Out of Darkness

“Hello?” Tori yawned, answering her phone since the ringing had woken her up far too early.

“Victoria, good morning, this is Amagawa, are you all right? You sound ill.” Her boss’ voice replied, full of concern.

“Good morning, Amagawa-sama, I’m all right. It’s a good thing you called me, my alarm didn’t go off, so I would have slept in and missed my train if you hadn’t. Thank you.” She answered.

“You were awake too late, then.”

“Yes, I was. I can’t see my clock, and so I don’t know the time when I am at home. Is there something you needed? I’m not late, am I?”

“No, not at all. I have to leave the shop today for a business meeting. There have been a few robberies in the area, and one of the women was very badly beaten and taken to the hospital. I don’t like the idea of you being alone in the shop, unable to defend yourself if something like that were to happen. I know that you have a dog, I was wondering if you would bring him as your Seeing Eye Dog?”

“Achilles? He isn’t the typical breed for that sort of thing, he’s a Great Dane, and his shoulder when he stands comes to my hips.”

“Do you have harness for him? The breed of dog doesn’t matter, as long as you can convince others that he is your guide for sight. You’ve said before that if he wasn’t such a beastly creature you would never carry your cane again.”

“I do have a harness, my brother says that it is bright purple with hideous green stripes. I’ve never seen it.”

“I’ll call ahead to the stations and let them know that your dog will be riding with you to Tokyo. I’ll see you later today, Victoria-san.”

“Yes, thank you, Amagawa-sama.” She nodded and waited for him to hang up before she did.

“Well, Achilles, we’re going on a field trip today! Come on, let’s get you in your harness.” She announced and tugged her dog to the living room for her mother’s help. “That stupid thing is going with you to work? That will be like taking a bull into a room full of glass dishes!” her brother scorned as soon as they joined her family.

“Home already? Wow, I guessed you would be out finding some ass for the next three days. That’s usually what happens, right? Find a girl at the show, take her to Yumiko’s?” she retorted.

“Actually, no. I didn’t get any this time.”

“Oh, poor you. Have to use the hand again then.” She shrugged and went to get ready for work, knowing that her parents would get the dog ready for her to leave. When she came back down she grabbed Achilles’ harness and his certification as a Seeing Eye Dog, since he had actually been trained and tested, and headed out with her cane in her purse.

It wasn’t easy to get him onto the train, the security gave her quite a lot of trouble, but eventually she was able to leave for work. Achilles sat silently at her feet, wagging his tail and thumping it against the back of her legs the entire ride but not moving an inch. He knew that when he wore his harness, he was only to move if her hand was holding the grip, and during that time he was responsible for her. Achilles was a very caring and special dog, and she hated the way her brother treated him.

“Achilles, wait.” She ordered when she heard the doors open, and felt him go to stand. She wanted to be the very last through those doors, since her dog was so massive. “Okay, let’s go.” She nodded and followed him off the train and to the doors. She knew her way form there to work, and he followed at her side until she nearly walked into traffic.

“I wouldn’t expect that breed to be good for a blind woman.” She heard someone remark after Achilles stopped firm, grabbed her shirt in his mouth and sat, pulling her back onto the curb as a car passed, hitting its horn as it whizzed by. “I’d die without you.” She muttered to him after recovering, and continued her way to work.

“Victoria-san! This must be your beast.” Amagawa greeted as soon as she walked through the doors, “Good morning to you both.”

“Good morning, Amagawa-sama.” She bowed, hearing him laugh lightly and pull her into a hug. “I have some treats for him, as well.” He explained, handing Achilles a doggie biscuit, but Achilles only took it out of his hand, and dropped it in front of his paws, staring at it and wagging his tale.

“Good boy, break!” she smiled, laughing at the way he jumped for the treat to quickly chomp it down.

“Very well trained indeed.”

“Only when I have him. My brother hates him, and my parents are unable to give him commands that he will follow. I am his master and he is my closest friend.” She laughed, “He intentionally uses my brother’s bed for a toilet.”

“What does he do to deserve that?”

“We don’t get along, as you already know, but he doesn’t like Achilles at all. He insults him, hits him, kicks him out of his way… if I were the dog, I would go in his bed too.” She answered with a giggle, before sniffing the air slightly.

