Blinded

I danced with someone… no… something.

I don’t know why I did it. Maybe it was the way the forest hummed to us. Or how the moon shone so brightly, lighting only the grove we swayed in. Perhaps it was how the leaves seemed to join in as they twirled around us. Or maybe the real reason was because I saw the look of adventure in his… no, its eyes.

I’ve never been one to stray from the thrills and dangers of life. That’s probably the reason I didn’t care how he looked when I spent all night dancing under the twinkling stars. He, sorry, it was nothing like I’ve ever seen. Tall and skinny, to the point where you could locate every single bone in its’ body. Charcoal colored slime dripped off of it, revealing ice cold blue eyes underneath. Hundreds and hundreds of eyes. Blinking at me, staring at me. It was a creature that should be feared-- instead I showed reverence to it. Not everyone was blessed with looks. I found it brave how it pranced around without caring what anyone thought. Well, that was until I found out how much of a coward it was.

The second my sister came running out from the tree line, it bolted, leaving me confused and covered in sticky black goop.

“Macy! Macy!” My sister yells waving an envelope around.

“What is it?” I ask, irritation rising in my throat.

“Are you mad at me?” Her excitement vanishes as she stares at the ground.

“Oh no! No, I would never be mad at you. You see…” I rub the back of my neck. I’m mad at that stupid creature, but I can’t tell you about it because you’ll think I’m crazy. “A tree slapped me.”

“What?” She blinks at me.

“I was walking, and I tried to move a limb out of the way and instead of moving it slammed right into my face! Now I’m mad at that stupid tree!” I reenact the scene I made up and earn a small smile from my sister.

“Oh, well, you won’t have to worry about trees anymore!” She jumps up, her excitement coming back.

“What do you mean?”

“Your resume got accepted. You now work for the royal family!”

“Really!?”

“Yes, really! Now come on! We have to pack your bags. You leave tomorrow.” She takes off running.

I step back, trying to get some momentum before I break off in a sprint, and my foot collides into something small and fragile.

I lift my leg. Underneath lies seven years of bad luck.

“That’s just perfect.” I sigh.

“I remember…” I trail off. “I remember you…”

“My face is on some of the currency, so I sure hope you remember me.”

“No, last night, we danced.”

“I’ve never danced in my life.” He walks towards the window. “Mother, are you sure she is capable of being a caretaker?”

“Dear, I know you aren’t fond of someone taking care of you, but trust me, it’s in your best interest.” A beautiful woman covered in jewels states. “Even if you can take care of yourself, it’s good to have someone to socialize with. Make a new friend.”

“I don’t need to socialize, nor do I need friends.” He says, frustration poisoning his words.

The woman sighs. “Son, I’m not dealing with this. She is your new caretaker, and she will take care of you.”

“Not for long…” I hear him mumble.

“Don’t mind him. Anyways, Macy, this is Prince Warren. He’s blind so you need to always keep an eye on him. Warren, this is Macy, your new caretaker.” With that she turns on her heels and walks out the door, leaving me alone with a stubborn prince.

“So…do you have any hobbies?” I ask, trying to break the tension.

He turns and stares at me. Well, I think he’s staring at me. It’s hard to tell due to the lacy white blindfold that covers his eyes.

“Get out.” He snaps in my direction causing his sandy blond hair to sway.

“No, thank you.” I walk over to him, curiosity taking control of me. “Why do you wear the blindfold?”

He looks away.

“None of your business.”

This series of events happened all throughout the night. I asked him questions, trying to get to know him better. He would dodge said questions. I would get frustrated and refrain from saying some choice words that would surely get me fired. Until I finally got tired and resigned to my new bedchambers.

The room was shades of red and gold I’d never seen before. Jewels from kingdoms I’d never been to embedded the walls, forming imagery of delicate flora. A bed draped in silk awaited me.

I’m dreaming. I think to myself. There’s no way this is real.

I have to pinch my arm to convince myself that I’m still alive and not currently at heaven’s gates.

I walk over to the wardrobe and swing open the doors of every little girl’s dreams. Pinks, creams, blues, violets, and every color of the rainbow greets me. I choose a peachy colored night gown and put it on. I pick up my old dress and something solid catches my attention.

I rummage through the pockets until I stumble upon the small broken mirror I found yesterday in the forest.

I laugh. Mostly at myself. How could I be so stupid? In a kingdom full of superstition I bring a broken mirror, a carrier of bad luck, into the home of the royal family. It’s one giant slap across the cheek.

I take a closer look at the mirror. The same flora design that is on the walls rests in the frame of the mirror. I move the object closer to my face, peering into the cracks.

