Blind Hearted

F

Fluffy

Guest
Original poster
Patrick Zafer had just moved into his new house a day ago. Thanks to the kind movers, he was all settled in with not a single box left unpacked. Where he moved from is a secret, a secret he's forbid himself from sharing with any other person. It was a land of magic, a realm beyond this one. In all honesty, he liked this normal world so much better.

It was especially safe for a man like him. A blind man.

His job was nothing he particularly cared for, but it was going to get him paid, at least. A desk was set up in the spare bedroom, where he would work as a customer service employee with the use of a headset and computer. The keyboard was specially made for people like him, so he'd know where all the proper keys were. All in all, it was a simple job. If he made any errors in the system, the computer would recognize them and speak aloud to make the correction. These advances in technology never ceased to amaze him.

For today, he didn't have to work. Patrick got himself dressed in a black t-shirt, some jeans and a gray zip up sweatshirt that typically had the hood hiding his blond hair. He loathed not knowing what colours looked like, but his family assured him that no matter what he wore, there would be an attractive combination. All he could do is trust their words.

A pair of dark glasses were slid on to hide his blind eyes and then he located his white cane that would help him find his way to the front door. It was unlocked, opened, closed, then relocked before he pocketed his house key. Patrick decided to go for a nice walk through the neighbourhood today.
 


Rebecca Moyar tugged her blue t-shirt over her head, her short bob of curls popping out as she shuffled through her closet for a pair of skinny jeans. Her parents were gone for the day, her father at work and her mother running errans downtown. Usually she'd be alright with this but lately it started to annoy her. Ever since her friends had shipped themselves far away to colleges all over the place, her social life went from top notch to dead.

When her other friends where blessed with parents that each brought home the bacon, she was raised in a family where only one did, her mother having been raised to stay in the kitchen. She never disliked it until it keep her locked away in this tiny town, force to go to community college and get bored to tears as they retaught her the basics when she already knew.

Luckily, there were no classes today leaving Rebecca to spend it with her loyal dog, Rodger, who was currently whineing at her bedroom door. She couldn't help but smiled as she sipped up her jeans and opened it, petting her friendly canine and heading toward the stairs.

"Come on boy, let's take a walk." She said as Rodger trotted down the stairs and sat at the front door, waiting for her to slip on her shoes and grab his leash. She clicked it onto his collar before grabbing her keys from the table and opening the door. She closed and locked it behind her quickly as Rodger circled her, twisting her legs up in his leash. With a grunt and jump, Rebecca slipped from her pets leash and started to head down the street, mostly being dragged along by her egar pet.

They came to a corner when Rodger suddenly started to bark and tug harshly on the leash.

"Hey now, hold on Rodger!"

Rebecca tried to keep hold but was eventually pulled down to the ground by Rodger who pulled from her grip and darted down the street, pouncing on a blind man and licking at his face.

 
The barking of a dog didn't alert Patrick very much. That's what dogs did: make lots of noise. Therefore, he abandoned all thoughts about this dog and assumed its owner had it behind a fence, or on a leash.

To his surprise, this dog had escaped whatever might have been keeping it contained. A weight jumped on his body, sending him backwards so his back hit the sidewalk. Sadly, Patrick wasn't the toughest man around. Since he was blind and relied in magic for defense, he never spent time working out his muscles. The poor man was getting licked by this little beast, but at least he wasn't getting bit.

The hand not hanging onto his walking stick reached up to the furry animal that was sitting on him. It found the dog's head, his nails scratching its scalp with hopes to calm it. Patrick admitted, he was in some pain right now. His back slammed pretty roughly against the solid surface, but thankfully, his head didn't take any damage.

"He-Hello? Anyone own this dog?" he asked out loud, a bit shyly.
 
Rebecca slowly pulled herself up from the ground, slightly sore from the force of the fall. She looked up and noticed her dog currently sitting on top of a man, a blind man in fact. A look of horror past over her face as she quickly bolted up from the ground and over to the two.

"Oh god, Rodger get off of him! I am soo sorry! I lost his leash and he just got away from me. Are you okay? He didn't hurt you did he?"

She asked quickly as she grabbed her pets leash and collar at the same time and tugged him off the poor man, Rodger whining a bit as he was pulled away from the hand that was scratching his head. She pulled him to the side before moving over to the blind man and placing her hand on his arm gently.

