Bloom

52. blind man in amsterdam

Zephaniah

The Van Gogh Museum was calm. I had expected for it to be too overwhelming for me, but so far, it hadn't been. The area was quite spacious, the floor grey as well as the walls. Lots of lights were up in the ceiling, though, the bright colour hurting my eyes when I looked up slightly. It wasn't too busy today and William had already reserved our tickets, which meant we didn't have to wait in line.

Whilst William and the woman behind the desk scanned them, I stared at a specific wall that had a huge painting of Vincent van Gogh displayed on there, still life of flowers. Some people took photos in front of it, their flashing phones or cameras making my eyes blink a little faster. Haven stood close to me, Norah, Luke, Ittarah, Louis and Abel a little more behind.

"We're not even in the paintings area, but it's already so pretty." Haven sighed a little, looking around herself. "Can you take a photo of me in front of the big painting? If you don't want to, that's totally fine! I can ask Tara or Norah."

I glanced down at her, shaking my head. "I will do it." Just not with the flashlights on. I hoped she wouldn't mind.

"Thanks, Zepho." Haven smiled brightly, jumping up and down a few times when the person in front of us was almost done taking photos. I smiled by myself because of her, biting my upper lip to hide it. Haven was a funny girl, sweet too. Lately I had realised I had been very lucky to call her my friend, even when I still didn't really understand why she considered me one. What did I do when it came to our friendship? "It's my turn!" Haven held onto my wrists as she jumped up again, quickly letting go. "Sorry, I didn't mean to touch you."

"Is okay." I said genuinely, not being bothered by it at this moment. She gave me her phone, I watched her as she stood in front of the painting, her rosy cheeks rounding up a little as she smiled. She was a beautiful girl, naturally. Unknown feelings erupted in my stomach.

I clicked on the right button, observing for more details that could be displayed in the photo. She turned around, I thought she was admiring the painting. Quickly snapping another photo, I viewed them when she stood right beside me.

"Zeph, you're such a good photographer, seriously. Your angle is perfect, Mum or Jude would never." Haven smiled brightly, swiping through her gallery. "Do you want a photo?"

"Oh, no." I blushed a little, awkwardly looking around. "Not so good with photos." I admitted quietly, glancing at her. How were you supposed to pose? To look? To act? I didn't know- I had always disliked photos.

"That's fine, Zeph. If you ever want one, just let me know." She smiled again, peers looking up when William motioned for us to stand closer. I hadn't noticed that Haven had photographed me from behind so now and then, during the trip.

"Alright, tickets are scanned, if you want to follow a guide, you must stand with the woman that has a keychain around her neck. If you want to roam around yourself, feel free to do so! Please beware of the other tourists, be quiet, calm, don't be a bother. Okay? Okay! Let's enjoy ourselves." William smiled, walking inside.

Haven seemed to be really excited, she silently squealed. "If I were you, I would be flapping my hands so hard right now." She blurted out, suddenly looking up with an expression my mind couldn't quite place. "Zeph, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it in a bad way."

I stared at her for a while, she reminded me of Alexander for a brief moment. We had always giggled when I flapped my hands and it had never hurt me. I knew he didn't mean it in a bad way- he had told me that before and I could feel he was genuine. It was the same with Haven, she had told me plenty of times before that I didn't have to hide it, especially not in front of her. She made comments about it, but they weren't hurtful, like the comments I was used to.