Hope - a fateful moment (Vol.4) ✅️

Chapter 2

In following weeks, Hope learned how to navigate the house and take care of himself as much as possible. Then came the long-awaited day. Excited, he got into his father's car and buckled up. It took him a few tries until it finally worked.

"Excited?" his father asked him in a lively voice.

Hope nodded and smiled. His school was unfortunately more than two and a half hours away, as schools for the blind were rather rare. Therefore, he would live in an assisted living room and only have the opportunity to go home on weekends and holidays. The journey passed faster than expected.

His father unloaded Hope's suitcase and took him by the hand. Together they walked across the small campus.His father described everything to him in detail so that his son could imagine it. There were three large buildings and a large courtyard with lawn and sports area, plus a small park with trees and benches. The left of the three buildings was the dormitory. It was like the others, boxy with a red façade.

Together they stopped by the reception. A woman greeted them kindly and gave them a small tour. Hope was joyful and tried to roughly memorize the plan in his head. When they reached his room, she opened the door with a chip which was on a bracelet that the children could wear around their arms or necks. They entered the room together.

"Right in front of you, about ten steps away, is the lower part of your bed, which is on the right wall. At the back left of the bed is a bedside table with a socket. Directly to the left of it is the window. From the back edge of the bed about eight steps to the left is a closet where you can store your belongings. About eight steps from the bottom edge of the bed to the left is the door for the toilet with shower. Between this door and the cupboard is a table with three chairs," the lady explained. She seemed to be an expert at describing a room to blind people.

Hope walked down the room and found that the woman's assessment was very accurate. He found everything right away. Then he stood in front of the bathroom door and opened it. The lady continued, "Right in front of you about five steps is the sink, to the right of it is the toilet. Three steps from there, on the right, is the entrance to the shower. Directly to the right here in the entrance is a shelf in the wall where you can store towels etc. Above the sink is a small board on which the toothbrush and others have space. The toilet paper roll is, when you sit, to the right of you at belly level."

Hope also stepped down this space and was more than happy not to stumble over anything or get stuck.

"And what do you think?" his father asked.

"I think it's great," he said, beaming.

"Well, I'll leave you alone now. If you need me, you can press the button right here next to the door, then come to me or someone else. School starts tomorrow morning. You will then be picked up at 7.30 am and brought there by a helper. In principle, you are allowed to move freely, just make sure to always have the beeper with you, in case you get lost." Then she said goodbye and left the team of two alone.

"Do we want to unpack?" his father asked. Hope nodded and so they started unpacking.

When Hope's father got back into the car, he exhaled with relief. Since Hope's accident, their life had been pretty messed up. His wife had changed after that, she didn't seem to be able to cope with Hope's disability. And Hope tried not to be a burden to them, he had noticed. Therefore, he was relieved that he liked the boarding school. Perhaps some normality would finally return. He loved Hope and hoped that his wife would be herself again, because it just wouldn't be fair to Hope. With all these thoughts in mind, he made his way home.

The bell rang and announced the beginning of the lesson. A helper had picked up Hope as discussed and showed him the school. Then he had been taken to the classroom of his level and placed in a free place. Hope was nervous, which made the noises around him louder.