"I'm really really sorry about this...he get's excited whenever he sees people on his walks. Here, let me help you up."
 
Relief swept over him when he heard a woman's voice. Obviously this was her pet, since she was apologizing for this dog that tackled him to the ground. "I'll live. It's okay," he answered her, making a chuckle. Worst has happened to him; he'd be able to recover from a simple fall. There was some red in his cheeks because he felt embarrassed for getting pushed over by such a common creature. Since he was blind, unfortunately, he was prone to so many more accidents.

Patrick felt her hands around his arm so she could help him up. "Thank you very much. That's kind of you," he told her as he sat up, grunting as he did so. It didn't hurt as much as he expected it would, luckily.

As she helped him off the sidewalk, he used his stick to feel around for anyone else that might be passing through. Hopefully, this wasn't a busy neighbourhood of people he'd be inconveniencing. Using this woman as support, he was able to get back on his feet in no time.

"Thanks for introducing yourself, Rodger," he said with a small smile, a hand pulling the hood back over his head. It was a very shy habit of his, but he felt comfortable this way.
 
Rodger barked at him as he heard his name, the egar mutt trotting back over and pawing at the man's leg. Rebecca reached out with a free hand and scratched her pets head before giving him a playful shover.

"Hey, we don't need you knocking him over again, keep your paws to yourself." She said in a teasing voice to her pet, who simply just barked back at her.

Rebecca looked back to him, not minding if he used her for support since it was her dog who knocked him over in the first place. She only pulled back when he was back on his feet and sturdy, then quickly snatching up her dogs leash once more and holding on to it very tightly in hopes of preventing a repeat of the accident.

"It's my fault you ended up on the ground, it's the least I can do...If you don't mind me asking, are you the new neighbour in the area?"
 
Now that he was adjusted properly, he pushed a finger to the center of his glasses so they wouldn't slide any farther down his nose. These weren't cheap, so he wanted to be sure they were safe. At least, he was certain they weren't cheap. All of his equipment was paid for by somebody else, but he had a feeling it all cost quite a bit of money.

"Oh, yes. I just moved into that...I think it's a light blue house?" he answered. Now that his thoughts were shaken up, he couldn't remember what the saleswoman told him the colour of the house was.

Since she asked, he felt it safe to assume that she lived here as well. He looked down at the ground sheepishly, his hand reaching out so she could hold it, and shake it to establish a more formal greeting. If he wanted to make friends with the people around here, he'd have to step out of his comfort zone and introduce himself.

"My name is Patrick, by the way. What's yours?"

Patrick wished he could see what she looked like. Was she a teenager? An adult? What colour was her hair? All these questions would likely freak her out, though. That was most certainly not what he wanted to do. Later on, maybe, when she got comfortable around him, he'd be allowed to ask such questions.
 
Rebecca smiled as she took her free hand and shook his happily, glad she was able to talk to someone other than her lovely dog, Rodger. Though he was get to cuddle with he defiantely wasn't much of a conversationalist.

"It's a pleasure Patrick, I'm Rebecca. I actually live sort of close to your house I think, just around the corner in fact." She said before pulling her hand back. "Oh, and it is light blue, I happened to see the moving truck when I was walking Rodger here the otherday. I hope you're adjusting well, not getting to bored with this dull place or anything."

She couldn't help babbling a bit as she introduced herself, she always did when she met new people, she felt the need to keep out any awkward silences that could happen. On top of that she felt had had already started out with a bad introduction thanks to her loving mutt and her nervousness at not wanting to offen him took over a bit. She could feel her cheeks heat up as she bit her lip slightly, she never was good at keep her cool at times like this.
 
It was probably a good thing she pulled her own hand away. Patrick liked to hold hands with others since it helped him get a feel for how their skin must look. Being guided hand in hand with someone was also more pleasant than depending on this tool he always had. There was somebody to trust; somebody to hold on to.

"Good to meet you too, Rebecca," he replied, making a friendly smile. "I'm not bored yet. I think I'll like it here. It seems much more peaceful than my old neighbourhood."

