Living Without a Blindfold On

'Nobody sees what they are doing to our home; slowly it becomes more and more wrecked as time passes. Everybody carries on with their normal lives not even thinking about what they are doing to our home. It’s as if everyone is oblivious to what they are doing, or maybe they know but don’t really care. By the time our planet goes down the drain they will be dead already right? I find that thought to be entirely wrong for a human being to express. People should take care of our world and do all they can to not destroy it. I Nathan Gabriel am one of the very few who refuse to live with my head in the clouds, take a look around, maybe you will find that you should be too.'

“Mr. Gabriel, my name is Lisa Torrent. I would like to speak to you about the piece you most recently wrote for ‘World Redemption’ magazine, if you have a second.” The professor watched one of his brightest pupils walked up to his classroom.

“No need to introduce yourself Miss Torrent, it may only be the second week of class but I know each of my students by name. What can I do for you Lisa?” Nathan sat back in his overstuffed desk chair, watching as his student took a seat at the other side of his desk.

“Professor I was just wondering what made you write that piece in the magazine? I know you have a couple of published books, sadly I have only had the time to read one as of lately but what inspired you to write that bit?” Nathan observed the young woman, she appeared to be nervous about the topic but the man could tell she really was curious.

“In my time here on this earth I have seen many things. One of those things happens to be death. There was a point in time in my life where I was brought back to life after my body had died. The doctors fought what appeared to be a loosing battle with my heath a long time before that and I welcomed death when he came knocking on my door. I was young and naive, I thought that there wasn’t really anything left for me to see or do.” He paused, shifting in his seat to get more comfortable before continuing. “When I was brought back I learned something, little did I know there is a lot more to life than what I had experienced.”

“What did you experience after your awakening?” Nathan took the time to study the girl, she was so young and had probably thought she had seen all the things life could offer, silly girl.

“I took my time with everything I did after that point. It was a miracle that I was alive and I started thinking about all the things I wouldn’t have experienced if I had died that night. I drove out to the sea as I had always dreamed of as a boy and took a deep breath; taking in everything I could to store it as a memory. From that point on, at times I would stop doing what ever I was and take a look around. I noticed things that I had never had before. The smell of the rain on a mixture of dirt and pavement, the sweet smell I never knew was there before, became my favorite.” Nathan smiled to himself wondering if it was wise to tell the woman in front of him the next part of his story. After a quick debate with himself Nathan decided it would be honest with the woman. “At one point I felt that I need to try everything I had ever dreamed of. I became rather reckless at one point in time, all the things I was to scared to do before, I did. Though I treasured my life I was also battling with myself to do all I could before my time was up, including things that risked my life, such as skydiving.”

“I can’t believe you’ve gone skydiving Mr. Gabriel.” Lisa sounded astounded, just looking at the reaction on her face made Nathan want to burst out in laughter.

“I may be quite a bit older than you but I’m not dead yet missy.” He joked lightly with his student. “As I got older I realized the risks I was taking and searched until I could find something to devote myself to. As I said earlier I began to take my time studying, and remembering all I could. I found pleasure in the simplest of things, like watching the sunset. When I study people, most of the time all I see is greed and those who just don’t really care about anything other than their lives. They see what they want to see, believe what they want to believe. Everything else gets pushed under the rug like dust.”

“How oblivious human beings are, scares me at times” Lisa sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. “Mr. Gabriel I don’t want to live my life with a blindfold on anymore, I wish to see things how you do, I want people to open their eyes and understand what they are doing.”

“Lisa, though I have not known you long, I believe that you already feel as I do about this topic.” Nathan smiled over his desk at the woman, she returned the gesture. “The question is, what are you going to do about it?”

“I’m not sure yet.” Lisa stood from the chair with a full blown grin on her young face. Grabbing her bag she slung it over her shoulder. “But I’m sure I will think of something; happy holiday’s sir.”

Teaching college had never been his dream but at times like these Nathan was thrilled to be able to share his knowledge. With a smile still on his face the old professor stood from his chair, packed up his briefcase and made his way home.