Light In The Darkness

"Hey, watch where-oh, shit, I'm sorry," a voice said. It came from the body I had just walked into. Really, it wasn’t my fault, it was probably his. It's not like I could see where I was going. I regained my balance and turned to face the voice. I gasped. I blinked, not that that normally does any good, but the light remained. In the darkness that is my world, there is never any light. Except now. There was a silvery light emitting from the person in front of me. "Um..." the voice said and I frowned and turned away.
"Sorry," I mumbled, even though it was not my fault.
"No, I wasn’t watching where I was going," the low voice said. I nodded. I wasn’t sure if the person was still standing in front of me, but from the silver shine coming from in front of me, I guessed he was.
"Excuse me," I said and then walked passed him. I continued walking, with my heart in my throat. I had seen...something. After years of not seeing, I had seen...a person? A light? I shook my head. But I couldn’t see anything...I was blind. But I had seen him. Well, I'd seen something...

As I walked down the high street I felt eyes on me, but I'm used to that. The curious glances I get from people that cause the hair on the back of my neck to rise. But this...this was different. This gaze was intense; it caused my heart to race. I stopped walking and turned around, not that I would find anything. But I did. A few steps behind me was the silver presence. I turned back around again, as though I didn't know this person was following me and continued walking. I continued counting my steps until I reached 296 and I felt for the door to the cafe. I found the handle and went into the familiar shop. I walked towards the counter. "Hey, Lauren," a familiar voice said in front of me and I smiled.
"Hey, Les," I smiled. "Tall hot chocolate?"
"Coming up, I'll bring it over to you, when it's done," he said and took my hand and led me to an empty table.
"Thanks," I smiled.
"Anytime, honey," he said and I could hear his smile.

I sat down and sighed as I thought over what had happened outside. I briefly wondered if whether I took my sunglasses of if the shine would have been brighter... I heard the door open behind me and I heard Les greet whoever just came in. "Morning," the voice said and my heart skipped a beat. It was him, the silver man. I turned my head towards the voice and sure enough, there wast he silver form. "Grande mocha, drink in," the voice said and Les said told him it would be ready in a second. Then I heard the chair across from me scrape across the floor and the silver presence was sitting right in front of me.
"Can I help you?" I asked but got no reply.
"Hot chocolate, and a mocha," Les said as two mugs were set down on the table.
"Thanks, Les," I smiled, but I didn't know if he'd already gone. I turned to the silver presence again. "What do you want?"
"Are you really blind?" he asked and I flinched.
"What the hell kind of question is that?" I asked him angrily.
"You walked around me in the street, after looking at me in shock, like you could see me, then you looked right at me when I was walking behind you on the street, and you knew where I was when I was walking across the cafe," he said and I swallowed. My throat was suddenly dry and I reached for my drink. I found both mugs and then I felt a warm hand on mine, guiding it to the right mug.
"Thank you," I said weakly and sipped my drink before answering him. "I am completely blind, I can't see a thing."
"But you can see me," he said and I shook my head.
"I can't see you," I said. He didn't say anything and I was sure as hell not going to tell him what I could see. There was a short pause and then I cleared my throat. "I think...we started off on the wrong foot. I'm Lauren Simons."
"Cole Green," he said and I smiled. There was another short silence but this time I didn't break it. "I'm sorry...about...what I said. I didn't mean...I didn't mean to sound insensitive." I nodded and drank some more hot chocolate.
"It's ok," I smiled.
"Can I make it up to you?" he asked and I smiled.
"How?" I asked.
"Let me take you to dinner," he said and I felt my heart flip. I smiled and nodded.
"Sure," I said, trying not to let my happiness show. It wasn’t every day I got asked on a date...if that's what this was. "How old are you?" I asked before I could stop myself. I heard him laugh softly, the noise sending a shiver along my spine.
"25," he said and I nodded and smiled.
"Sorry, I just...I'm not a very good judge of age from someone's voice," I said.
"How old did you think I was?" he asked but I shook my head.
"I didn't even try to guess," I smiled. There was a short pause while I waited for him to ask me how old I was, it was what most people did. He didn't ask. "Don't you want to know my age?" I heard him laugh again and I realised just hearing him laugh made me smile.
"I can guess...about 23?" he said and I smiled and nodded.
"Very good," I praised and he laughed again. I was about to tell him I like his laugh, but thankfully he spoke first.
"Can I have your number or address or something? I can pick you up," he said and I nodded.
"I don’t have a pen or anything," I said and he laughed again. He laughed at nearly everything I said and it made me all the more happier.
"It's ok, I've got it," he said and I heard some rustling. "Ok, go." I laughed and recited my number and address to him. I heard the pen scratching as he wrote it down. My insides shivered. "Are you free tonight?"
"Yes," I grinned.
"Great," he said, a smile in his voice. "I've got to get going, but I'll see you later? 7 o'clock?"
"Great," I smiled and watched his silver glow stand up. He took a step round the table and then bent down and kissed my cheek softly. My breath hitched in my throat and shivers ran through me. He pulled back and I turned my head towards him.
"Sorry, I-" he stammered but I cut him off.
"It's fine," I smiled.
"Bye," he said finally and then left the cafe.

When the door shut I finally let my grin spread over lips. "He's still watching you," Les said from the counter and my head snapped towards the windows. I saw his silvery form, slightly blurry, but still there. I blushed and turned away and towards my drink that was now cool in front of me. "He's gone," Les said a few minutes later. I then relaxed and let the grin return. "You okay, hon?" Les asked and I nodded. The chair next to mine scraped across the floor and I turned towards the noise.
"He...asked me out," I said, still not actually believing it.
"I heard," Les smiled.
"He actually asked me out," I said and Les laughed. "What did he look like?"
"Normal," Les said and I could hear his shrug. "I'm a guy, I don’t look for that sort of thing on other guys..." I laughed and nodded.
"I'm gonna go home then," I said, standing up. "Did he look...like...how should I dress? Smart or casual?"
"Wear a dress," Les said. "Maybe that black one you wore to Kim's birthday party."
"You noticed?" I smiled and Les laughed.
"Hon, you asked me how you look and for me to be honest, and it was only a couple of weeks ago," he said and I nodded.
"Alright," I smiled. "I'll speak to you tomorrow."
"Bye, hon," he said and I left the cafe and started counting my steps home, trying not to get distracted by the thoughts in my head.