Before saying anything, I just want to start by saying that I’m blind, as in, completely. I have lacked sight since I was born and I suppose I never understood the problem. People would always say how much of a shame it was that I was unable to see the world around me, but until recently it was never an issue. I suppose never having something in the first place means you’re incapable of ever missing it, I can’t lie and say I was never curious about what seeing was like, but I can’t say I was ever saddened.
That all changed several nights ago.
I go out rarely, normally staying in, but I decided to treat myself one night and go to a restaurant about a mile away from my apartment. I collected my white cane and trotted outward to the place. I had been there a few times before and knew the ten block area around my apartment like the back of my hand so there was no issue getting there.
The place isn’t anything special, just a local steakhouse that I happen to like the baked potatoes of, but the experience of going out by myself is always something I cherish. The food a good, I had nice conversations with people around me, and it was an overall pleasant evening, but then I went to go home. As a part of my route, I would travel by an alleyway that was a bit away from the restaurant. I’d never had trouble with it before that night.
While passing by I stopped for a moment, a quiet but evident sound was coming from deeper in the alley. I did not know what was in it so I dared not go in, I rather stayed outside of it, leaning in with an ear out. The sound was clear to me at that point, a wet sound of piercing and a hushed whimper, I realised in that moment it was a sound I had only heard in movies and shows, someone was being stabbed.
I went to hurry myself, quiet as I could be to try and run, that was until I heard the sound of a heavy object hitting the ground, like a bag of meat being dropped, and then a yell. I heard footsteps loudly slamming in my direction and I flinched away as a reaction, hitting the ground ass first and putting my hands up.
“Hey, you!!!” the voice yelled “You weren’t supposed to see tha-” the man yelling cut off his sentence, picking up my white cane from the ground.
“Oh… ohohoho, you’re blind,” I was silent in response.
I could feel the wind on my face, it was something I recognized, he was waving his hand in front of my eyes to gauge my vision, and I flinched with a second or so delay.
“My my,” the man said, “what a unique opportunity I find myself with.”
Suddenly I felt two strong around grip around my own, lifting me, then placing me on my feet. I felt him placing my cane back in my hand.
“Wha-what are you doing?” I said, confused beyond belief.
“I want to walk you home, Is that so wrong?” I heard a twist to his tongue, something strange, something inhuman, I felt his hand run across my browridge.
I heard him step, then I felt a push against my back, I stumbled forward.
“Now walk,” he said bluntly, emotionlessly.
I started to walk timidly, I could hear the loud, confident steps of the man beside me. I walked slowly, I was trying to collect my bearings, but the entire situation threw off my internal GPS, I had no clue where I was.
I suddenly heard metal dropping, sharp, hard.
“Oops, sorry,” I sensed the man bending over, “Dropped the knife,” he said, Once again his voice had that inhuman tone to it.
“Why are you doing this, why don’t you kill me, why?” I said, trying to hold in my tears.
I heard nothing but the silence of his steps next to mine. The city seemed silent for once. It was as if every car, bird, horn, voice, everything was quiet, nothing was making noise except for my heart, and the man next to me.
It was only a few minutes until I reached my apartment building. I went to unlock the door, but I heard nothing behind or beside me, I thought for once I was alone. My heart lowered itself and a sense of pure relief drifted over me.
This sense of pure joy and happiness was sharply cut but a feeling, the feeling of a hand on my back and on my shoulder and the hot breath of words on my ear. I didn’t understand anything that he said, my brain was in a system shock that I only recovered from long enough to hear the last words.
“Have a good night stranger.”
I almost passed out as I heard footsteps finally leaving behind me.