Blind

chapter ten

Alina always thought of her blindness as a friend. Of Course not many people understood that. And honesty not many people cared to understand. But it was enough for her to know that there were at least a few people that loved her.

Alina came into this world too early. Her mother always told her that her hunger for life was too great to wait one whole month. She was so fragile and small the doctors feared that she wouldn't make it. But Alina, like the little rebel she was, proved them wrong. They, however made it clear from the start that she could never see. Due to her preterm birth her sight was permanently damaged.

Alina's parents were always trying to make her feel as loved as possible. And it's because of them that Alina learned to love herself and her disability.

School was rarely a problem, mostly because she attended a private school for disabled children. High school however was a whole different story. Her parents couldn't afford a private  school so she attended a public school.

At first she thought everything was going to be alright and that she was going to get through high school without any trouble. Well, she was wrong.

Apparently her school didn't like newcomers. Even more so when they were disabled. The first few weeks weren't as bad. A few rude notes waiting at her desk (which always made her smile at the stupidity of her haters) ,name calling during class and halls, constant pushing and shoving on the stairs. But those were things she could handle. Gradually however, the situation got out of hand. And Alina didn't want to burden her parents so she stayed silent. The kids were ruthless. They were hiding her books or exchange them with some cheap porn magazines and she wouldn't know, not until her teacher would point it out. They would throw food at her and pretend she was the one at fault. They wood hit her, curse at her, hide her stuff.

The worst of all was that even Sam, the girl who was helping her out during school hours, was part of all this. She was helping them. But Alina never fought back. She never cursed at them, never talked back, she didn't even cry. For her, crying was out of the question. She just endure it all until one day a girl came to her claiming she had a assignment on disabled people that she had to finish so she wouldn't get an F.

And that's how Alina met Stella. Stella, who taught her that its okay to need help, its okay to feel sad and horrible and its okay to cry. Ever since then, high school became easier. No. The bullying didn't stop, but because of Stella, Alina was able to grow as a person.

After they graduated Alina told her parents everything. It was hard. Her mom was hurt deeply and she blamed herself instantly. But Alina knew she had done the right thing.

From then on, life went on normally for her. Of Course being blind was holding her back at times, but she chose not to see it like an obstacle. Instead she was happy for everyday that was given to her.  And for all the lovely people that she had the privilege of calling her family.
She saw nothing but she had everything.

It was nice to think like that.

And now that Stella was in Africa Alina felt lonely more often than before. She'd spent most  hours of the day with Stella and she was practically her only connection to the outside world. Not because she didn't go out by herself, but because she couldn't know what was going on around her without someone to tell her.

Sure, she could hear the voices and the cars and the buzzing of the city but it was different when someone else was with her, when she could ask things and make a conversation. She had some other friends from university but they didn't really know how to act around her. It was really awkward and she felt bad for them. So she tried to make it easier for both sides and just maintain some distance.