the stories of other people

the things that she could no longer see

“What are you looking at?” Vanessa spoke lightly.

The sound of silence soothed the pair as they rested comfortably on the bench, with Rentyv staring up at the dark - almost indigo - sky, transfixed in the moment, like there was the only two of them and nobody else to bother them.

Vanessa was initially greeted with no reply. She was about to repeat until his voice perked up. “The sky is unnaturally blue.”

She curiously turned her head at his direction, even though she couldn’t see him.

“What do you mean?”

“It's so blue. Almost like someone flew up and painted it.”

Thinking that he was slightly lost in his world, the woman smiled, finding warmth in Rentyv’s comments. “Is that really how it looks like?”

Pause.

“I wish you can see it.” There was a sudden tremor in Rentyv’s voice. “I wish you can see the sky.”

Vanessa was now prone to using her hearing, and she could her all sorts of emotion in that one sentence. Misery. Regret. Pure anguish. All sudden and out of the blue.

“...Is that all? You want me to have my sight back, for the sky?”

Poor boy, she had thought.

Vanessa, to be put shortly, felt grief for him. She was one with the disability, yes, but she had expected it - it was genetic, after all. Rentyv didn't. He was the one with the devastation.

Rentyv nodded. Then he clenched his teeth, inwardly wincing.  “No. That's not the only reason.” He choked up, his eyes turning misty.

“Then why?” Vanessa barely had any idea how they ended up on a sensitive topic, but no point to change the subject now.

There was a long moment of silence between the two. Vanessa almost thought he had walked away quietly.

I wouldn't know, anyway.

“I…” She raised her head slightly, perking up to hear him.

“I want… I want you to... to see me when I tell you how much I care for you. How much I would give up for you. I want you to see that I'm sincere and genuine and that I cherish you so much-”

His voice broke, along with her heart.

Vanessa felt a rush of sadness and love for the boy.

He's like a child who had completely crumbled in the face of his world in distress.

Confessions of love are supposed to be wonderful, happy, romantic, and something out of a fairytale. Especially if the receiver feels the same way.

Nothing about Rentyv’s confession made either of them feel a sense of happiness.

It simply reminded Vanessa that this was the pain he had to carry after finding out about her disability. This is the pain he is still carrying, even though it was not his fault, nor could it have ever been.

“I love you so much. I want you to be okay.” There were many pauses in his words, him needing to stop crying mindlessly to form coherent sentences.

She felt a gush of devotion, overlapping with the need to soothe him, to tell him everything is okay.

After a few attempts, she manages to embrace him properly, his head buried in her neck. “It's alright. I'm perfectly okay. I'm sorry, it’s okay.” If she repeats that enough, it might be true.

Rentyv’s muffled crying stops. “I love you.” There were many other ways he could have said that, but he couldn’t think of any. The simple three words told everything, regardless. 

“I love you too,” she mumbled absent-mindedly, grazing her fingers through his hair.

They stayed like that for a while - in an embrace, sitting on the bench, not saying a word.

____

this story is the absolute first of mine.

if you are interested about this story, here's an explanation about these characters!

rentyv laiken and vanessa marlow are childhood friends. it was a very slow relationship, but they have grown to care about each other very much, yet neither expressed their feelings. Vanessa has a form of glaucoma, which basically, worsens your vision. vanessa is now fully blind, something nobody saw coming. this is the aftermath.

thank you for reading this! i'm very excited if i have any more of them to show as i have fleshed out both Vanessa Marlow and Rentyv Laiken (and others from their story) extensively.

larkin ♡

instagram- @takaisbestboy