Beeeeep... Beeeeeep.... Beeeeeep...
I groaned, hopelessly trying to open my eyes and see the white walls and concrete-hard beds of the hospital. I'd been here one too many times, that I was sure of. I heard a door slowly open, and pushed myself up as fast as I could, readying my fists for impact.
"Relax, Jack, it's only me."
I recognised the voice and lazily slumped onto my back, yelping with the pain. Nurse Whylemoore was the only nurse that bothered to talk to me. She knew I was shy, and knew how much I was bullied. She was practically my only friend, aside from my imaginary one, who I called 'Me no nai', or 'Eyeless'. I never knew why. He told me he was Eyeless, and from that day, I've called him 'Me no nai'. No further explanation on the matter.
"Jack, I have some bad news..." Nurse Whylemoore paused for a second, and I could sense her golden-brown eyes tracing my form. "When we found you, you had no eyes. We don't know what happened, but recovering even one is impossible. There was no trace of a suspect, just old Marie-Jane, poor dear almost had a heart attack seeing you like that. What happened, Jack?"
I shrugged. I wasn't much of a talker at the time. Not really one now, but I was even worse back then. Now that I think about it, I was unusually calm about the whole situation. I know some people who would claw at themselves and scream if confronted with the news of their organs being mysteriously stolen.
"Now, Jack, this of course means you're blind, but we've hired a kind-looking girl to take care of you. Are you okay with that?"
I grumbled a bit, but nodded. If I was going to live eyeless, I'd better not mess it up and embarass myself without trying. As if on cue, the door opened. Gentle feet padded into the room, and a soft voice filled the air.
"Jack Burūmasuku, right?"
I nodded slowly in the direction I was facing, and the odd feeling of a bandage tied around my eyesockets was strange. I guess this was how I'd live my life. Blind, wondering if it was all a sick joke. The girl's cheery tone disgusted me. How could she be so casually optomistic in such a situation?
"I'm Julie Macabre, but just Julie to you. Is he ready to go, Winter?"
Nurse Whylemoore nodded at the mention of her name. I could hear the creaking of a wheelchair, and felt soft arms around my waist. I snuggled into Winter's shoulder for a split second, straightening up as she dropped me gently into the wheelchair. I moaned in protest, mumbling for her to carry me.
"Jack, no. You're nineteen, you can walk."
I pouted and crossed my arms, my greyish skin making me look a bit like an actual duck. Julie spluttered a bit, but I could sense Winter giving her the 'Don't-Encourage-Childish-Behaviour' look. I was so used to that look - the way she scrunched up her nose and widened her eyes so far that you thought they'd pop right out if you so much as squeezed her.
"Fiiiiine. But I'm tiii-reeeed!" I groaned, my deepish-growl of a voice slightly startling Julie.
"Don't worry about Jack here. He's all bark, no bite, eh, Jackie?"
I grumbled at the nickname. Winter knew me since I was a baby, and she'd always call me 'Jackie-JoJo'. It got kinda embarrassing when I turned 13, even more so when I turned 18. "Well, you'll get a bite right on your pretty little hand if you don't stop calling me Jackie." I growled.
Winter laughed, but Julie shreiked slightly, confusion clouding her voice.
"He has an unusual sense of humour. The kind where he intimidates you in a casual way."
I felt cold hands hold the back of my wheelchair.
"Bye, Winter!"
"Cheers, Julie!"
And with that, I left the only familiarity I had since my plunge into darkness.
(Burūmasuku means Blue-mask)