Why would the creature carry this?

A small fizzing noise permeates the air around me. I look around wondering where it came from.

“Boo.”

My heart breaks the world record for the highest jump. Before I can scream, iridescent milky-white hands cover my mouth.

“Sorry for scaring you.”

The reason for my heart attack comes into view. A woman possessing no eyes, no mouth, no implications of a face waves to me.

“I’m here to show you something that’s broken.”

She doesn’t allow me to respond, to nod, to do anything before she’s waving her arms around. I peer into the mirror and notice my reflection doesn’t look back at me. Instead, it’s a young boy with sandy blond hair. The reflection starts to warp and jump out from its containment in the mirror. It surrounds us until we are part of it.

Two boys chasing each other comes into view.

“They did everything together.” The woman from the mirror narrates.

The scene shifts from the boys chasing each other to doing basic activities, like cooking, school, and even sleeping.

“They were inseparable. Until one of them got sick.”

The boy with brown hair starts to cough. His tired red eyes stare off into the distance.

“He wasn’t strong enough.”

Six men dressed in black carry a casket while the boy with sandy blond hair grabs one of their legs, begging them to bring the other boy back to life.

“The grief consumed him.”

Mornings turn to nights, and the sandy blond-haired boy doesn’t leave the confinements of his room. He wails, throws things, sits in silence, does anything except confront the grief staining him.

“His loved ones tried to console him, but nothing worked.”

The beautiful woman from earlier, but a lot more youthful looking, hugs the boy. A man with eyes of coal begs the boy to open up. The boy pushes them all away.

“Tired of the feeling of sadness, he came to me.”

The boy sneaks out of the castle and finds the iridescent woman that’s currently narrating his story. He pleads with her to take away the pain carving into his heart. She agrees to but warns him not to be mad with the results. He says he doesn’t care anymore. She waves her hand and the boy splits in two. One side blinded by grief, the other deaf from the thrill of adventure.

“He’s two people in one. A person at a constant tug of war with who he truly is. In the light he’s a depressed loner, afraid of anything outside the castle’s grounds. In the dark he’s a creature of sensations, willing to do anything no matter how dangerous it is.”

Warren stands before me, half boy, half monster. His eyes are the coldest, saddest shade of blue I’ve ever seen. I find myself wondering if that’s why he covers them.

He starts breaking. Tears roll down his face and his knees buckle. The entire environment around me cracks until I’m once again standing in my bedazzled bedchamber.

“How do I help him?” I spin and face the cause of Warren’s split personality.

“Reunite their souls.” She grabs the mirror from my hand. “The mind forgets, but the body… oh the body always remembers.”

The mirror shatters and so does the formless woman.

I run.

The people with the brightest smiles know the most pain. Those who hurt know how to hide, they’ve been doing it their entire lives. Grief is a concept that hugs the bones. Once you experience it, there is never a going back. It’s welded into your very existence, always creeping up on you at the worst times.

A boy who has been tortured by a monster named Grief lies before me. His face contorted in unfathomable pain. Sandy blond hair sticks to his forehead. Tremors control his body. The worst part of it all is the small pleading whimpers that barely escape his lips.

“Warren!” I cry, shaking his shoulders. “Please! you have to wake up.”

My pleas are answered as he flies upright. He’s looking around frantically, despite not being able to see anything.

“Are you okay?” I ask.

“What are you doing in my room?!” He lashes out.

“I know how to break your curse!”

His eyes drift in the direction of my voice and confusion contorts his face.

“What curse?”

I think I’ve been slapped across the cheek a thousand times. I think the sun just died and the moon dropped from the sky. He doesn’t know about his own curse. This poor, poor boy. Tormented by grief. Not being able to see anything except the color of darkness.

He needs to see the light.

“The curse of your stubbornness.” I grab his wrist and usher him to the window. “I know how to cure it.”

“Let go. Where are you taking me?” He throws his arms around trying to break free of my hold.

“To the light.”

“You’re going to kill me?!”

“What? No… I’m taking you outside… drama queen.” I whisper that last part.

He stops.

His face pales and his ice blue eyes widen in horror.

“Warren?”

“I can’t go outside….” He takes a step back. “No, no I can’t go out there.”

“Why?”

“Because the air will kill me!” He looks at me like I’m stupid.

“What are you talking about?” I ask.

“It killed him. So, it will kill me.”

I laugh.

“Why are you laughing?” He looks genuinely offended.

“The air isn’t going to kill you.”

The look of mistrust sours his expression.

I grab his hand. “I would never do you or anyone else harm. I just really need show you something.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Fine.” I drop his hand. “If I go outside and it doesn’t kill me, will you go?”

