– I CAN'T SEE ANYTHING! WHAT IS HAPPENING?!
Midori's screams could be heard all across the installments. A nurse made sure to run as quickly as possible to her room, entering with a rush.
– Who… Who's there? …. Mom? …. Aoi?
The nurse slowly made her way closer to her.
– WHO ARE YOU.
Midori took the first thing that she could feel on the bedside table. She wasn't sure what it was but it felt like a book. She was pointing it everywhere since she couldn't see. Her eyes were blindfolded.
– Stay calm, Miss Midori… —said the nurse, slowly approaching her—.
– Who are you and why do you know my name? What is happening?
The nurse took the book with caution and put it back in the nearest table. She took both of Midori's hands, who from her facial expression, looked nervous. "Can you tell me what is happening?" she asked in a soft tone of voice, trying to calm the anxiety taking hold of her body. The nurse sighed and took the closest chair to sit by her side.
– You had a car accident, Miss Midori… your sight… you lost your sight in the accident.
"What?" was the only thing she could think of. In a quick movement, she brought both her hands to her eyes and felt a soft texture over them, concluding that those were her bandages. Going by her breathing, Midori wanted to cry, but having her eyes blindfolded, her tears were not able to go anywhere. Her hands fell to the bed, as if all the strength in there had banished. The nurse got up and exited the room without another word.
Suddenly, her head started to hurt. She brought both hands to it, squeezing it between them, trying to balance out the pain. In an instant, the memories came rushing back to her.
– A FEW HOURS BEFORE —
Midori sighed and took her backpack from the ground. She looked out the window. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining as bright as ever, the clouds were inexistent and there was a magnificent breeze, strong enough to make her green hair sway in the air. She arranged her hair back behind her ear and made her way to the door. In the hallway one could only hear the conversations of happy students talking about how it was finally summer break. Some would go to the beach, some to another country, but Midori knew she will be spending all summer in her house, dealing with her mom and her shouting. Suddenly she felt something getting on her back.
– Midorinnnn! What're you gonna do in this vacation? Are you going to your grandfather's again?
– Aoi… —she made a small pained expression feeling the other almost over her— I… I don't know.
– No? —she commented, moving to her side— want to come with me? I'll be going to my grandparents' beach house for a while.
Midori looked at her in surprise.
– Really? That sounds fun…
– Right? —Aoi hugged her by the neck— then you should come with me, Midori. You need to stay out of that house.
– I… —she sighed— I know, Aoi… thank you.
Arriving to the exit, Aoi bid her farewell with a smile. Midori promised to give her an answer by the next day. First, she needed to talk to her mother, and that was already hard for her. She sighed again, but this time it was a long one, as if she were getting rid of all the stress it gave her to make her way to her house.
On her way, she found a cafeteria that Aoi frequented a lot. Being there was better than being in her house. She sat down where they always did. The waiter in charge took notice of her. He was always the one to attend them, so he happily made his way to her and asked "The usual?", to which Midori nodded. The waiter did a slight bow before making his way to the kitchen. Midori leaned her head on her hand and looked out the window. She could only see happy people, families, friends. But a family in specific caught her attention. It was a little girl holding the hands of both of her parents, swinging between them. Midori clenched her hand in a fist.
– Tch.
After she finished eating her favorite lemon cake, she paid the bill and got out of the café. Having seen that family made her full of envy. Her blood was boiling in rage. Why couldn't she be like that? Why couldn't she live happily with her parents? All those questions burdened her almost everyday after their separation. Without noticing, she continued to walk into the crosswalk where the traffic light was still green. Only the car wheels could be heard seconds before the impact. Crystals embed themselves in Midori's eyes, who laid on the ground agonizing in pain.
– So that's what happened…
Midori touched again the bandages over her eyes. She felt like she was living in a dream. "My phone…" she thought. She felt around the bed where she could get up.
She leaned on the head of the bed and stood up. She started to feel stunned and dizzy, so she fell back down. With a low growl she tried again, this time managing to stay up. She swallowed down and felt how she started to sweat. She took the first step without knowing where she was stepping. The fear took ahold of her completely. Now she couldn't walk freely because she didn't know where she was going to fall. She bit her lip slightly.
– Calm down, Midori… you… you can do this.
She stumbled upon the chair where the nurse sat down before, and moved her hands around to try and touch it. One of her hands fell in the right armrest. With her other hand she tried to find the back of the chair. Effectively, her backpack was there. Not believing her luck, a smile formed on her lips. She took it and cautiously sat back down on the bed. She opened up all the pockets and slowly felt everything that was inside. After looking around for a while, she was not able to find what she was looking for.
– Where… where is my phone?
She took out all the books and notebooks that were inside. Turned her backpack upside down and shook it, with hopes of hearing something metallic hit the floor. The absence of sound made it clear for Midori that her phone wasn't in her backpack. She kneeled on the bed and started to move around it until she felt both tables besides the bed. Even there she couldn't find her phone, just flower vases and a few books. She hit the table in frustration. "Why does this have to happen to me?" she thought. In that moment she laid back on the bed. She felt a knot in her throat. Took her backpack and hugged it, shrinking around it. She felt alone. No one has gone to visit her. Not even her mother. Without realizing it, she fell asleep.
A ray of light was enough to wake her up. She moved her head to the sides trying to avoid it but the light was too strong. She covered her face with her right hand and felt a shadow covering her eyes.
– … What?
She brought both her hands to her eyes and noticed that the bandages weren't there anymore. She swallowed down and slowly opened up her eyes. She didn't know what was more amazing, that in front of her was what many would call a paradise or that she was seeing with her own eyes. She quickly stood up. Turned around and saw a big tree behind her, seemed like she was leaning down on it. She looked back to the front and noticed the place was full of trees, waterfalls, small mountains and an oasis right in front of her. She walked up to it and kneeled. The water was clear enough for her to see her reflection. She touched her face just to make sure.
– I can see… I can see! But… where am I?
She looked around and she definitely didn't recognize the place where she was. She walked around a bit more and right in front of the waterfall she noticed a masculine figure, of long white hair, seating in a rock next to it. The boy was so dazzling that Midori had to cover her eyes away from the radiance with her hand.
The boy took notice of Midori's presence and they exchanged looks.
TO BE CONTINUED.