I crossed the marathon finish line after losing my hearing

Dear Delyara, I lost most of my hearing after meningitis at twenty-nine. Before the illness, I ran casually but never farther than ten kilometers. During rehabilitation, running became the one place where silence did not feel like loss. I could feel rhythm through my feet and monitor my breathing through movement instead of sound. Two years ago, I decided to train for a marathon. A coach helped adapt the plan, and a friend learned visual signals so we could run safely together. Today, I completed the Berlin Marathon. I did not hear the crowds, music, or announcer at the finish. I saw hands clapping, mouths open, flags moving, and my sister jumping behind the barrier. My friend tapped my shoulder one hundred meters from the end and signed, “You are doing it.” When I crossed the line, the world was silent and enormous. People often describe deafness by what disappeared. Today, my body carried me forty-two kilometers through a city full of sound I could not hear, and I lacked nothing.