“No.”

I sigh and walk over to the window.

He looks like he hasn’t been outside in years. His skin is a sickly pale color. His hair dull and void of the sun’s warmth.

I open the window and fresh air swarms the room.

“What are you doing?!” He yells. Anger makes a home on his face but is quickly evicted as the soothing breeze moves in instead. For the first time Warren seems at peace. His face and posture relax. He looks away. “I’ll go outside, but only for a minute.”

My face beams with happiness. I grab his arm and drag him to the windowsill.

“Prepare yourself.” I say as I throw the window open and practically push both of us outside. Then we’re running through the royal garden. Until I stop the both of us in front of a fountain carved from the finest stone. A woman of rock stands tall as she pours water from a pitcher into a giant bowl.

“Okay, are you ready?” I ask.

“Ready for what?”

I take hold of his hand and bring it to rest around my waist. His other arm positioned with mine so that our hands are entwined. I wrap my free hand around his neck.

“Wha-what are you doing?” He stutters, his face turning a lovely shade of red.

“We’re dancing.”

I slowly guide us into an easy sway, nothing like what the creature and I did that night. The wind is a conductor guiding a makeshift orchestra. The trees are the violinists, strumming a chord of notes. The bees are the flutists, humming a distant sound. The flowers are the audience basking in the show that is us.

Warren is looking somewhere past my head with a wide smile spread across his face. His pink cheeks are like a rose against the purest snow. He’s happy, something I’m sure feels foreign to him.

“Spin me.” I say.

I twirl around and trip on an uneven brick. I throw my foot in the air knocking Warren back. A loud splash sounds behind me.

“Oh, my goodness! Are you okay?”

The sweetest sound fills the air as Warren breaks into a fit of laughter. He tries to stand but falls backwards instead.

“Here, I’ll help.” I smother the laugh forming in my throat.

I step into the fountain. I wade over to where Warren is sitting and try to help him up, but to no avail. I end up slipping and crashing into the cool water.

He laughs at me.

“What?” I ask.

“Nothing.” He replies.

Without thinking, I splash him.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking. I-“

A waterfall of water meets my face. Warren’s laughter causes me to start laughing as we declare war on each other.

By the time we’re finished with our spontaneous battle, the sun is getting ready for a long sleep.

Warren stares in the direction of the giant star.

“I can see it…” He notes.

“See what?” I ask.

“The sun.”

“How? I thought you were blind?”

“I am. I couldn’t see anything but darkness. Well, except the tiny sliver of light that was always in the corner of my vision. I always wondered if it would grow.” He turns and looks at me. “Now I don’t have to wonder anymore.”

The sun drops. The moon rises. And Warren transforms into a monster.

The creature had run off and it took me a while to find him in the cellar.

It lays slouched against a brick wall; a bottle of wine clutched in its hand. My blood begins to boil. This isn’t the Warren I had just seen. This Warren is different. He’s lazy and deaf to everyone because he’d rather do things his own way.

I walk over to him and grab the bottle resting between his fingers. He stares up at me with curiosity. Red liquid runs down the bricks, dances between my fingers as I slam the bottle against the wall, causing it to spill its contents.

The creature stands and the curiosity in his eyes turns to adventure. The same look I saw when I first met it.

I throw the half-broken bottle and push the creature causing him to crash into the ground. The creature’s eyes find a distant friend they never knew they had: fear.

“How dare you!” I scream.

The creature stares up at me trembling. Like a loud noise its never heard before rings in its ears. It can hear me. Perfect. My plan is working.

“Your best friend died, and you’ve never grieved for him once!”

He closes his many eyes.

“You’re a disappointment.” I whisper.

A blinding swirl of light and darkness envelops the room. Then it disperses. Warren lies on the ground whole, and no longer a monster. I fall to my knees and brush his sandy blond hair from his forehead. That’s when I notice the tips have turned to a deep ebony color. His skin also doesn’t look so sickly.

I shake him.

He blinks open his eyes and throws his arms around me.

“Thank you.” He whispers.

“For what?” I ask.

“For showing me how to see and teaching me how to hear.” He smiles. “I was blinded by reason and deaf by responsibility. And now I’m whole because of you.”

“No problem.” I return his smile with one of my own.

I try to get up.

“Please don’t leave me, yet.” He begs. He hugs me tighter, like he’s scared that if he lets go the world would come crashing in on him and he would wake from a dream.

“I won’t.” I promise.

“Good, because I’m scared of what will happen to my mind if you aren’t there to console it.”

A boy blinded by grief now sees light in the sadness. And a boy deaf by thrills and sensations now sees the darkness in the excitement.