It was nice to be talking with someone, instead of wandering aimlessly on his own. Being attacked by her dog reminded him that he should look into getting a guide dog. Patrick liked to explore places and since this was a world of normal people, he couldn't just outright use his powers. With a dog, he'd be able to cross the streets more safely, plus get to where he needed without fail.

Of course, there was the off chance a hole was ripped into their reality. At that point, there was no question about whether or not he should use his magic.

"If...you don't mind..." he began to say, making half a smile. "Could you tell me where exactly I'm going?"
 
Rebecca seemed to gather her cool a bit more as he replyed to her, the fact that she wouldn't be the sole contributor to the conversation helping ease her usual urge to talk none stop. She nodded her head as he spoke, then remeber that he couldn't see and quickly started to talk when he was done.

"Ah, well I'm glad at least you fine it entertaining enough. Anyway, you are currently heading into a semi-dead end in the road. If you turn left you'll be heading toward town and busier streets, If you turn right you'll be heading to the lake and park where it is quite most of the time and only really used by the dog walkers...Oh, and my house is in that direction."

She smiled as she spoke, glad to be helpful to him and get him adjusted to his new surroundings. When she was done she gave Rodger's leash a gentle tug to make him get up once again, he had laided down on the sidewalk once Rebecca had started to babble off to Patrick
 
Hopefully, these directions she gave him would sink into his memory. Thus far, going to the park she mentioned was his preferred destination, if not just return to his home. Memorizing this route seemed important, though. Since that tranquil scenery was close by, he'll probably visit it a lot.

"That's helpful, thank you. Are those dogs usually calm, or will they attack me like your fellow did?"

Patrick made a small smile. That was yet another reason having a dog would be useful to him. His guide dog would be able to shield him from those unexpected pounces! "Sorry that I keep asking questions. You just... You seem very nice," he told her sheepishly. It's not like he'd be able to ask any other strangers. People either treated him awkwardly, or he didn't feel comfortable just pulling a person over to interrogate them.
 
Rebecca laughed a bit as she pet Rodger's head, the dog having sensed that he was being talked about and making a soft bark to show he was listening now.

"Oh no, they are much calmer than Old Rodger here so you don't have to worry."

Rebecca blushed a bit as he called her nice, the small complement still meaning a good deal to her since it was rare to here such things from strangers these days.

"It's no problem, I don't mind helping you out. It's a lot less boring than just wasting away in my house that is for sure...Hey would you like to accompany Rodger and I to the park? I mean, I probably should let him burn some steam for awhile and that way you'd know the path to go...unless you don't want to, I mean I'd understand..."

Rebecca started to lose her cool once again and start to fill the silent void with the sound of her voice, it more of a nervous mumble since she didn't want to pressure him or anything.
 
Patrick was sort of hoping she'd offer to walk with him. Anti-social as he was, he truly didn't want to be alone all of the time. Women in the past felt burdened by his disability, while his old buddies from school moved on to better things, so they had no time for him. All that left him with was family, which he still felt grateful for. It meant that no matter what, there was at least one person he could still turn to.

"I think that's a good idea," he answered, not minding her flow of speech. From the sound of it, she felt afraid about messing up opportunities with people and didn't want to be forceful with her suggestions. Patrick could deal with that.

The blind man felt around the sidewalk with his white stick before taking some steps forward. "If I head the wrong way, don't hesitate pulling me in the right direction. I don't bite," he said with a chuckle. It didn't take long for Patrick to warm up to this girl. Even if he didn't know what she looked like, he got positive vibes from her. Plus, her voice was wonderful. She sounded healthy, and even like she might be a good singer.

'I wonder if she'd read me stories.'
 
Rebecca smiled with relief as he accepted and started to walk, making sure to keep a tight hold on Rodger and keep a slow enough pace so she didn't lose Patrick. She was glad to finally have some human company to talk to while she walked her dog, it was much more lonesome when she did it by herself and it left her to wander in her thoughts which she often got to deep into and forgot what she was doing.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure you don't wander into oncoming traffic. I'll just have to try and no get dragged off by Rodger here." She said as her dog once again started to almost drag her along the ground.

She walked slowly, passing her house once again as she lead the way to the park. She turned and looked at him, a smile on her face as she spoke.

