BOGUS BLINDS
The headwind, the warm sun, the lake smell, lovely evening, wondering if there's really a creator, then evening is it's masterpiece. I love to blend in to this masterpiece at this moment. Take me whole, dear evening, Four enjoying the evening on the lakefront bench while recording own voice in to the recorder. Four used to carry a walkman to record his poetry.
And while Four adorning the beauty of the evening from the bench, a hand from nowhere groping Four's face all over.
'Hey, there's a human here, why can't you see?' Four was little irritated.
'Sorry human, I wish to see you, but I can’t’ a voice from back stumbled Four.
'Oh sorry, I should have understood that' Four moved a couple of foot. 'Please sit here' Four greeted.
'Sorry for the trouble human' the same voice.
Four laughed, 'Am Four, not four year old, obviously' Four thought it was fun.
'I heard a voice and I thought you were sitting on the other side and... Am Eight' Eight replied.
'Ha-ha that was my walkman, hearing my own recordings'.
Both began to resume themselves, found an awkward silence between,
And Eight revived the conversation, 'So, how's the evening, Four?'
'Evening, its windy, warm, smelly, and lovely' Four answered with a smile.
'That's poetic’ Eight said, ‘but tell me something that I can't feel' Eight muttered to self.
'I heard that, but I told all the things that reached my senses' giggled Four.
'wait Four, you can't see?’
'No Eight, I can't. They say, I lost my vision when I was three to a fire accident'.
Again a silence, soon Eight relieved from the shock asking ‘So, you remember the colors?’.
‘Not really, I never think about that, I never felt the need of it, until I started learning poetry’
‘You write? Really?’
‘No, I record’ both smiled to it.
‘Tell me Eight, how’s your evening?’
‘Very dull, am not an evening lover, but I have to wait for someone. So, I chose this bench’
‘Dull? Wait’ Four tried to connect one ear of the headphone to Eight’s ears.
‘What’s this?’ Eight exclaimed.
‘Headphones, just listen to my poetry’ Four added the other earpiece to self.
The silence again, both ears conflated in the silence to hear the poetry, ‘twas evening’ Four added.
And the recording started, both closed their eyes,
“The Zephyr blows, every hour”
Right before the voice cuts, a soft breeze strikes their face with it’s untouched aroma, Eight smiled. After half a minute,
“The Birds chirp, every half minute”
And even this time, birds started the nature’s orchestra. It was going like a pre-planned wedding. Four used to the evenings, all these years.
“The water splash, not so often”
And lake didn’t respond, it was like a pause, but four managed to kick a stone to the lake to emotionize the poem. Four giggled without Eight’s notice.
“And the sun shoots, every second”
As the sharp sun relieved from the clouds for the evening treasure.
“And the beauty seals, every day”
And it all happened instant, the sun rays, the soft breeze, the birds chirp, the water splash, Four gave the vision to Eight, ‘Wow, the evening. Is this a masterpiece of god’ Eight said in a dramatic way.
‘Yes, it is indeed. Am really jealous of those who can able to see this masterpiece everyday’ Four got emotional.
‘Some people will get jealous of you, because you’re so close to the masterpiece even without seeing it’ Eight tried to convince Four.
And again an bizarre silence…
‘Can we walk?’ Eight asked.
‘Sure, but don’t grope me’ both laughed.
And after that evening, Four and Eight become so close that they met the masterpiece together for weeks. And a typical evening,
‘Eight, I recorded a poem for you’ Four said to Eight when walking on the lake front.
‘Let’s hear together Four’.
It says,
‘The Evening sun, glows your face, and the lake too.
The Masterpiece, is the evening lake or the beauty face”
‘Beauty face? How certain are you Four?’
‘I saw that you’re beautiful, we don’t need eyes to see, really’
‘Crazy human’ Eight laughed.
‘Yes, am getting crazy about missing the beauties of life. I want to see you Eight, not for poesy, but for love’
Eight didn’t reply. After a deep silence,
‘Ok Four, I saved money for my vision. I don’t think I feel the same way as you feel for me. But I want you to see, the evening and my beauty face’ Eight mean it.
