Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ Hearing ❯ The story ( Chapter 1 )

Ed could still hear them.

Most of the time, there were there, just out of reach, just at the edge of his mind, where Alphonse or Mustang or Winry or any distraction really, could keep them from him.

But then, when he was alone . . .

When he was alone, they filled the his ears, both drowning out and enforcing the silence, reminding him of their presence, that they were still there, waiting. And he would force himself not to listen, to read, and write, and memorize until just couldn't take it anymore and he had to go make a commotion somewhere.

But those voices- those souls or spirits on the other side were patient and persistent. During the day, they receded peacefully. During the night, they tortured him, filling his dreams and his lungs-

he hadn't gotten much sleep for a while. People had started to take notice- even Mustang had asked, and he wanted to scream, to demand to know how he was supposed to sleep if he couldn't breathe? But then he remembered that normal people did not hear voices, not even whispering ones, and even his genius couldn't come up with an explanation for this, anyway. So instead, he glowered and ranted when they asked; he screamed when he got the chance; and drowned them out as best he could.

Ed could still hear them.