helpless - muke

01 [who's there?]

michael felt his way against the windows of the coffee shop. it had been ages since he had gotten out. his disability kept his confidence very low. and although he had a guide dog with him at all times, it still didn't help him because he knew people were looking at him differently. he was different, he knew that too. it wasn't his fault he was born blind, right?

starlight, his guide dog barked as a warning that a group of people were approaching so michael stopped feeling the windows. his dog sat by his side as he stood still and the group of people passed him. starlight stood up and gently pulled him towards the door of the coffee shop.

although he had been coming here since he was a teenager but he still required starlight to guide him through the building. he never ordered anything, simply because he couldn't see the menu and was too embarrassed to ask.

the dog guided him to his usual table and he felt around for the chair before sitting down. his hearing was still perfect so he always say and listened to everyone's conversations.

the normal conversations usually were just some gossip between a group of friends but michael still enjoyed hearing all about it.

he pulled a book out of his backpack and ran his fingers over the braille in the book. he wished for so long that he could read it like a normal person but he knew he would never be that. normal.

when he was born, his parents nearly gave him up for adoption. they didn't want to deal with a baby that was born blind and needed so much special care. it hurt him knowing that not even his own parents wanted him.

he never attended school as his family was too afraid of him being bullied so they homeschooled him. which only made michael want to rip his hair out. he hated being so isolated.

the only comfort michael ever found was music. music was the only thing that kept him calm on his bad days. and when he was 16, he met a wonderful lady named margret who was blind herself. with margret's help, michael was able to learn how to play piano and since then, he hasn't stopped.

michael still lived at home as he had no social life. no one wanted to be his friend, no one wanted to be friends with a blind kid. that didn't really hurt michael too much, he wouldn't know how to be friends with a blind kid if he was them.

he could hear starlight stand up from her laying down position and start to whine. that was her sign that someone was near. michael placed his hand on her hand to try and calm her but she continued to whine.

he heard shuffling around him but he thought that was just people leaving the coffee shop. then he heard a chair scoot away and he sat up in his seat.

"who's there?"