The Silent Divide

Clara Henley drew a slow breath and, steeling herself, (1) .......... the words 'Are you all right?' to her daughter, Rosa — for she understood, with painful clarity, that the child had retreated once again into a (2) .......... of her own devising, one that would inevitably culminate in a (3) .......... of tears. Anticipating Rosa's eventual immersion in a world where communication at every level would be of the (4) .......... importance, Clara had imposed considerable sacrifices on the household by committing herself to mastering sign language. It is well documented that most people remain wilfully oblivious to the (5) .......... of deaf children, and Rosa, with an acuity akin to radar, had begun to (6) .......... up the unspoken meanings behind the furtive (7) .......... of those around her — and to feel, with growing anguish, the particular pain that (8) .......... accompanies such unguarded moments of exclusion. The wound inflicted by rejection is notoriously slow to heal.