Her First Sunset

You don’t know what it feels like when every morning looks the same. When you grow up not knowing what the sun or the sky looks like, not being able to differentiate blue from red. Evylin knew what it felt like because she couldn’t see, she was blind from birth, but she didn’t mind much because her mother was always patient with her.

Her father, not so much. He didn’t want a “dysfunctional” child in his home so he tried to get rid of her many times. The first time he left her, Evylin was five and he told her that they were going to the playground down the street. He left after an hour but she didn’t know, as he told her he was going to get something in the car and drove off without her. 

After a few hours, it started to get dark and she went to look for him but walking blindly around, she found herself at another park halfway across town close to a cemetery. She decided to sit on the slide until he came back because she didn’t think she wandered very far off. It was almost two more hours until she heard a voice next to her. 

“What are you doing here, all alone?” said the voice. 

“I’m waiting for my dad to come back, but I’m not supposed to talk to strangers,” Evylin replied in the direction she thought the voice was coming from.  

“Well,” the voice stated, “I’m Elija. There, we’re not strangers anymore are we?”

“I guess not,” Evylin said.

“Here I’ll help you get back home okay, you seem to be pretty far out. Just tell me where you live.”

“Okay!” replied Evylin, and she told Elija where she lived. 

“Oh, I know where that is, c’mon then, let’s go.” He said as he started to walk off.

Evylin stood up in a hurry and stayed in place not knowing where he went. Elija stopped walking and turned around wondering why the girl still hadn’t followed along. 

“You coming along girlie?” 

“Where did you go? I can’t see you, my mommy said that I have a thing called blindness and it makes every day look like nighttime,” She replied happily.

“Oh, well then follow my voice and I’ll make sure you don’t run into anything alright?” 

“Okay!” Evylin stepped forwards and reached out her hand to grab his but he moved out of the way before she could touch him. She turned her head towards his voice with a questioning expression on his face. 

“You can’t touch me, my hands are too cold,” Elija said. 

“I don’t care if your hands are cold, it would be easier to walk without running into anything if you could guide where I’m going!” She exclaimed with a smile. 

He sighed and told her that she would feel a cold breeze on her hand and to just let the breeze guide her. She agreed and felt a slight chill on her hand pulling her lightly in the direction of her home and Elija told her stories as they walked. 

Evylin’s father kept trying to ditch her but Elija always found her and brought her home. Before it got dark, he would explain what he saw to her, the sky and the grass, the trees and the flowers and when the blue sky filled with stars he would bring her home without her father knowing how she got back. 

By the age of ten, he stopped trying to get rid of her and instead started to hurt her. It was only psychological at first but soon became physical. Her mom would stop most attacks but one day she left and never came back. She couldn’t handle it anymore and left Evylin all alone to fend for herself. 

To escape, she would go to the park down the street, she’s memorized the path there by now, where she would meet Elija and talk for hours. He would explain what he saw, he would be her eyes, and she would tell him about everything that happens in her home. He would always listen and had all the time in the world for her. 

He knew her greatest fear and her biggest dreams, well one single dream in particular, which was to see a sunset. He would always tell her how beautiful it looked and tried his best to explain the colours to her but she would never picture it properly. 

“I wish I could see it, and I especially wish I could see you,” she told him one day while laying on the hills close to the park she was first abandoned at.

“I wish you could see me too” he sadly mumbled under his breath. His voice going unheard by Evylin. 

“You know, I think sometimes that everything would be easier if I just, gave up, and jumped you know?” 

Elija sat up quickly with a shocked look on his face. He turned to face Evylin so quickly it’s a wonder he didn’t get whiplash. She felt a cold chill on her hand and felt a pull upwards. Knowing Elija wanted her to sit up, she slowly got up and turned in the direction of his  voice. 

“Don’t you ever think about that, do you understand me? It’s not worth it, trust me, I would know.” He said in a serious voice. Evylin knew he was being very serious by the tone of his voice even though she couldn’t see his face. 

“Alright, I-” she paused for a second, “wait what do you mean you would know?” she asked concerned.

He sighed, knowing this would happen. He leaned over and whispered in her ear, something that no one but her would ever know. She gasped slightly and immediately latched onto him, grasping him in a gentle hug. He felt her comforting warmth and she felt the usual cold chills spread through her body as it usually did when she would touch him. 

On the day of her seventeenth birthday, she and Elija made a plan, a plan that would finally let her fulfil her dream and be able to see Elija and a sunset all at once. Elija made sure she was okay with the plan once and for all before they made their way up to the roof for a final birthday celebration. He guided her over to the edge and they sat down and waited for the perfect timing. 

“Are you a hundred percent sure you want to do this, Evylin?” 

“Of course. You know this, just tell me when it’s time so we can do this, so I can finally be happy, with you.” She replied with a gentle smile trying to ease his worry.

“Alright, if you’re sure. Only a minute to go then.”

When the minute was up, and Elija finally felt it was time, Evylin felt a chill on her wrist slowly pulling her up and leading her closer to the edge. 

“I suppose this is the end, for now, I’ll see you in a few seconds, my dear,” Elija told Evylin with a teary-eyed smile.

“Yeah, I’ll see you in a few,” She said with an airy laugh and stepped over the edge. 

When Evylin woke up and opened her eyes, she saw a boy leaning over her with a soft smile, an array of mixed colours behind him. She slowly sat up and stared at him and the new colours and shapes around her. 

“Elija?” she asked the boy.

“Yeah, I’m right here,” he said with a laugh, “can you see me?” 

“Yes, I can!” Evylin sobbed out, a huge grin resting on her face. He grabbed her hand hauling her up to her feet and turned her around to see the colours bleeding out in the sky, mixes of purples and blues and pinks and oranges all mixed together. 

She finally got to see a sunset. She turned to give Elija a big hug, but he was one step ahead of her and scooped her up in his arms, and for the first time ever, she felt warm hands instead of the cold chills she usually felt when the ghost boy she fell in love with hugged her.