The merciful, tender voice disappeared in an instant.
Isiah had faced death multiple times, but the fear of it continued to be horrifying.
He didn't know how much time had passed; the pain was the only thing confirming that he was still alive.
The influence of darkness around him gave the impression of hallucination.
The sense of time had disappeared the moment his body impacted the ground beneath him.
Something kept holding his body still, but it was not gravity, something he refused to believe. He only believed in what he saw.
"Isiah, are you awake? It's taken so long. I feel like something went wrong when I tried to save you," the tender voice pleaded for him to open his eyes.
"Isiah, you don't get to be arrogant like you always do. Just give me a sign," it continued.
Isiah listened to the voice when all he could see was darkness, and he followed it day after day until he woke up feeling a hand touching his, carefully.
"Isiah, you opened your eyes. How are you feeling? Are you okay?"
Isiah listened to the voice and realized he couldn't see the woman next to him.
Now, after all her attempts to wake him up, his mind gave an idea about who she was.
"Miss Adelita, what's happening here!" He tried to control his voice and his reaction.
"Three days ago, you had an incident. A terrible incident in the institution. You fell from the window, from the third floor. It was a huge impact."
Isiah's memory was not clear; he didn't even recall being there for a start. He shook his head then covered his face with his hands.
"Ah... I... I can't see," he trembled.
"What... What are you saying?"
"I can't see... you," he said
"Okay, okay. I kind of thought about such a thing. I told you the impact was huge, and you fell on your back. Do you remember what you were doing before that?"
Even when Miss Adelita tried to cover her frustration about his state, he just noticed the stuttering in her words.
Isiah sat on a comfortable bed, knowing he was not in his house. "The pain is gone. Did you help me?"
"I am not that powerful when it comes to healing magic. I only eased your pain a bit, but that will start the moment my magic is drained."
"Am I in your house?"
"Yes."
Isiah just stopped talking and moved his face away from the sound, as if closing the conversation.
Miss Adelita expected him to say anything; after all, he was just a kid, but he didn't.
She tried to read his expression, but his face remained turned away.
Silence settled between them, heavy and pregnant with unspoken thoughts.
Minutes stretched on, and Miss Adelita struggled with what to say next.
She had seen her fair share of troubled youngsters, but Isiah's situation was unlike any she had encountered before.
Finally, she decided to respect his need for silence.
She reached out and gently patted his hand, a silent reassurance that she was there for him, even if words failed to convey her understanding.
A few days later, Isiah simply woke up and decided to move around as if nothing had happened to him.
He walked carefully, avoiding obstacles, and touched everything to form an idea about the place he was in.
Isiah had never been in this house before, so he didn't know how it looked from the inside and the outside.
That morning, he greeted Miss Adelita with a quick, beautiful smile, asked for her help to guide him outside the house, and sat on the wooden chair she had made years ago to enjoy the look of her small garden.
His breathing was calm, and he listened patiently to everything around him, a side of him that Miss Adelita had never seen before.
She couldn't help but be shocked by his change of heart.
She wondered if he was pretending to be calm just to run away at the right moment. Despite her doubts, all she got from him was a smile and complete ignorance.
He welcomed her hospitality and thanked her for it, expressing gratitude that she was the one who had helped him on the day of the incident.
What she kept seeing was a young man who seemed to have mastered the art of concealing his emotions.
His actions appeared calculated, like a coping mechanism to ignore the pain he was feeling.
Miss Adelita couldn't take it anymore, and after two days of observing his behavior, she decided to confront him during dinner.
She cooked him a healthy meal to boost his body's recovery and ease his pain.
While he was still in a state where he needed daily assistance, at least her mediocre healing abilities had allowed him to walk and move more normally.
"I was waiting for you to be in a good mental state to introduce you to one of my friends for help, but I don't think that you are in a good state right now," she remarked during dinner.
Isiah replied with a smile, "I am recovering slowly, but still, it is progress."
Miss Adelita couldn't hold back any longer. She raised her voice, exclaiming, "Stop it! I've been wanting to tell you this for the past two days… you are being creepy. This isn't you!"
Isiah, seemingly unfazed, retorted, "What are you talking about? I am fine. I just need to do something about my eyes, that's it."
"Well, this isn't exactly how you should react, Isiah," she replied.
"I didn't know that there was a catalog that I should follow!" he said sarcastically.
"A catalog? What's that?" Miss Adelita inquired.
"Don't mind me… just bring the person that you wanted to seek help from."
Isiah finished eating and then went outside to sit alone in her garden, feeling the fresh air on his skin.
He contemplated his next steps. He needed to move forward, despite the challenges.
Learning magic was impossible in his current state, and he knew that complaining about it wouldn't get him anywhere.
Isiah tried to adapt to his new reality, but it was a difficult process.
His senses were not as sharp as they once were, despite years of hunting with his father since he was a child.
He moved cautiously, seeking help when necessary, all while attempting to maintain his composure and escape the grief that threatened to consume him.
His thoughts drifted to the past, to the time when his auntie Rosa had passed away.
His parents had acted as if nothing had happened, and the young Isiah had struggled to understand how to grieve.
Adelita, seeing the turmoil within him, finally asked, "What are you thinking about at this late hour?"
"I want to ascend… no, I need to ascend… I can't survive in this place," Isiah replied.
Adelita attempted to offer some encouragement, "You can't survive in any place, and you already know that your parents' choice will keep you here your whole life. Don't think that it is necessarily a bad thing. You just need to adapt and think about the bright side."
Isiah smirked and responded, "Isn't this a bit silly, talking about the bright side to a blind man?"
Adelita apologized, "I am sorry…"
"Why are you helping me, Adelita?" Isiah interrupted.
"Because you are my student."
Isiah challenged her, "I don't think that this is the reason for helping me… after all, I am Lucas's brother… you want to keep the reason hidden from me, but you should know that you can't hide it forever."
The past days had been tough on Isiah, but he had managed to control himself and everything around him.
Controlling his thoughts in the chaos was basically the first step to controlling his entire existence.
A low knock on the door interrupted their conversation, announcing Adelita's presence to Isiah. He was sitting next to the window, enjoying the warmth of sunlight on his skin.
Adelita, dressed in a blue dress adorned with roses, sat next to him and said, "I see that you like sitting there. Just open the window to have a better experience. The weather is great outside."
Isiah simply asked, "Just tell me that you spoke to your friend about my condition."
"He is not living in this village anymore. He moved to district two. I have to go and pay him a visit," Adelita replied.
Isiah expressed his frustration, "When are you going to do that? It has been three weeks since the incident, and you are not making much effort to contact him."
Adelita urged him to be patient, but Isiah sighed and firmly stated, "I am… believe me… I am."
She attempted to change the conversation, asking, "Do you want me to contact your parents and update them about your state?"
"No… they left, and I don't want to meet them again. Of course, we didn't talk about them all this time, but don't cross the line and call for their help. They are starting over, away from me and away from Lucas," Isiah replied firmly.
Adelita decided to focus on fixing him in her absence.
She obtained permission from the institution and headed to district two, leaving Isiah alone in her garden.
The loneliness began to creep in, and Isiah longed for her company, even though they hadn't spoken much.