Tell Me Something True

I like to think there are a number of universal truths woven into THE SILENCE OF BONAVENTURE ARROW. Some have to do with the darker side of the human experience, for instance, grief, judgment, guilt, jealousy, and self-righteousness. But others speak of the very best in humanity; namely, our willingness to forgive and our capacity to love. Love is full of paradoxes; its greatest might is its greatest weakness. Love puts a heart at risk; it strengthens us as it makes us fragile; it is measured by joy and by sorrow. In this story, I chose to let sorrow take Bonaventure Arrow’s voice away but leave the gift of extraordinary hearing in its place. Through this gift, Bonaventure bears the touch of the Divine, and he brings that touch to others. Ultimately, two universal truths will be revealed: to extend forgiveness is an act of love; to accept it is an act of gratitude.

Bonaventure’s hearing is not only extraordinary but magical as it draws from the Universe of Every Single Sound to take the pain from scars and break the bonds of guilt. This is possible because he hears that which lay behind sounds, and he collects mementos of them such as: “…the tap water and scissor sounds of wished-for beauty; the gumball rattle of giant kindness…the joyful, last-sip gurgle from Bixie’s Luncheonette; the moist-earth sounds of healing…and the courageous buzzing of a bluebottle fly…" Even though he’s just a little boy, Bonaventure Arrow senses that the sounds he hears are rooted in love, but it is Trinidad Prefontaine who comes to know love’s source. Speaking in her comforting bayou patios on page 293, she says, “…I always did suspect there be mysteries. Lord knows, nobody understand where love come from if not from inside a mystery.”

And that is, perhaps, the greatest universal truth of all.