A descendent of the famouse songstress Josefine, our Joshuana glories in the contrast she provides to her more renowned ancestor. Where Josefine brought to her people the strange comforts of song, our Joshuana brings with her the rarest of silences, the kind not usually associated with our species. Dubbed by her peers ‘Defender of the Silence,’ she is tireless in her displays, rigorous in maintaining the decorum required. Like all our kind, Joshuana piped and squeaked on first entering the world, but, once apprised of her famouse ancestor’s legacy, she soon struck off on her own, developing a style of reticence more commonly found among those of a mystical bent. I say ‘commonly found,’ by which I mean common to the exceptionally rare cases encountered. Reticence of course eventually gave way to a high-minded taciturnity, and from there it was but a short step to silence proper. ‘Josha,’ as she’s come to be called, remains as much a prey to the daily hazards as everyone else but there is about her, increasingly, a quality hard to define yet discernible perhaps even to the wiliest of predators. Arguably, of course, Josefine herself might be said to have scaled the mystical, her peculiar music having had the power at times to stir the least musical of listeners, which is to say approximately everyone – our people’s reputation for tone-deafness being, sadly, well deserved. But silence, such as the happy kind evinced by Josha, is another matter altogether; the note of transcendence struck is even less measurable than the kind reached in song. That Josha appears unaware of its effect says more about Josha than it does her brand of silence. Her presence unsettles as much as it intrigues, and among those it intrigues will be the few whom it inspires. There’s not an hour goes by some rumour doesn’t do the rounds – an outbreak of silence here, a wordless demonstration there. And as in the days of her famouse forebear, it took a period of strife and upheaval to bring to the fore Josha’s particular gift. A slump in the economy, the threat of starvation: crises enough to send many scurrying into the arms of demagogues so fiercely unfashionable they sounded credible. Silence was not a word on anyone’s lips. Needless to say, things were generally noisier, considerably so. But for Josha, already long wordless, the shituation proved a turning point: her silence would be “weaponized”. That much she was said to have said; that much was apparently heard. How she proceeded to make her presence felt of course has since acquired the prestige of legend, been itself the subject of song. Scraping and working with the same level of busyness as her fellows, she is yet able to imbue her activity with a peculiar ‘stillness’. How this stillness of hers disquiets the rowdier among us is a point of contention all too loudly debated. Those in positions of power fear its effect on the workforce; those with little to lose welcome its power to instill fear. The notion of saying nothing at all as an act of potential subversion is one of the central issues of the hour.
There are, naturally, those who would prefer to ask Josha about her famouse relative’s famouse ‘disappearance’. Was there, did she think, a conspiracy to have Josefine silenced? Is Josha herself never tempted to test her own voice in song? Just once? That these questions are seldom uttered is some indication of the respect in which Josha is held. What she hopes to achieve is similarly left open to question. But on she goes, indomitably, her silence rumoured to deepen with every passing day, her supposed stillness gaining ever more grace.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay – a screen of different coloured speech bubbles containing the word blah! This image was AI generated.
NB ‘the author of this work has deliberately used spelling and vocabulary in-keeping with the tone and style of the story.’
literally stories 
Hi Geraint,
I would champion anything that champions more silence in the world.
This may sound stupid but even when some folks talk they are too noisy. (Kids, TV presenters, influencers and all the tits on social media) We are now at a time when all we see is show-offs screaming their ‘look at me’ insistence so I’m all for a bit of dignified silence!!!
Brilliant my fine friend.
Hugh
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Hear-hear for more silence. Thanks Hugh.
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I think this is one of those occassions where the reader nods and smiles and murmurs quietly – yes, yes that’s right.
We are surrounded by loud mouth bullying show offs and whiners and know all who fill the world with empty noise. This shines a beautiful silent light on the value of saying nothing. Great stuff – dd
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Thank you Diane.
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Geraint
I have championed No Speaking Thursday because it is the day of the week when people who talk too much talk most. Something to do with “Friday Eve”–a scientific observation I arrived at after life in the workplace stretching back to the 1970’s. But it went where most of my observations go.
This fine Joshuana is the perfect embodiment of the failed movement. I see great hope in her fine example.
Leila
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No Speaking Thursdays sound good to me Leila. In my younger days I lived – if briefly – in a monastery ; the brevity was down to the fact I couldn’t shut up.
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A neat idea, very well executed! The power of silence is not often noted as it is here: ‘ The notion of saying nothing at all as an act of potential subversion is one of the central issues of the hour.’ Excellent!!
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Thank you Steven.
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Geraint
This is a brilliant Kafkaesque parable packed with so much profound wisdom that it can rightly be called Kafkaesque.
There are many well-rounded characters in this piece, including: The Singer, The Silent One, The Storyteller, and “They,” them, the world.
“Her presence unsettles as much as it intrigues, and among those it intrigues will be the few whom it inspires.”
That single sentence alone is worth so much, and every single sentence in this piece has an equal weight and measure to it.
Each new work by you is a fresh discovery!
Dale
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Prompted by your good self Dale (see below)
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Excellent concept and well-crafted.The mock-scholarly narrator works well and the “shituation” is a fine play on words. The piece reminds me of Kafka’s Hunger Artist.
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Spot on with the Kafka, David. Your comment appreciated.
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Prompted in part by Dale Barrigar’s superlative essay on Kafka’s shorter fictions – see LS 15/12/24. Kafka’s ‘Josephine, or: The Mouse People’, one of his last stories, has often been cited as his ‘literary testament.’ All comments very much appreciated.
Geraint
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Thank you for letting me know this, Geraint!
You’ve created another great piece of literature in this multi-layered tale and I’m proud to know it was partly inspired by “Kafkaesque.” Such interchanges are the soul of literature, then, now, and always!
Dale
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Geraint
A lovely study. Usually, talkative folks infiltrate human space. And the quiet ones provide the room for them. BUT, the truly silent are a different sort, altogether. Picture a movement versus an insurrection! John Cage versus New York in June. H2O versus a flood. Oh. What do I know?
A fun read! — Gerry
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