Blind Holiday

The weather is cold, extremely cold. Her arms instinctually wrap around herself as a chilling breeze hits her body. She knows this weather all too well. Winter has come, and she hates the season. The season of joy as the holidays are drawing closer. Though people cannot wait for the holidays, she sure can. It brings back horrible memories that she wants to keep from crossing her mind once again. But the laughter, coldness, and especially the freezing, wet feeling of snow opens the vault that is suppose to keep the memories locked up forever.
Melinda’s dog, Beta, guides her through the chilly streets of Jersey City. She hears the foot steps of people walking around her, the smell of heavily polluted air, and horns of cars that are constantly whizzing by. She loathes this city especially the people that inhabit the urban area.
Her surroundings feel so cramp and is really noisy. Melinda would rather go back to her family farm back in Pennsylvania, but of course they just have to spend the holidays where her mother just loves it . She does not feel the pleasant feelings her mother expresses, but apparently the urban setting fills her mother’s heart with joy.

Beta leads Melinda to a small diner. As she enters the door her nose instantly hits the smell of coffee. Her slight scowl turns into a small smile. She is lead to a stool in front of a counter.

“I’m sorry ma’am, but dogs are not allowed inside the diner.” a lady informed her.

“But I need her.” Melinda explains. “I can’t really see without her.”

“Oh, well I’ll just tie her outside then.” she suggests.

“Are you insane!?” Melinda bursts, “It’s freezing out there!”

“Umm...I-I can j-just l-leave her h-here then.” the lady stutters.

“Look I’m sorry.” Melinda says feeling guilty for yelling at the lady, “I’ll just leave and find another diner.”

She got up and her dog guided her towards the door.

“Wait!” A male voice called. Melinda stopped and faced the direction of where the voice came from. “You can keep the dog inside.”

“But sir-”

“It’s fine Lindsy.” he said. “She’s handicapped.” The pity in his voice was clear.

“No, it’s okay.” Melinda said with clenched teeth abstaining from the urge to get angry at the handicapped comment. “I know another place that accepts dogs.”

“If you know one , then why did you come here?” he said.

“It was close by and I wanted to a cup of coffee to warm myself up.” Melinda explained.

“So why are you going?” he said with a confused tone.”I said it’s okay.”

“I don’t like the word handicapped.” She said.”It offended me.”

“But you are handicapped.” he said still confused. She pinched the bridge of her nose with aggravation.

“It’s still offensive.” she said and turned around. Beta barked as the cold air hit her face. Melinda sighed. She really did not want to go back out there. She shivered at the thought.

“Wait!” the same male called. “Look, I’m sorry for offending you, and I don’t want you going out in the cold without giving you something warm, so stay.”
Melinda was hesitant on staying because of before, but she really did not want to go out in that freezing weather.

“Fine, but only because it’s cold and the coffee will be free.” She said with a innocent smile.

“What?” he said, “No, never mind, just freeze out there.”

“Oh, come on, you offended me, I deserve that much.” Melinda whined.

“So, that means I lose money.” he said.

“Fine, I’ll buy a slice of pie then.” Melinda suggested.

“Deal.” he said.

Beta lead Melinda back to the stool. She took a seat.

“So, how do you want your coffee....”he started.

“Melinda, and I like it five sugars and three cream.” Melinda said.

“Alright, and what type of pie?” He asked.

“Apple, please.” She responded.

“Well, here you go one slice of pie and a cup of coffee.” he said after a short while.

“Thank you.” She said, “Where is the fork?”

“It’s on your right as well as your coffee.” he informed her.

“Thank you.”she said.

Melinda felt for the fork. When she found the utensil she started to eat. As she ate she took an occasional sip from the coffee. She was oddly comforted even with the feeling of that the guy was staring at her. She took another bite and put the fork down.

“Why do you keep staring at me?” she asked after she finished chewing and swallowed

“You knew?” he asked with a perplexed tone.

“Yeah, I had this odd feeling that you were watching me.” she explained.

“Oh.” he said a bit uncomfortable, “No reason.”

“Come on, I believe we have an amicable relationship going on.” she said. “I don’t think that whatever you’ll say will be awkward.”

“Well, I find you naturally aesthetic.” he said.

“Uh...” she started as a prominent blush was forming.

“You blush makes you more beautiful.” he continued. Her blush grew even more red.

“Thank you.” she said. She continued on eating her slice and drinking her coffee. The man left the counter and into the kitchen. As she took her last bite, the man returned. she pushed to plat forward.

“Thank you , that was delicious” she said.

“You knew I was here?” he asked.

“Yeah, I heard your foot steps.” she said. “Yours is somewhat unique because you have a limp.”

“You can tell with my foot steps.” he asked astonished.

“Yes, my hearing became exceptional when I became blind.” she explained.

“Interesting...by the way do you live here?” he asked.

“No, I came here with my family for the holidays.” she frowned at that thought.

“Why did you frown?” he asked, “Do you no like it here?”

“Hmmm...its kind of personal...” she said.

