Oct. 5, 2022, 5:30 a.m.
aap noot mies: Year - 7 points
K - Words: 594 - Last Updated: Oct 05, 2022 Story: Complete - Chapters: 15/15 - Created: Sep 28, 2022 - Updated: Dec 03, 2022 272 0 0 1 1
In case it wasn’t very clear, the chapter titles are the words that I made from the scramble letters and I even wrote down how many points I got for each word. I really liked this new challenge!
“So, it all started last year. My dad got ill and it looked like he wasn’t going to make it – no worries, he’s fine now. But yeah, it got scary and my dad asked me and my stepmother to go through his belongings and stuff. After my brother died unexpectedly, we know what it’s like to be left behind with nothing arranged.”
That is a lot of information to take in.
Kurt says it with ease, but Blaine can hear a slight tension. It must’ve been really bad and stressful to have his brother die and then have his father almost die.
“While we went through his stuff, we found out we had some long lost family! My dad has two sisters! That is huge!”
“Let me guess, they’re from the Netherlands,” Blaine fills in.
Kurt nods.
“Yeah, there’s a lot of mystery surrounding my dad’s family. I never knew my grandparents either. Anyway, we contacted them and they were happy to hear from us. Turns out they didn’t really know of my dad either.”
Blaine nods in understanding. Contacting long-lost family feels like the dream. He hasn’t heard much from his family after he moved to this planet.
“People in the Netherlands speak English,” Kurt continues, “But, I don’t know, maybe it’s my ambitious side, but I’d love to learn the language. I originally considered asking them to teach me, but I want to surprise them.”
“Are you planning on visiting?” Blaine asks.
Kurt nods eagerly.
“Yes, we’re currently saving up. Hopefully next summer we’ll go there. We haven’t seen them in person yet.”
Blaine files that away for later. This means he’ll have one year to teach Kurt as much as possible. Of course, if Kurt lets him.
It’s a nice reason to learn a language. Yes, sometimes Blaine laments about how his superpower isn’t super useful, but it has also made Blaine appreciate language. Languages are a form of connection. It’s culture: history, art and community in one. Language, in all of its forms, be it written, spoken, signed (or other, Blaine knows that there are some other forms of language on some planets) is shared by everyone in the whole universe.
Sure, Blaine would love to have a superpower that makes it easier to find things he’s lost, but when he hears Kurt talk about how he’s excited about this prospect of connection, Blaine feels incredibly content.
“Sorry, am I boring you?” Kurt asks after a while. He’s realized that Blaine’s in his own world.
“No, of course not! On the contrary, I was thinking about how lovely this plan is.”
“You think?”
“Yeah, absolutely!” Blaine says excitedly, “I’ve heard several reasons why people learn a language and they’re all completely fine-” Well, apart from this one guy who wanted to speak Italian because he dreamt of joining the mafia “-but this one is definitely one of my favourites. It’s driven by love.”
Those are indeed Blaine’s favourites: people learning a language to welcome a new person, people learning a language to talk to their spouse’s family, people learning a language to impress someone they have a crush on.
Blaine just loves love!