the sounds of silence

The sun was shining brightly when I left the house this morning, but the frozen puddles were evidence of the cold. My world seemed strange this morning, there was a strange silence. It was me.
My sore throat turned into a cough yesterday and I woke up to find that I had lost my voice. On my way to the station I was deeply aware of not being able to speak. That if I opened my mouth, I would hear a croak likely to be followed by a fit of coughing. The psychological effect that had on me was this:-
The background noises seemed louder and more pronounced. The birds singing, the cars going by, the sound of the trains in the distance. My footsteps on the pavement. Even my thoughts had more clarity.
It felt a little like living in a wildlife documentary but with the narrator suddenly going missing.

It's been a struggle in the office so far this morning. I had a 10am meeting at which I was expected to contribute, the simple matter of buying 2 cups of tea in the canteen was made awkward (the till staff here don't seem to be able to recognise teacups), and even when I wanted to bitch to someone about something I couldn't :(

This all reminds me of when I was primary school. When I was little, even though I had a perfect grasp of the language, I never spoke to anyone. I have no idea why. It turned into a strange habit right up to when I was 10 or 11. Outside of school I was fine. How I managed to get by I don't really know :)