“Just answer with yes or no.” he said with persistence.

“I’ll answer when if you tell me your name.” she said.

“Okay, my name is Genesis, so answer my question now.” he said.

“Okay, I don’t necessarily like it here.” She answered.

“Why not?” he asked.

“This city gave me bad memories, especially during the holiday season.” she said with a grim expression.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” he said.

“Why did you say sorry if you did nothing wrong?” she asked confused with his comment.

“Isn’t a natural reply when you hear a sad story from someone?” he questioned.

“I guess.” She said and drifted into thought, “How old are you?” she asked out of no where.

“Guess.” he said. She knew he was smiling.

“Well, from you voice you sound young, but you are older than a teenager.” she said.

“Yeah, that is true.” he said astonished. She really does have good ears, he thought to himself.

“I’m going to guess, twenty- two.” she said with a smug expression.

“Wow, you are right.” he said amazed. “Okay, let me guess your age.”

“Okay.” she said nodding.

“Umm...you still look young, in college maybe?” he questioned. She nodded slightly amazed.

“Are you twenty?” he asked.

“Yeah, good guess.” she said bemused.

“Thank you.” he said.

“How long have I been here?” she asked.

“Well according to the clock its already one, so about two hours.” he said.

“Wow, you kept me entertained for that long.” she said with a grin.

“Yeah, I’m awesome like that.” he said all smug.

“Well, I have to go now.” she said getting up. “Oh yeah, here.” she said as she handed him a five dollar bill. Genesis grabbed the money and gave her the change.

“Why don’t you stay for lunch?” he asked.

“I can’t.” she said with a frown. “I have to feed Beta.”

“Oh, okay.” Melinda cannot help but here the disappointment in his voice.

“How about this?” she started. “I’ll go home, feed Beta, and come back here for dimmer.”

“Yeah, sure.” he said with a smile. “The dinner will be on the house, too.”

“Can you do that?” she asked.

“Do what?” he replied confused.

“Give me a free meal.” she answered.

“Why not?” he asked. “I am the owner.”

Her jaw dropped. He chuckled.

“Well, I’ll see you later.” he said with a smile.

She just nodded. Beta lead her outside and home. Her aunt’s house, the place where she is staying at, was only a block away. Even with the small walk her body was freezing cold due to the blistering wind. She entered the house with the spare key her aunt gave her. She knew the Christmas lights were on due to the warmth you get from lights was hitting her face. Her mood instantly changed to a sour one. She absolutely hated the holidays. Even the thought of Christmas dampened her mood.She was not born blind. This so-called joyful holiday caused her to lose sight of everything, literally.

She sighed and let Beta off her harness. Beta ran to her dog food bowl and automatically started munching all of the kibble in her bowl and lapping at the water. She grabbed her foldable cane from her bag and unfolded the cane. She went to the guest room and took off her coat and hanged the coat on a chair. She left the room and entered the kitchen. Melinda knew they all went out to get Christmas presents and respected that because she lost her sight that they knew she would hate the idea of doing anything for Christmas. Her parents forced her to come because they only see my aunt and her family once a year. She always put up with them forcing her to come since five years ago because she still loves her aunt and her family.

Melinda sat at the kitchen table and reached forward. A sandwich was in front of her wrapped in plastic. They always did this every year, too. Supposedly every year, once her family arrives at her aunt’s house, both families go out buy Christmas presents the day after. She used to go with them, too, but the accident changed everything. Melinda finished the sandwich and poured herself a glass of milk very cautiously. She was not used to pouring something in a cup. She drank all of the beverage and placed the plate and cup in the sink. She will get to them later. She made her way to the couch and grabbed the channel changer and went to a stand up comedy channel. The channel was the one of the only ones that does not display Christmas specials and she does not have to try and picture what is going on in the show.

Melinda was so caught in the stand up special she forgot the time. The clock in her aunt’s house bell’s ring how many times of what that hour is. The bell rang six times. She thought that that time was appropriate to head out and go back to the dinner. She went to the guest room and got her coat and bag. She placed Beta in her harness again, folded her cane, and placed her cane back into her bag. She grabbed the keys from the counter and headed out. She was met with the blistering wind as she made that torturous one block journey towards the diner. Beta stopped in front of the diner’s door. As she was about to open the door, the door opened up for her.

“Hey, Melinda you’re back.” Genesis greeted her. “You brought your husky back, too.”

“Her name’s Beta.” Beta barked and wagged her tail at the mention of her name.

“Well, Beta, bring Melinda to that table.” he told her. She barked and lead Melinda towards the
table. She felt for the chair and sat down. She heard Genesis sit down in front of her.

“Could you tell me the layout of the table?” Melinda asked Genesis. “It’s an abbreviation of feeling around to know where everything is.”

“Um...sure.” he agreed. Genesis told Melinda where the utensils and condiment were.

“Thank you.” she said with appreciation.

“You’re welcome.” she could tell he was smiling.

A lady walked towards the table. Melinda could tell she was Lindsy by her foot steps.

