The Firefly

18°

Uncle Barnaby laughed, making me smile accordingly.

Sitting on the bench in the middle of the garden full of plants, we told each other everything we had not been able to say in the past.

-Now you tell me something.- He urged me on smiling, I was happy that I had managed to lift his spirits with my visit.

Mattew rarely visited him and his only company was Mrs Black in the room with him.

-Nothing interesting ever happens here.- He said, pointing all around us.

-How's the new job going?- He asked, nailing me with his gaze.

-It's a good job and the pay is great, although there were some difficulties at the beginning.-

I said thinking back to the first days and involuntarily hinting at a smile.

-The boy...he's cute, isn't he?-

His big, sweet eyes darted over to me accompanied by a mocking smirk, there was Mrs Black's hand in it.

-Not your type?-

I shook my head.

-How come?- He didn't stop staring at me.

-He's not a bad guy from what Madelyn says.- He poked me, laughing under his moustache.

-It's the character that's out of tune.- I decided to answer by looking at him again.

When Jake's face appeared in my mind, a strange electric shock ran down my spine.

Taking a few moments to recover, I got up from the bench under my uncle's sly gaze.

-I think he's very arrogant.-

-Who isn't sometimes?-

-Yes, but he is very, very often... always.-

-How long did you say he's been blind?-
He ignored me.

-I guess about four years.- I answered and he stroked his round belly.

-Who knows, poor guy, how hard it must have been...-

-Yes, well it must not have been easy...- I lowered my gaze.

Not even his parents had been there for him at such a painful time.

-We all have traumas, but dwelling on them endlessly won't solve anything. He should use them as a strength, not as a justification for his rudeness!-

I exclaimed, trying to make my conviction stick, even though by now it was becoming more and more a muffled voice in my head among the thousands screaming the opposite.

He let out a loud, long sigh and then stood up in turn.

-But everyone reacts differently, it is not easy to control one's emotions.- He reached me, resting a hand on my shoulder.

-And if it is simply so in character, you just have to accept it. We all have flaws, the important thing is to realise it.-

He said, handing me his arm to go back to the room.

I left the building as the sun was already setting.

Liam was waiting for me in front of the gate in the same big black car in which he had driven me there a few hours before.

Without asking me any questions I quickly went inside.

-Hi Liam, did you just get here?- I asked him, fastening my belt.

He moved the rear-view mirror a little before answering me.

-No, I've been here the whole time.- I raised an eyebrow in surprise.