There used to be a time that I scared people by being overly silent. You should know that my parents used to work at home from 9 to 23 and did not want to be disturbed. This condition engenders the capacity to refrain from making noises. It took me a while to realise that this capacity has the potential to scare people who are not familiar with the silent condition. Ever since, I make a conscious effort to produce sound for the sake of not disturbing other people. There is a nice paradox.
Anyway, I wanted to complain about an annoying sound, or at least it is annoying to me in its onomatopoe(t)ic quality. I shouldn’t complain, since it is summer, but it scares the hell out of me. Maybe its my phobia of feet (I didn’t know that existed until someone told me she suffered from it, too) that gets activated by the slithery sound of sweaty flip-flops.
Yes, I am oversensitive and, if the silent condition wasn’t enough, the visually impaired state I’m in will amplify any sound in my perception. But there are also advantages to the innate capacity of absorbing soundscapes. I can recognise people by their footsteps and find out people wear different shoes before I actually get to see them. Barefoot is not an option, neither are flip-flops.