"So, what's your story? Did you move for the heck or it or did you have another reason?" She asked as Rodger finally slowed to their pace, making it so she could actually relax as she walked.
 
"He must be one strong doggy," he commented, chuckling again. Rodger must have escaped from the leash quite often since she seemed worried about him dragging her off. If not that, they were just developing some sort of humour. Patrick enjoyed inside jokes and the like.

As he strolled beside her, he listened to the sounds of the neighbourhood. It was quite peaceful with the chirping of birds, people sweeping their patios and gentle breezes that ruffled leaves. Patrick wouldn't mind spending the rest of his life here, with some visits to a big city once in a while. That was a good sounding lifestyle, indeed.

"Just needed to get away from the chaos of my old home," he replied. "I feel much safer here."

The sounds of dogs got closer as did the footsteps of people. Patrick's footsteps slowed in response, his shoulder unintentionally touching with Rebecca's. He made an apologetic look before asking, "How about you? Have you lived here long?
 
Rebecca smiled and didn't mind that he bumped into her, it was bound to happen at one point or another. She went silent as she thought about his question. She shouldn't have to really think about it but she felt the need to, that was just how she was.

"Well, I've been here my whole life...I've never really left either..."

Rebecca looked to the sky after she answered, a small sigh passing her lips as she continued on at her slow pace with him, Rodger having made himself busy with trotting along the concrete path and sniffing at every tree before quickly pulling her along to the next one.

"I honestly wish there was more to say on that."
 
Patrick was curious to know why she made such a long pause before giving such a simple answer. It was when she said she wished she had more to add to her words that he understood. He came from someplace else, so there was plenty to tell. For her, though... Not so much. Still, he smiled, and showed interest in her.

"S'cool. I'm sure there's more to say. Like, if you have brothers and sisters, if you work anywhere, what school's you've done to..." His words got quieter and soon, he just fell silent. He didn't want to make a long list of possibilities with the hidden message that he wanted to learn more about her.

Noticing they were now at the park, Patrick began to feel around for a bench to sit at. He much preferred to sit so he wasn't in the way of walkers and joggers. It was also nice to just relax on something, not to mention safer. "Holler if you see a bench," he told her in a meek voice. That was in case he wasn't searching on the right side.
 
Rebecca smiled a bit as she noticed him getting softer as he started making a list. It was nice for someone to take an interest, even if there wasn't much for them to take interest in. She grabbed his sleeve and tugged on him a bit in the direction of an empty bench off to the right.

"Here, there is a free on this way." She said as she stopped in front of it and flopped down, reaching over to Rodger's collar and freeing from the leash.

With an egar bark Rodger trotted over to the nearest shaded spot and polped right down into the grass, laying his head down as he rolled over and over again in the dirt.

"Anyway, I don't have any siblings, I am currently working nowhere, and I am attending classes at the community college downtown. Anything else you'd like to know?" She said with a small giggle.
 
Patrick sat down beside her, making a sigh of relief as he did so. There was something he really liked about sitting at a park bench. He liked to listen to all the sounds of the park, and try to imagine what kinds of people passed by him. Since he didn't know adjectives too well by sight, it could be fun to guess.

He nodded and smiled at she gave the very brief answers to implied questions. "I don't envy you. Siblings can be a handful, and working is...well, it's work," he said with a sheepish chuckle. "You have a major in mind for college?"

They were all simple questions she probably has heard thousands of times, but he truly was interested. Patrick didn't care to share much of his own life with people, so distracting them with themselves helped avoid it.

"Tell me anything that comes to mind. I... I'd even like to hear what you look like."
 
Rebecca smiled as she looked over the park, enjoying the peace and quiet, as well as the company of her new neighbour, Patrick. She looked over to him as she rested her hands behind her head and leaned back against the old creaky wood.

"Well, not really, I mean...I'm sort of interested in culinary major, but I also want to maybe get an english major and become an author..." She said as she crossed her legs.

When he asked how she looked she was slightly surprised, usually because most people didn't think much of her apperance anyway. She looked down at herself and then back to him.

"There really isn't much to how I look, I'm actually rather dull when it comes to appearances and such, my wardrobe isn't any better either. I just have short curly hair, I'm shorter than you by a little bit, and people tell me that have an average figure, nothing really special honestly."