Reunion of a second chance

Chapter 4

When the Emperor saw in how much of a pitiful state the Blind Concubine was, his heart was breaking. The man who had always been thin and frail looked even more so now. There was no colour to his skin, it almost seemed translucent. There was also no redness to his lips or cheeks which had once been there. The Emperor mourned the change.

And the worst of all, the Blind Concubine did truly have no strength left in his body. He did not even hear the Emperor approach so he had been greatly surprised and tried to run. Only for him to merely draw away from the Emperor, not being able to do anything else.

"Who is there?" the Blind Concubine asked in utter panic. His voice was quivering and barely there due to disuse and his lacking strength. It was pitiful.

The Emperor wanted to reassure the Blind Concubine that he was not an enemy, that he came because he cared and wanted to help him. But he could not. He knew that the second he would open his mouth; the Blind Concubine would recognize him. He could not guess what would happen after that, but the Blind Concubine would most likely refuse to do anything the Emperor wanted and would just wither away all that faster. He could not let that happen.

The Emperor did not let go of the hand he was holding, steadying the Blind Concubine so he would not fall from the divan. He was too close to the edge for comfort. Since the Emperor would not speak at the moment, he moved the chime around, electing a sweet and delicate sound.

The Blind Concubine immediately stopped trying to run away and stilled, his head tilted to hear the sound better. The Emperor let out a sigh of relief, the catastrophe was avoided, at least for now. He gently held the Blind Concubine's forearm and waited for him to calm down.

"Who is there?" asked the Blind Concubine again, less panicked this time.

The Emperor would have given everything in the world to say that it was him, that he loved the Blind Concubine and to apologize all over for his mistakes. He had wanted to do that for the last two years, every day without a fail. He would have, if he believed that the Blind Concubine would forgive him. As things stood, the Blind Concubine would only hate him more if he knew who was holding his hand the Emperor was afraid.

After all, he had tricked the Blind Concubine into believing that he was free, living far from him and the palace. He had seen how happy it had made the Blind Concubine feel. In the beginning, that was. Until he started withering away again, either incapable or unwilling to take care of himself.

As a response to the Blind Concubine's question, he rang the chime again. That was all he could do if he wanted his identity to not be discovered. He thought that he could not understand how hard it was to want to do something but being unable to.

The Blind Concubine surely wanted to see the world again but could not; the Emperor wanted to speak but could not. It was not the same but at the same time, it was. Only the reasons were different. He once again regretted the decision he had taken in the past.

If he could, he would go back and stop his younger self from hurting the Blind Concubine in this way. If only he could do that.

***

The Blind Concubine was confused. He did not know what was happening and who was the person holding his hand. He had expected rough handling, perhaps a beating or someone pulling him up only to strike him down to his knees the next second. He was waiting but nothing like that came to pass. The hand on his remained steady but gentle.

"Who is there?" he asked again, truly curious about the answer now.

His house was so far from all other towns that he could not phantom that anyone came by just to say hello. He had always been the only one here, not even the person or people who were preparing the meals for him ever came to the island itself. Who was this intruder?

Or was he perhaps a visitor instead? Was that someone the Blind Concubine would finally be able to talk with? Was it possible that someone was passing by and decided to pay the solitary house in the middle of a lotus lake a visit?

At this thought, the Blind Concubine's heart was seized with hope. He did not want to have this treacherous feeling, much less believe him. He knew that he would only suffer in the end. But he could not help himself, he wanted someone to talk to too much to not hope. Perhaps this could be the end to his loneliness.

However, instead of introducing himself, there was only a sound of a chime once again. The person did not speak even when they helped the Blind Concubine to sit back on his soft chair and lean on the armrest comfortably.

It was a high time too because the Blind Concubine could feel the rest of his meagre forces leaving him completely. He sagged into the soft chair, resting his head down so it would stop spinning.

"Thank you," he addressed the stranger again.

Since nothing had happened, he was now not afraid anymore. The person should not want him any harm, they instead treated him nicely and gently. And even if they wanted to hurt him, he would be powerless against them. There was no way he could resist. He also would not; if the Emperor had sent someone to eliminate him or bring him back, who was the Blind Concubine to oppose that order?

The chime now sounded for a longer time. It seemed like the other person was happy for the simple 'thank you'.

"Who are you," asked the Blind Concubine for a third time but his words were never finished.

There was suddenly a cup of water being pressed to his lips and he drank. He had not realized until now just how thirsty he had been. The water tasted incredible and he quickly finished the whole cup.

In his haste, he let a few drops of water escape around the rim of the cup and now he could feel them sliding down his chin. It tickled but he had no more strength to even wipe them away. He just closed his eyes and felt content with his thirst quenched.

He was getting sleepy again. He felt someone gently tapping on his chin with a piece of cloth and wiping the droplets away. It felt better that way.

"Thank you," he whispered with his last bits of consciousness and then fell asleep.

During the end of the year holidays, I may not be able to update regularly due to scarce access to Internet. I am sorry in advance for any inconvenience. 

Happy Chistmas for those who celebrate them and happy end of the year holiday season to everyone else :)