? Wingless And Beautiful
Episode 3
I didn’t know where it would take me, but I didn’t
really care. For the first time, I was enjoying the rays of the sun against my skin and the refreshing breath of nature.
I could hear the birds chirping somewhere from a distance.
The orchard was surrounded by very tall trees and the path
was covered by dried leaves and flowers.
I looked at the sky. It was light blue… clear and serene.
And I felt a sense of peace within me. Here… it felt safe.
Like nothing could touch me… or hurt me. Not even my
nightmares.
I continued walking, admiring the scenery around me.
Then all of a sudden, I collided into something solid. I shrieked.
I was afraid that the impact was going to cause
me to fall flat on my butt. But for some reason, I felt
something envelop me, keeping me warm, and preventing
my fall.
I stared up at what I collided into, which was still holding
me close.
I found myself staring at a pair of sunglasses. It took me
a moment to realize that it was a boy. His skin was light and
flawless. His jaw was strong and his nose was perfect. Only
when he raised a brow and gave me a look of annoyance
that I realized I had been staring.
“Geez,” he said. “The last time I checked, I was the one
who’s blind.” I heard the trace of anger and frustration in his
smooth voice.
He settled me on my feet and I pulled away from him.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I wasn’t… looking.”
“Neither was I,” he muttered. “But unlike you… I didn’t
really have a choice.”
“What…” I started asking. Then I remembered him
saying something about being blind. “Oh. You’re… blind?” I
asked.
He raised a brow again. “And you’re deaf?”
Okay. He’s arrogant too!
But as he went down on his knees to feel the ground for
the walking stick that he dropped when he collided into me.
I couldn’t help feeling sorry for him. I immediately bent
down and reached for the stick to help him.
“Don’t!” he said in a sharp voice.
I stopped and stared at him. He looked like he was
staring back at me under those sleek sports sunglasses of
his. But I know he couldn’t really see me.
“I was just… trying… to help,” I stammered.
“I don’t need your help,” he said in the cockiest tone I
had ever heard in months.
He was the first person to ever snap at me in almost a
year.
After that tragic night, everybody spoke to me gently,
sympathetically, I could almost always hear the pity tears in
their voices.
I had this sudden urge to cripple this guy, but then I
stopped myself. Losing your sight is one of the worst things that can happen to anyone.
He touched the ground again and finally he felt the stick
in his hand. He stood up and started walking slowly. He
walked past me, dismissing me.
I watched him. He looked sure of what he was doing, like
he had the path memorized at the back of his mind. I saw him take a turn towards the right and I got curious.
I kept my distance as I followed him.
The trees on the new path were much closer to each
other and the branches almost closed over the sky.
Only a couple of rays of sunlight were able to make it through the grounds. And then, I saw that the path led to a beautiful lake.
The place was magnificent and quiet. It was like an
entirely different world out there. I couldn’t help feeling at peace. The place was so serene; it felt almost ethereal.
I continued walking, enjoying the sight around me.
Suddenly, I collided into a solid surface again. I realized that the boy had stopped walking, and I closed the distance between us because I was no longer watching where I was going.
“Well, hello, clumsy!” he muttered.
“So-sorry,” I murmured.
He turned around to face me. “Why are you even
following me?”
“I wasn’t,” I said defensively.
“Hello, liar!”
“Okay… I was curious,” I admitted. “I mean… why would
somebody like you stray so far from the center?”
“Somebody like me?” he echoed, and his voice sounded
like he really found that offensive. Then he replied, “So I would not be bothered by somebody like you.”
I sighed.
This guy sounded like he hated it if somebody pointed out or even mentioned his condition. But he couldn’t deny that. He was blind. How could he be brave enough to go as far as this place without somebody looking out for him?
“I didn’t mean to offend you,” I said. “But… well,
shouldn’t somebody be looking out for you? You could get
lost or you could trip over something.”
He didn’t speak for a while. But when he spoke, his
voice sounded serious. “I don’t need anybody. I’ll be just…fine.” There was emphasis on the last word.
