The Sign Language Class

Carla had lived in Melbourne for three years, and she knew most of her neighbors by name. In the house next door lived Jess, a nurse, and her six-year-old son, Finn. Finn was deaf. He went to a special school and talked with his mother in Auslan, the sign language used in Australia. Every afternoon, when Carla came home from work, Finn was playing in the front yard. He always waved at her, and she always waved back. That was all they could say to each other.

One day, Finn's ball rolled into Carla's garden. She threw it back, and Finn signed something quickly with his hands. Carla smiled, but she had no idea what he meant. Finn looked at her for a moment, shrugged and went back to his game. Carla felt terrible. She decided to do something about it.

The next week, she signed up for a beginners' Auslan class at a community center in the city. She went every Tuesday evening in order to learn the basics, and she watched videos on her phone on the train so that she wouldn't forget them. It wasn't easy. In Auslan, you use your hands, but also your face and your body. Carla kept mixing up the signs for "mother" and "sister," and once she told her teacher that she was a banana instead of saying she was tired.

Her teacher, Ben, was deaf too. "Don't be afraid to make mistakes," he signed. "The most important thing is to keep practicing." So Carla practiced everywhere: in the kitchen, in the bathroom mirror, even at the supermarket while she was waiting to pay.

After two months, she was ready to try. On a Friday afternoon, she stopped in front of Finn's yard. Her hands were shaking a little. She signed "Hello, my name is Carla," spelling her name with her fingers. Finn's eyes opened wide. He ran inside to get his mother.

From then on, Carla stopped at the fence every day to chat with Finn. He corrected her signs patiently, and he taught her the words for his favorite things: dinosaurs, pizza and trains. Jess told Carla that Finn now called her "the lady who tries."

But Carla wanted to do more than chat. She wanted to make him laugh. She asked Ben to help her prepare a joke, and she practiced it for a whole week. Then, one evening, she signed it to Finn: "Why did the dinosaur cross the road? Because chickens didn't exist yet." Finn stared at her. Then he laughed so hard that he fell on the grass. Carla had never felt so proud of anything in her life.