How do you navigate a world that has always seemed just out of grasp?
Isabela has always known how to navigate life without sight. Growing up in a small town on California's coast, she relied on her instincts, her unbreakable connection to the sea...
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The air felt thick with tension, a volatile mix of panic and confusion. Urgent voices surrounded me, but I was trapped in my own mind, caught in a swirling haze of pain and shock (Isabela, who is blind, is unable to see the chaos but feels the tension around her).
"Gray, call an ambulance!" Mick's voice cut through the noise, urgent and commanding. I felt him kneeling beside me, his steady presence an anchor in the overwhelming confusion.
"On it," Gray replied, his voice sharp as he moved away. I heard his fingers tapping frantically on his phone, the sound stark in the crowded room.
"Just stay with us, beautiful, okay?" Mick urged, his hand gentle but firm on my shoulder. I wanted to respond, to tell him I was still here, but my throat felt tight, my words lost in the fog.
"Dude, what the hell were you thinking?" Luke's voice, tense and sharp, addressed Enzo. "You need to calm down and get the manager—now."
"I didn't mean to—" Enzo stammered, desperation choking his words. "I was just trying to help. I didn't think she'd fall—"
"Help? By smashing a table?" Luke snapped. "Just go! Get someone who can actually help!"
Beyond the room, muffled sounds of the concert drifted in—a strange backdrop to the crisis around me. I could feel the heat of embarrassment rise in my cheeks, but terror pressed heavier, holding me in place.
"All right, let's move you away from the glass," Mick said softly, his hands steady. I felt him and Luke carefully lift me, their grip sure and comforting even as pain jolted through my body.
"Easy, easy," Luke murmured, his voice warm with concern as they settled me onto a nearby couch. "We've got you."
I sat there, surrounded by their voices, but their words were a blur in my mind. I could sense the urgency, hear the undercurrent of worry, but my panic overshadowed it all, a dark fog blocking everything else.
"Can you hear me?" Mick's voice was close and calming, drawing me back to the present. "Just breathe. Help's on the way."
Memories of my mom's voice drifted into my mind, a familiar comfort in this chaos. I needed to call her, to hear her voice. "My phone..." I finally whispered, my heart pounding with urgency.
"What's that?" Mick leaned in, his voice gentle.
"My bag..." I felt around, but my small shoulder bag was gone. Panic surged as I realized it had vanished in the confusion. "I need my phone..."
"I'll find it," Gray called from nearby, the sound of him rifling through debris as he searched. "It has to be here somewhere."
"Enzo, get it together," Luke barked, his frustration simmering. "Go find the manager and get more help!"
"Going, I'm going!" Enzo's voice cracked, his steps quick as he rushed out of the room.
Mick shifted closer, a hand on my back, reassuring. "You're doing great, Isabela. Just a little longer. Help is coming."