“Alright,” I said. Then I turned to the line of trees in front of us.
A few feet away, I saw a bench and a wooden table. It
was right there in the center of the woods, in the middle of
the trees, facing the lake. I walked past the guy and went to
the bench. I heard a groan behind me.
“Can you… go back to where you came from?” he asked.
“Nope,” I replied. “Why? It’s beautiful out here.”
“And now you’ve ruined it!” he muttered.
I turned back to him and started glaring. I knew he
couldn’t see me anyway so I could make faces all I wanted.
Just then, I saw his lips curve into a small grin. “You’re
glaring, aren’t you?” he asked.
My eyes widened.
I had to wave my hand in front of me to check if he really couldn’t see. But his head didn’t move at all. He just stood there, smirking.
“And now you’re waving your hand in front of me to
check if I couldn’t really see,” he said. He sighed, “Well, I
wish!”
“How in the—”
“I just know,” he replied, not letting me finish my
question. He walked slowly towards the bench.
Then he sat down slowly, placing his walking stick in front of him. I sat down beside him and stared at the swans swimming in front of us.
I’ve always thought that swans were regal creatures—
beautiful and magnificent.
“You’re not going to leave, are you?” he asked.
The place was too peaceful and it provided the comfort I
didn’t even know I was looking for. And also… suddenly, I
didn’t feel like leaving him behind. What if something
happened to him and no one found him?
“Nope,” I replied.
He let out a sigh of frustration.
I groaned. “Come on! You can just ignore me. I won’t
talk. It’s not like you can see me, anyway!”
The second that left my mouth I regretted it.
Nice shot, Alice! That was really sensitive! And not
mean at all!
“I’m… I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” he said, to my surprise. “It’s not like it isn’t true, you know. And it’s not your fault I am like this.”
I bit my lower lip. I kept quiet this time. I directed my
attention to the swans in front of us.
“How many are they?” he asked.
I counted the swans in my head. I could feel my heart
slightly breaking for him. He came here—in this little piece
of heaven—and he didn’t even see the magnificent view
before him, and the wonderful creatures that played in front
of him.
“Six,” I replied.
He nodded slightly.
“Did you know what they are?”
He nodded again. “I’ve always admired them.
I grew up in my family’s lake house and we always had swans. Back then, I didn’t care how beautiful they were.
Had I known my time to admire their beauty was limited, I would have stopped at least one minute every day just to look at them.”
When I heard him say that, I felt like he was not just
talking about the swans anymore; he was talking about life in general. And I have to say I feel exactly the same.
I thought I had a lot of time too.
I thought that life was
going to be as perfect as it always had been. I thought I
would always have the things that I didn’t worry about
losing before.
Now… they were just mere memories. And no
matter how much I tried… how hard I prayed… I could never
get them back.
“So what’s wrong with you?” he asked, interrupting my
thoughts.
“What?” I asked back.
“Okay, I think I know what,” he said, smirking.
It took me a moment to realize that he was actually
joking.
I looked at his face and it was the first time that I realized how handsome he was. His skin was smooth,
flawless. His hair, the darkest shade of blond, it actually
looked light brown.
He has these aristocratic features that made him look angelic and devilish at the same time.
“I’m not deaf,” I finally said to him. “And I’m not from
here.”
“So what brought you to the world of the freaks if
nothing’s wrong with you?”
My lips curved into a smile. He was not the only one
with a sense of humor so I said, “I actually escaped from an institution that houses dangerously insane individuals. I haven’t $laughtered anyone in a long time and I’m just…
dying for a kill right now. I thought CRC is a good place to
look for a prey.”
He turned towards my direction. I expected him to run
away or wave his walking stick towards me as a means to
defend himself. But, instead, he raised his hands in the air
and said, “Go ahead. Knock yourself out.”
He was either calling my bluff or he just didn’t care
about his life anymore.
“I was kidding, you know,” I said.
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