“Why does it smell like wood polish? I thought know that this is an antique shop, that also has for music, but that is specifically piano polish, and we have no pianos here. Did we get one in?” she questioned.

“No, not as the shop. I’m surprised you caught that scent; I’ve been trying to cover it up all day. Opening windows, lighting candles, using air fresheners, and over all of that you can still smell it?”

“Scents tied to memories, I’ve been trying to figure it out since I walked through the door. It is a very feint smell, but I remember that smell. The pianos for recital were always freshly polished, and very beautiful. Every time I performed, I smelled that polish.”

“I see. Please, come here. I still have to give you that gift before I leave for the meeting.” He nodded and pulled her after him with Achilles close behind.

“Put your hands out, palms down.” He ordered, and silently she obeyed.

“Now walk forward.”

Again she obeyed without a word, but giggled while walking.

“Slightly left, you’ll find the card.” He smiled, waiting for her to reach the brail-printed paper.

“To Victoria, my most valued employee, to reward you for all of your hard work.” She read, smiling while resting her hands on the table that the card was on. “Thank you, Amagawa-sama.” She smiled happily.

“The note is not my gift. The note is simply addressing it.” He explained, taking her hand and sliding it off of the table to rest on a small ledge with a knobbed handle.

“Amagawa-sama,” she breathed as he helped her lift the cover on the grand piano to reveal its ivory keys, “This isn’t your gift. It can’t be.”

“It is. This piano is yours, and you may come at any time to play it until you find somewhere of your own. I know that your family is unable to have a piano in your home, but now you are able to play again. It isn’t fair that life took so much from you, without returning anything. I wanted to return at least something to you that brings you joy.”

“By buying me a piano?” she asked as a tear slid down her face.

“Not just a piano. This is a classical grand piano, from the late eighteenth century. I am, after all, the owner of an antique shop. I couldn’t have some modern design here, could I?” he chuckled, pushing the bench across the ground for her to sit on before her keys, “I have a few minutes before I must leave for my meeting. Will you play for me?”

“Of course! But, I don’t know what to play… I haven’t played in years, not since the accident. I don’t know if I remember how to play at all.”

“You remember. Press the keys.” He instructed and waited patiently for her to play. It wasn’t long at all before she was completely lost in Chopin’s “Ballade in Gm Op Twenty-Three”, playing with every fiber of her soul and filling the shop and the streets by the open windows with the flawless sound.

“Any time you aren’t busy, you may play. You can also visit to play when you aren’t working. The piano is yours.” Amagawa smiled when she had finished, but she couldn’t reply. He knew that she was crying and trying to hide it, but she couldn’t hide anything from him.

“Thank you, Amagawa-sama, I can’t express how grateful I am to you for this.” She sniffled, turning and reaching out to grab his hands, “I’ll never be able to repay you for this.”

“You have no reason to, Victoria-san. It is a gift.” He chuckled and pulled her into another hug. “Now, be careful and keep your dog close. I have to leave for my meeting now. An old friend of mine is working on a music video for a popular band, and wants to use some of our antiques as props. The way he was speaking, it sounds more like the entire set is going to be built out of our shop.” He announced and started for the door.

She nodded and used her cane to move from the piano to the register. “Achilles, guard.” She ordered softly as the door opened and several voices came into the shop. Achilles sat stiffly by the side of the counter as they went around the shop, looking around at the different items for an hour before coming up to the counter.

“What can you tell me about this?” one of them asked, holding up one of their antiques.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what it is without the tag. The names are printed in brail below the price tags; it’s the only way I can know what the item you’re asking about is.” She explained.

“Of course,” he nodded and handed the heavy antique to her. “Is it an old cauldron? Or soup pot?”

“Actually, this is an old chamber pot.” She smiled, “I remember this one, because of the carvings around the top and bottom here. This one isn’t as old as it looks, actually. Only a few years before the Victorian era, from England.” She explained, setting it on the counter for him. “Oh… thank you.” He frowned and handed it off to his friend to take back. “We’re looking for a gift for his mother, do you have anything that she would like? She really likes antiques, so we thought this would be a good place to look.” His friend explained, “I don’t think an antique toilet bowl is a good gift.”

“Does she have any antiques that she likes especially?”

“Things with brass?”

