The Blind Man

ONE

Jae Ripper sat down in his living room and allowed the rays of sun to warm his body through the window. A bird's sweet melody soon filled his ears. He mimicked the song with a quick whistle and the bird answered him; this brought a smile to his face. He loved sitting near the large window and listening to the sound of nature. It was one thing that never ceased to calm him.

His heart was heavy with him trying to remember what the warm light used to look like. He was even starting to forget what color was. Even the image of a tree was starting to vanish away; was it the trunk that was green and the leaves brown or was it the other way around? He hated himself for letting little things like this slip his mind, but he couldn't help it.

It's been over ten years since he had last seen something other than darkness. He was even starting to forget what he himself looked like. Sometimes he would run his hand over his face trying to capture an image of the man he had so easily forgotten. Thinking on these things made his loneliness grow, and he knew he shouldn't dwell on it. But how can you not dwell on something that had taken away everything you once held close?

"Rosie," He called out. Immediately, he felt his Seeing Eye dog's wet nose on his hand. He smiled and grabbed her leash.

"Outside."

Standing from his seat, Jae followed Rosie to the door, felt for the nob and opened it. The warm summer air hit him just as a cool breeze came through. Rosie pulled him out onto the porch and to the steps where he usually sat in the mornings. He would always sit here and wait for his friend Luis.

Luis had acted as caregiver to Jae since day one. Always helping him with reading letters, paying bills, driving around town, washing clothes and many other things. He would sometimes even cook and clean the house for him, but Jae always tried to do as much as he could by himself.

Oh how he missed his independence.

Soon Jae heard the wheels of Luis's car on the gravel drive and in moments the car engine died in front of him. "Hey man," Luis said while exiting his car.

"Hey bro," They hugged. "How's Cristal?" Jae asked

He had always had a tender spot for Luis's girlfriend. She was very caring and always smelt like pie. Though he had never laid eyes on her, he knew she was gorgeous by the sound of her smooth voice.

"She's good. She made you an apple pie. I picked up some ice cream to go with it."

Jae's mouth began watering. Cristal had a chef's heart in the kitchen. "Sounds great, let's eat."

Luis chuckled, a sound that was low and bouncy. "It's only ten o'clock, have you even eaten breakfast yet?"

Jae smirked. "You know I have. I had some bacon and eggs."

"It amazes me how you can do that without getting burned. I get burned with sight, I'm surprised your house hasn't gone up in flames yet."

Jae laughed. But both men knew how hard it was for Jae to get to the point of cooking for himself. There had been many tears, burns and cuts as Jae refused to let all his independence leave with his sight. Some of Jae's hardest battles had been in the kitchen, but nothing is impossible; that's a fact Jae always kept fresh in his mind.

Once they were inside, Jae found one of the dinning chairs and sat down while Rosie rested at his feet. He listened as Luis moved around the room. "Was there any mail today?" Jae asked.

"No. I guess no news is good news though." He said gently.

Jae smiled. "I guess it is. Todays Friday right?"

"Sure is...which reminds me, Cristal and I are going out of town for the weekend, so I can't come tomorrow or Sunday. Is that okay?" Luis sounded unsure of himself.

"Of course it is. I'm glad y'all are finally taking that vacation."

When Luis spoke his tone was more confident. "Yeah, she's been on my back about it for a while. We're leaving tonight."

"Where are you going?"

"Up to the mountains, it's nice up there this time of year. At least that's what she says."

Jae laughed. "I'd tell you to take some pictures for me, but...."

"Jae, don't make jokes like that," Luis scolded him.

Jae loved making him feel guilty. "I know, I'm just messing with ya."

"Very funny." Jae could picture Luis rolling his eyes. "You have the weirdest sense of humor."

"Well, at least that's one sense I haven't lost." Jae laughed and Luis finally joined in.

"Have you fed Rosie?"

"Yeah, I did that at six this morning."

"Man, why do you get up so early? You should sleep in. What's wrong with you?"

"I've just never been one to sleep in."

Jae wasn't going to tell him that it was really the endless silence that kept him awake. How since his hearing was so much stronger he could hear the house settling under the pressure of the night air and the wind blowing through the cracks in the attic roof. He hated living out here where there was no one but him. Kentucky was a beautiful place but it was too quiet. He couldn't sleep long either when all he saw all day and night was darkness.

"Just so you know, I went ahead and paid all the bills for this month so you're good until next time. While the pie is warming up, I'm going to go start a load of clothes. Do you need anything?'

"No, I'm going to go out to the barn."

"Okay. One more thing though. Do you want me to get someone to come check on you tomorrow and Sunday while we're gone? Just until I get back?"

"No way. I can handle myself for two short days."

"You sure?" Luis sounded concerned.

"I'll be fine. I promise."

There was a long pause before his voice reached Jae's ears again.

"Okay, but don't do anything stupid while we're gone." He joked.

"Just shut up and go wash my clothes."

They shared a laugh and Jae stood as he heard Luis walk away.

Jae told Rosie where he wanted to go and in a few minutes they were at the barn door. They walked in and the smell of rotten hay and old wood filled his nose. Rosie led him to the back and he found his small desk in the corner.

He sat down and as always his heart grew heavy at the feel of the box he was pulling out. Once it was opened he pulled out the only thing that lay inside. It was the one thing he had wanted to see ever since he lost his sight.