Before Jonathan rang the doorbell, he checked on the flowers if they were alright.
On his way to the apartment, he passed a flower shop and saw a beautiful bouquet.
His mind immediately thought about her and he simply bought it.
Kind of shy to admit it, he tried his best to look more presentable, not like the time when they went for coffee.
Today, he wanted to impress her a little bit, so he spent a little bit longer in his bedroom.
It took him around an hour to find the perfect outfit and he was glad he woke up early.
What he wore were dark blue jeans, a white shirt and over it a blazer, not too fancy and not too casual.
Nervously, he was thinking to ring now or a little bit later.
„Am I too early or am I supposed to be punctual?“, he thought to himself.
Normally, he should have come at around 12:30, but he arrived at 12:15.
He was worried that on his way to the apartment, a few consequences could occur.
For example, he wouldn’t find her home, the bus would have technical issues or would be late.
So he arrived earlier than usual.
Not sure why he got tense, he just took his phone out and put on selfie mode.
„Hair check, outfit check and again flowers check.“, he muttered to himself.
Then he remembered, she is actually blind.
Feeling stupid for forgetting this important fact, he just facepalmed.
Because of that, he forgot that he was actually anxious and got confident.
He told himself that she wouldn’t judge him by his appearance, only by his behaviour.
With this thought, he started to get nervous again.
To calm down, he took deep breaths, hoping his fear would disappear.
As he managed to settle down, he decided to ring the doorbell.
For a few seconds, nothing happened until something was to be heard.
Jonathan heard a few footsteps, coming closer and closer until the door got open.
The moment he saw her, his heart was beating crazy again.
When Rachel opened the door, Jonathan immediately got by the beautiful smell of the cooked food greeted.
As she saw him, she immediately smiled and got happy.
Excited, she welcomed him and let him into her home.
The guest couldn’t help but admire her apartment.
It was a little bit smaller than his, but more welcoming and brighter compared to his.
All the walls were painted white, the living room had modern furniture and she has more shelves than him, completely filled with books.
Then a sudden thought appeared.
He remembered, that she used to read a lot, which was actually her favourite hobby.
Meanwhile, he was admiring her home, and Rachel was busy cooking the last dish.
Actually, she told him to come over and just try a recipe from a friend.
Well, that was an excuse.
The main reason she invited him over was, to just show her cooking skills and impress him a little bit.
She even woke a little bit earlier to just prepare lunch and make her dishes perfect.
When the final dish was done cooking, she tried her best to put it on a plate.
Just like the other dishes, she luckily managed to fill the others up, feeling proud.
It didn’t mind her at all if it wasn’t beautifully platted.
What was important was, how the food tasted and she was hoping they were delicious.
As she was done putting all the food on their certain plates, it was time to put them on the table and she started slowly with one dish.
With one hand, Rachel took a plate and with the other hand, she was holding the cane.
Since she got used to doing that, she didn’t have difficulties on transferring the food to the table.
During the plating, Jonathan was busy looking around her home.
He actually wanted to assist her, but he couldn’t help and explore her entire apartment.
The more he looks around, the more new things he sees and learns about her.
For him, it feels like he gets to see another side of Rachel.
Sure, they text a lot and talk about various things, but it is different if you visit someone and see what their home is like.
He didn’t expect to see a few plants since she never mentioned about watering them.
She only told him she would work, cook, clean her home and listen to music.
Watering plants, no.
Reading books, she used to do.
He was even surprised how she got these unique decorations or this limited edition book.
But mostly from all the things he has seen, he was wondering where these beautiful photographs and paintings come from.
He realized that this was the only white wall with these images hung.
It really seemed like, it was intentional.
He stood there, admiring the entire wall, not knowing she was behind him.
When she was done putting the food on the dining table, she noticed he wasn’t near her.
So she was searching for him and luckily her apartment wasn’t that big.
As she found him, she decided to be near him and let him stare at the illustrations.
Now, these two were standing in front of, what she calls it „art wall“.
He liked all the images, but mostly this specific painting that made him calm.
Jonathan knew she was next to her, but he didn’t say anything.
He can’t stop staring at this unique painting and without looking away from it, he asked her where she got all these astonishing illustrations.
„I made them“, she answered, still staring at the wall.
On the outside he looked like the answer was understandable, but on the inside, he was really confused.
„But how?“
Instead of letting his mind go further, he decided to be brave and ask her.
„How did you make them?“, shyly he asked, kind of regretting what he said.
He was afraid to hurt her feelings and disturb her privacy, but Rachel she didn’t feel attacked at all.
Actually, the moment she heard that question, she felt relieved, it was like, she was waiting for this moment.
Instead of answering his question, she decided to start her story.
„I did them a long time ago. That was the time before I turned blind.“