“Brass! Now we’re getting somewhere. Does she like musical instruments, surgical tools, anything like that?”

“She has this strange vase with brass flowers in it. It’s really ugly but she loves it.”

“Brass flowers… we have some of those, actually. Just over this way.” She smiled happily and led them over to where she knew they had a brass statue of a vase and roses. “How do you like this one?” she asked, pulling the heavy item down from the shelf and giving it over for them to inspect.

“This is perfect!” he beamed, “You’re completely blind, aren’t you?” he asked curiously.

“Not completely, I can see shadows, but it isn’t like seeing the world in shadows. It’s more like dark, with darker spots.” She answered with a shrug.

She heard him make a small noise as if he were nodding and suddenly heard Achilles begin barking and growling. She knew that something was wrong at that point, Achilles NEVER growled at someone.

“Achilles, wait.” She ordered, holding her hand up calmly before looking back towards the man. “Should I ring that up for you?”

“No thanks.” He smiled and grabbed her by the arm; quickly pushing her into the room beside them, away form the window. Achilles began barking and snarling while tearing after them, breaking quite a few things as he ran through and lunged at the man, taking him down and keeping him there while she lay on the ground too afraid to move.

“Achilles! Hold!” she shouted, not wanting her dog to kill someone. Her protector obeyed and stopped his attack, holding the man’s arm firmly in his jaws while growling lowly. The other two men were scared off by the beastly watchdog, and ran away while the third was held captive. Tori was as afraid to move as he was, though. Her arm was sore where he had gripped it, and her head was stinging and aching where it had been hit against the wall, and she had no idea where his friends were, or that they had already fled.

For ages it felt like she had been sitting there, afraid to even breathe when she heard more voices enter the shop. Amagawa, and two others who were with him, but there were four sets of shoes that she heard.

“Victoria-san?” her employer called out as soon as he saw the destruction to his shop. He followed the path of broken glass and tipped displays, quickening his pace when he heard Achilles’ growl in the back room. “Victoria-san! Are you all right?” he gasped, afraid to walk closer with the way her dog was acting.

“Achilles, release. I-I’m okay, I think I’m okay.” She answered breathlessly, struggling not to cry.

“We have already called the police, they are on their way and will be here in a few minutes. You’re bleeding, are you sure you’re all right?” he pushed, kneeling down beside her as her attacker crawled into a corner, sitting in tears as her dog stood facing him and growling viciously.

“Amagawa-sama… I’m sorry, Achilles broke some things; I don’t know how many but I will pay for the damages.” She muttered, only to be hushed by him and pulled into a hug, “Don’t worry about any broken goods, they are only items. My only concern is that you aren’t hurt. The last woman they attacked died in the hospital, they beat her to death.”

“Achilles kept me safe. I’m all right.” She whispered, hugging him tightly and not even worrying that her glasses were missing.

“Come on, I want to get your head bandaged. It isn’t a serious injury, but your shirt is covered in blood now.” He sighed and pulled her to her feet, keeping her shaken form sturdy as he guided her away and to the office so he could tend to her.

“We will wait for the police, take your time.” One of Amagawa’s friends announced, receiving a nod from both of them. “Achilles, guard.” She ordered before disappearing into the office.

The rest of the night was like falling through the seven levels of hell for her. She had to stay late at work for Amagawa to be sure she was all right to leave. Because he was so worried about her, her brother had to come all the way to Tokyo to pick her up. The entire way home he ranted at her for it, since he had a girl over and was “Almost home” when he got the call that she needed help. As soon as they found out about the attempted robbery, her parents called Amagawa with her resignation. From the time she walked into the house, until she left to lock herself into her room, it was an endless argument of shouts and cursing that could be heard outside of their house two houses down the street.

All and all, her day was a nightmare, and the night ended far worse. Amagawa respected her, and slowly over the two years she had worked for him, shown her how to find strength in herself. He had faith in her, and had gone through all that trouble to get her that piano, only for her parents to forbid her to ever leave the house without someone there with her again. She knew that unless they had business, she wouldn’t be going to Tokyo ever again, and it broke her heart to know that Mr. Amagawa’s gift was a waste of his money, and that she would only play it that once. Those few precious minutes that she could freely express herself and play what she wanted without someone counting her mistakes were all she would have.