Four was so happy to hear that, ‘Even am saving for my vision back, but am way behind. I think I will get the fund in 6 months, seriously Eight, I can wait’.
‘You know Four, someone told me that “Vision interrupt the heart often”. I know you, not for a long time, but I want to know whether your love remains even after your vision. I want to know, whether you care for me, whether you truly care for me’, that was emotional speech by Eight.
‘Ok Eight, deal. Six months, I will give you vision. Vision for vision’
They both laughed at each other.
And after a month, Four got a donor and doctors believed that Four can regain a vision back. And the surgery dates were fixed and both were excited. Needless to say the Four’s excitement, jumping with enthusiasm. Joy is irrelevant to age, once at peak, everyone’s a mere child.
And the day came,
Four stepped on the hospital, with holding Eight’s hand on left and walkman on right. And Eight asked the hospital to give four the post-surgery bed near the window with a lake view. And they accepted to provide.
The intense surgery went really well, the next two days Four missed the evening. And the evening of vision came, Four opened the eyes, so shiny, so bright. And the first hour were intolerable, but soon four saw outside, the lake. ‘Wow, it’s really beautiful than I ever imagined’ said to self. Then saw everyone, the doctors and the fellow patients and everyone.
‘Where’s Eight?’ ask curiously.
And Eight came in. Eight was so beautiful to four. Four just saw 20 persons in the last ten minutes, only 20 faces in the whole life. But Eight was so divine to four.
‘How do I look Four?’ Eight asked enthusiastically,
‘Wow, now am certain, that the beauty face is the masterpiece. You look amazingly beautiful’ Four said with joyful tears.
The walls, the colors, the sky, everything Four read before clearly mingled in to the senses. All the poems were clear and looked even beautiful now.
And Four turned the face toward the huge mirror on the right to see the face. The pool of joy, drowned Four. The face stumbled Four, The right side of the face, totally burnt. Yes, it was rough to Four’s senses before but never knew that it was hideous. Four didn’t speak a single word.
‘Still frozen in my beauty Four’ Eight asked with a giggle.
But was frozen with the ugly display, shocked even more to see the burnt right hand that raised uncertainty of self, breathing in and out heavily and said ‘Thanks Eight’.
It wasn’t the way four expected, ‘No Thanks between us, take care. We’ll meet soon on an evening’ Eight left with pure happiness.
And in the night at the hospital, Four wailing ‘Am not this face, am not’ kept on repeating the same line over and over. And the doctors convinced Four without telling anything to Eight, and few days after discharge, they met again near the same lake.
And that evening was so great for both of them, Four cared Eight in a way that even the queen will get jealous of Eight. And everyday the care and love increased, it goes beyond the limit. Soon Eight started to feel comfort with Four. Eight’s interest to see Four increased dramatically day by day. The situation becoming so different for Four, day by day. The peoples at the lake got afraid when Four walks by, some shout, some yell, some curse, kids afraid and dogs bark. Sound isn’t very new for Four, but with vision, Four could recognize that it was at the own vile face.
And the months passed, the love never lose its shine, not even a bit.
While walking on the evening,
‘In a week, we’ll be walking with four eyes and thousand hues’ Eight was so happy at that moment.
Four lost the esteem, not the love. And was afraid of the own look. ‘What is Eight loathed my face like the other people?’ questioning self, thousand times.
And managed to say ‘Am really excited Eight, all the wait, all the shades are waiting to greet you’.
‘Yes Four, you know you made me so special. Am wrong, vision didn’t changed you. It adorned you, I think I started to have feelings for you, I think I….’
‘No, Eight. Please hold the words. Tell me everything, when you got your vision.’
‘Sure Four, Surprise me on that day, coz I have a surprise for you’ smiled Eight.
‘I will Eight, I will’ Heart wailed, I don’t know whether I am the one for you. What happen if we walk on the streets, people might say badly about you, because of me. Because of how I look. What happens if you start to hate me after your vision, what happen if you hate me after some years, I don’t want to ruin your life Eight, I don’t think am not the one who deserves you, Four wailed inside.