“Hello, here are the menus.” she handed the menus to Genesis and he placed mine in front of me. “Would you like anything to drink?”

“Yes, can I have bottled water.” Melinda requested.

“I would like sweet iced tea.” Genesis requested. Lindsy left to retrieve our drinks.

“Why did you specifically ask for bottled water?” Genesis asked.

“I can tell if water is tap water, and I know that when you order water it will most likely be tap water.” she explained.

“What’s wrong with tap water?” he asked. “It is filtered.”

“I know, but it has a distinct taste that makes me nauseous.” she explained.

“Oh, why?” he asked.

“I don’t really know.” she said.

Lindsy came back with our drinks.

“Do you know what to order?” she asked after placing the drinks on the table and taking out a note pad.

“You order, but something vegetarian for me.” she said to Genesis.

“Oh, you’re a vegetarian?” He asked with an intrigued tone.

“Yeah, I feel bad for animals after seeing an animal slaughtered when I was young.” she explained.

“Oh okay, well I’ll order a skirt steak with mashed potatoes as the side.” Genesis said. “And mushroom tortellini with a ranch salad on the side.”

The waiter wrote everything down.

“Okay, well your orders will be here in a while.” she said before leaving.

“So, you weren’t born blind?” he asked. Her faced instantly dropped and shook her head.

“How did you become blind?” he whispered.

“I don’t really want to walk about it.” She said in a hushed tone.

“I’ll tell you how I had a permanent limp, and if you want to tell me how you became blind afterwards.”

“You’re permanently lamed?” she asked shocked.

“Yeah.” he said with a depressed tone.

“Okay, I’ll tell you how I became blind, if you tell me how you became lame.” she agreed with a small voice.

“Okay, I was fourteen years old when this happened.” he started. “I used to skateboard a lot when I was younger. It always made me feel free and ecstatic to speed down the streets. I absolutely loved skateboarding. Anyways, I always skateboard to school and back. So one day when I was skateboarding back, I had my headphones on and wasn’t really paying attention to where I was going. Unfortunately I didn’t see the car that was coming my way. The car hit me dead on. I was lucky that he decided to bring me to the hospital. They said I was lucky that the hit didn’t kill me, but my leg ended really messed up. They tried everything to fix it back to normal, but nothing worked. So now I have the adversity of having a permanent limp for the rest of my life and lost the ability to do the thing I love most.”

“Wow, I feel to bad for you.” she whispered. “You didn’t deserve losing that ability to skate.”

“I kind of do.” he said. “I shouldn’t have had my headphones on when I skateboarded. But I do have to adulation of the man who saved me.”

“Well that’s good.” She said with a reassuring smile.

“What happened to you?” he asked.

She sighed. But before she answered Lindsy came.

“Here you go.” she said. “Skirt steak, with mashed potatoes on the side, for Genesis.”

“Thank you, Lindsy.” Genesis thanked her.

“And the mushroom tortellini and ranch salad for you.” she placed the plate right in front of Melinda. She felt the steam in her face. The dish also smelled wonderful.

“Thank you.” Melinda said with a smile.
Lindsy left. I grabbed the fork that was on my right and started to eat. Genesis cleared his throat.

“I thought you were going to tell me how you became blind.” he asked.

“But the food just got here.” she whined.

“Melinda.” he said pointedly.

“Fine.” she said in defeat. She sighed again. She really did not want to relive those memories again, but she did tell him that she would tell the story.

“Okay, the accident happened five years ago. I come here every year to celebrate Christmas with my aunt and her family. I used to love and can’t wait to come here. But since the accident on Christmas day, I loathed Christmas and Jersey City.

“ I was usually the one that woke up first on Christmas morning. I decided to go for a short walk. It was a bright a clear morning. It snowed the day before leaving a fresh blanket of snow on the ground. It was absolutely beautiful. I walked a few blocks enjoying the weather and fresh snow. As I was about to make a turn the most horrible thing happened. A car slipped on the snow as it was turning. I didn’t have enough time to evade the upcoming car and was hit dead on. I felt everything. I felt the car smash and crack multiple bones as it smashed into me. The pain was excruciating. I really don’t know how I didn’t pass out from the pain. I was almost freezed to death because after the car stopped moving, I was embed into the snow. I passed out after that. My mother told me that a couple who witnessed it called nine-one-one. The man who was in the car died from instant impact of the steering wheel.

“I was brought to the hospital where I was in a coma for five months. When I finally woke up, I woke up to absolute darkness. I then realized I would never see anything again. This is why I hate winter, the holidays, Christmas, and snow. I completely hate snow.” Melinda finished her story with tears streaming down her face. Genesis got up from his chair and came around to hold her in his arms. He soothingly rubbed her arms providing the best comfort he can possibly give. She cried for a long time, but he still stayed with his arms wrapped around her. When she finally stopped she put her head up.

“Thank you so much, Genesis.” she whispered.

“Your welcome.” he said quietly. “I think our food is cold now.”

She chuckled weakly at that comment. “Yeah, yeah it is.”