is thick raspberry bushes all around me...I feel something bite my leg. Just a mosquito bite, don't worry. Then I start hearing the strange noises. Coming from other peoples' homes.

Then a stupid firework goes off. I fall over, and get up, and realize I can't move anywhere...I was in a delicate spot, and if I break any of these branches with hundreds of raspberries that will be ripe in the next couple of weeks, mom will be very...disappointed.

I finally find some way out, and I pray I didn't kill too many plants.

I come into the house with the phone in hand, unharmed picked raspberries in the other.

I sit down at the computer, and it's very silent. I breathe a breath of relief, when the stupid phone rings. I swear, I jumped two feet.

I hate my vivid imagination.

I hate being hard of hearing.

I hate this!