With Ears to See

I have been in this town for two weeks now.

I finished organizing the furniture in my apartment, and I got a job at the café I went to when I first came here.

Apparently it was owned by the Asian woman who greeted me at the complex.
I later learned that her name was Mei-Xing.

I still fight with my thoughts.
I still struggle with my image.

It’s her fault.

I rested my head in my hands, slowly inhaling the cold, autumn air.

It’s my own fault.

I ran a hand through my hair and sat up.

“I should go home.”

I stood up from the bench and started walking.

I stopped at the usual crosswalk; a couple of school kids stood next to me, while a guy stood across the road.

The guy started walking and my eyes widened.

“H-Hey! What are you doing?!”

A car was coming, and didn’t have much time to say anything else, or to think.

I ran into the road, barely making it in time to push the guy out of the way and save myself afterwards.
We both fell to the pavement, me landing on top of him of course.

Just great.

My brain re-registered what just happened and I growled at the guy.

“What the hell were you doing?! The light was still green! Can’t you see?!”
“Actually…I can’t.”

His voice was quiet, but I could still hear him.

“I’m blind.”

He gave me a sheepish smile and at that moment, I felt like the biggest douche-bag of mankind.

I quickly got off of him and helped him to his feet.

“God I-I’m so sorry! I-I didn’t know!”
“It’s okay. People can’t really tell at first sight anyway.”

He still wore a smile.

“Thanks for saving me…?”
“A-Austin…My name is Austin.”

“Thank you, Austin.”
“Y-You’re welcome…!”

Stop stuttering, dammit!

He giggled and I felt my cheeks heat up.

“Hey, this might sound weird, but can you turn me in the direction of Jackson Street? I think I got lost at some point…”

I turned him back towards the way he was coming from.
He thanked me again before he walked off.

I still stood there, dumbfounded, letting my brain process everything that just happened. Again.

There was something off about him.

Maybe it was the fact that he was still smiling after almost getting run over and getting yelled at by a random stranger, or the fact that he’s blind and walking around without a person or a walking stick to help guide him.

I said I wanted a new life. Well, it looks like I got one.