When Stars Align

-Chapter 2: Close Your Eyes-

I closed my eyes and I wondered about this beautiful new world which I had been given, but when I opened my eyes, I wished I had kept them closed.

-.-.-.-

"Excuse me, but do you happen to have a ramp?" The man asked, talking to a woman in the cafe. I sat nervously, not bothered by people's stares as much as I was by the fact that I couldn't tell if they were staring. I waited for what felt like an hour, but it was only a few minutes when I heard him walking up. "They set up a ramp for you, so you can just roll up." He said, hopefully smiling, though I had no way of knowing. I reached out and felt a small wall next to me, which kept me on track as I rolled up a small ramp that had been set in front of the cafe.

We were led to a table off to one side, before we placed our orders and received our drinks. It was quiet until that point.

-.-.-.-

"So, tell me about yourself." I asked, sitting across from my new acquaintance. He shifted in his seat, obviously uncomfortable.

"Well, there's not much to say. I mean, I just haven't done a lot of interesting things in my life." I frown a little at his response, a sense of incompleteness in my heart.

"Oh come on, there has to be something you can tell me!" I joke, smiling a little.

"Well...I was a soldier for a while. I still have some of the scars..." He muttered under his breath. I smile again, trying to imagine what this person looked like.

"You must be pretty brave to go to war and come back with scars. What happened?" I questioned. I knew it was a bad habit of mine, but once I got curious, I wouldn't stop until I had my answer. My mom always told me I was stubborn like that, and I guess she was right.

"Let's just say that I didn't watch where I was going." He muttered again. I could tell that he wanted to drop the subject , so I stopped myself from questioning any longer. I heard a sigh of relief when I took a sip of my iced coffee.

"So, what about you then?" He asked, "I'm sure you have an interesting story." I sigh a little, trying to form my words but finding nothing. I thought about how to describe it until my mind wandered back to a book I had read on the subject.

"Have you ever closed your eyes for so long that you forget what is around you to the point where you wonder about the smallest details, the writing that you can't read, only to open your eyes and let the light back in? That has been every day of my life from birth, except that I can't open my eyes and magically see the light. The world is just a dark expanse of pure possibility. Sometimes I wonder about what I miss every day, what little treasures of color fly by as I work my way through each moment. It just seems unfair." I could feel a small movement from the man, who seemed to be pondering something.

"What if you could fix your eyes? Would you want to?" He asked. I thought about the question for a moment.

"I'm not sure," I say, "Since I have lived without the world for so long, I don't know if I could possibly rejoin it." The man laughed a little.

"I'm sure you could. It would take some time, but you could do it. I think you have to be strong to work through what you have, so this would be no different." He took a sip of his drink, the glass making a small clink as he set it back down. Now it was my turn to laugh.

"I guess I should rephrase what I said. I don't know if I want to rejoin the world."

-.-.-.-
I am so behind on this .n.