Silent Aliscotia

It's been a difficult two days as I have  strained my vocal chords and have lost my voice. Yesterday there was a croak. Today, nothing. I need to go to the Co-op and it wasn't till I put my mask on I realised the added problem was that people could not see my smile or lip read me. I wrote on a piece of paper what had happened and the young man at check-out was lovely about it but my problem was walking round the store. I had not realised how many people make a small comment or give way to you and you answer "Thank you", "Not at all", "I know what you mean" or just smile. I could do none of these. It wasn't appropriate to show my note to these people as only a little acknowledgement was needed, not my life story! It was a relief to get home and hopefully my voice will return before I get a reputation for being rude or taciturn.