And the day of vision came, Four guided Eight to the theatre, and waited outside. Fortunately, Eight’s eye defect was curable with transplantation and the intense surgery, it helped Eight to regain the vision. And it took a week to get the partial vision and Four took a great care for Eight’s recovery. The evening of vision came,
‘Am going to open my eyes, please ready with your surprise Four’ Eight’s ecstasy at the peak.
But the recorded voice started to play,
‘Hey Eight, I can’t be with you when you open your eyes. But do remember that my love is true and I don’t think I deserve to be with you always’ Four’s voice stopped.
Tears parted the lids, Eight was so terrified and asked about Four. They said, Four left an hour before. The Ecstasy turned in to agony. The Recovery days were so hard for Eight, desperately wanted to go to the lake to find Four.
After a week, both facing the dreaded situation. The beautiful evenings turned to gray. Even after a month, Eight used to come to the lake bench and cry until dusk. Four used to watch that from a distance, wanted Eight to move on with life. Both were stuck, the more Four wanted to mingle with the peoples, the more people see abnormal, everyone loathed Four. Lost all the esteem, decided not to meet Eight and want to move on somewhere. But Eight was so persistent.
They never thought that their wish will become their ultimate curse. World is beautiful without the sense of vision, both felt the same, everyday.
And a month later, Eight was broken completely. Four sense that, Eight needs care at this extreme point. Four wanted to meet her, but afraid of own looks and the sound of the society hurdled the esteem and love. Thought that Eight will move on and Four desperately wanted to share the real truth behind the absence, so that Eight can get a chance to relieve and as a token of apology.
Four recorded everything hoping to say, and seeing Eight at the bench with the dull face. Placed the first foot toward Eight, and a dog barked at the face. Sighed and the desperation yielded several steps, and eventually reached Eight.
4: Hey, I see you crying for several days, in fact for a long time. Eight didn’t even lifted the head up, still wailing.
8: Who are you?
4: Am…. When Four tried to say the name, Eight lifted head to see the hideous. And got terrified and felt threatened. Eight rose up from the bench,
8: What you want?
It happened, Eight was afraid to even see my face. Knowing this Four changed the tone of voice.
4: No, nothing. I thought you are waiting for someone. After saying this, Four inserted the hands in to the pockets to revive the walkman. But Eight was stumbled with the voice and took several steps away from Four and even jogged away in turmoil.
Doomed and voiceless Four. The Heaviness of the heart burden its total existence. The Sun, lost all its glory to the thunder. All the dreams, the evening gave guides the way to the dark abyss. Four never felt this much darkness even when blind. The darkness, the sun hides behind the dark clouds, the pure silence. The pure silence for several minutes, nothing in Four’s mind.
And in the pure silence, thunder strikes hard, Four looked at the sky and the next thunder strikes the lake followed by a heavy splash of water. Four dived in to collide with the thunder, and the rain orchestrates the farewell.
The people soon gathered, but it was gone few weeks before, now the poor body too.
On the way to home, Eight was drowning in the feelings, remembered the first touch, that grooving. Eight felt that moment, felt four’s skin, it was rough on one side and pure soft on the other. Eight remembered. And the monster, eight met a few minutes before came in to mind, Eight remembered the hands of the monster, it was burned too. Four never give the right hand, usually carry walkman with.
Oh my god, what I have done. Eight clearly getting the idea, why Four left soon after I got the eyes. I will never care about you Four, I love you, I need you. Eight ran toward the bench, to see the walkman. And the people gathered took a body of someone out from the lake.
Eight, ‘No, no. Please Four’ yelled at the people and ran toward to see the body. Yes, it’s Four. And accidentally the voice began to play,
“Sorry Eight, I thought I can’t able to give a happy life to you, visionful life to you. I restricted myself from you, I can never forget you, and I see that you can never forget me too. Am sorry for leaving you, the next time I leave is, for my death”
Eight stumbled on the path, the rain, the pain. Clouds mourned Four’s loss, so as Eight. Rain and tears.
“When Vision interrupts the heart, love become bogus. In love, vision is the blind”
Login with Facebook
