Phobia.

You need to face your own fears, they said.

I shut my ears. I didn't need any of that.

Come on, they said, you can't make it in this world if you can't.

I shut them tighter. I didn't need to hear their nonsense. I didn't need to hear any nonsense.

Deep inside, I knew they were right. I knew what they said made sense. And so I sat awake in my bed one night wondering what to do about it. A whole night passed. The tiny glimmer of a needle gave me an idea. I laughed to myself. Not aloud. A laugh which no one could hear.

A few nights later, the town was silent.

And then, my phonophobia could finally rest in the sound of silence.