How often do we take our ability to speak, our talent for intelligently expressing feelings through words for granted? What would we do if one day the world woke up and, for no reason at all, no one could speak? Not just words, but no sound could be uttered. When a person opens their mouth, nothing would emerge but a breath of air.

Common sense might tell someone that there are other ways to communicate. However writing notes and letters, though the most obvious way to tell someone anything, does not appeal to me. It just doesn't seem to give one the same satisfaction.

I for one could not bear to miss out on a loved one's laugh, the "I love you's", the voices that you can recognize from a mile away. These things, the way people use their voices, define a person. How...