With Ears to See

One by one.

I watched the autumn-kissed leaves float along the creek that ran under the wooden bridge.

Another one falls. Another one flows along.

It’s beautiful. It’s quiet. It’s peaceful.
My problems can’t attack me here. I’m safe.

But sooner or later, I’m going to have to go home.

I looked down at the left side bank of the creek to see a man sitting near the edge.

I guess he’s enjoying the view as well.

I leant a little on the railing of the bridge to get a closer look and cursed to myself.

It was Kellin.

“Why do I keep running into this guy?”

Should I go talk to him?

Would he be happy to talk to me?

I groaned and ran a hand through my hair.

I’m in over my head.

I’m insecure.

Why would he like a guy like me?

I inhaled the cool air and slowly let it out.

I should at least say hi, and then I’ll see how it works out.

I shoved my hands into the pockets of my jacket and headed down towards the bank.
I planned to approach him quietly, but the leaves and twigs on the ground ruined that plan.

“Who’s there?”
“Um…Hi again.”

He turned his body a bit to look at me and smiled.
I felt the blood rush to my cheeks.

“Hi again, Austin. Would you care to join me?”
“S-Sure.”

I sat down next to him, pulling my knees to my chest.

“I find it kind of funny how we ran into each other a lot lately.”
“Yeah…”

His smile went away.

“What’s wrong?”
“N-Nothing! Why do you ask?”
“The tone of your voice…”

I bit down on my lip.

“I just have a lot on my mind. It’s been a rough year for me…”
“Do you want to talk about it?”

I hesitated for a moment.

I can trust him, right?

If he leaves, then it’s not a complete loss.

But, I don’t want him to leave.

“My wife…my ex-wife, cheated on me. There were a lot of unpleasant words involved, then she took off her ring and chucked it into the trash, packed her bags, and left.

That’s why I moved here. I needed an escape. I needed a fresh start.”

I heard a little bit of shuffling until I felt a warm hand on mine.
He squeezed it gently, a sympathetic look on his face.

“That’s awful. I don’t understand why she would do that.”
I sighed.

“I wasn’t good enough.”

I covered my mouth quickly when I said that, hoping he didn’t hear.

“What do you mean?”

Shit.

“I…I just wasn’t good enough. I’m flawed.”

I moved my hand away from his.

“I honestly think that you're lucky, Kellin. Every time I look into a mirror, I pick out a new mistake, a new error, a new flaw about myself. You don't have to worry about that because you can't see, right?”

He pursed his lips together.

“What makes you think that I have no flaws?”
“I can’t see you having a flaw.”

“Because you’re only going by looks.”

I swallowed thickly.

“Many people would consider my blindness a flaw. My weakness is a flaw. My sense of direction is a complete flaw. I usually don’t find my house until after five hours of asking directions and wandering around.”

My eyes widened.

“But everyone has flaws. It’s what makes us human.”

I rested my chin on my knees.

“What if my whole self is a flaw…?”

“Then…”
He moved closer to me.

“You’re probably the most human out of everyone in this town.”

He was smiling again.

I wanted to say something, but no words came to mind.
My breath only hitched in my throat.

“It’s weird. We ran into each other at least four times, we share a deep conversation, but I still don’t know much about you. You don’t know much about me either.”

He held out his hand.

“I’m Kellin Quinn.”

I smiled a little and shook his hand.

“I’m Austin Carlile.”
“Cool, now it’s your turn to ask me questions.”

“R-Really?”
He nodded.

“Um…What’s your favorite food?”
He giggled a little.

“What…?”
“Nothing. I really like pasta. With vegetables. What about you?”

“I thought I was asking the questions!”
“Yeah, but I still want to get to know you, too!”

My smile grew a little wider.

“I really love pizza. With pineapples and ham on top.”
“Ew. Pineapples?”
“Don’t judge!”

I laughed a little this time.

That’s how we spent that afternoon. Asking questions and getting to know each other more.

But then, it started to rain.

“Looks like we should find some shelter.”
Kellin nodded in agreement.

I grabbed a hold of his hand and led him back to the sidewalk near the bridge, heading towards town.
The café was the closest, so we decided to take refuge there.

x x x

“Ai-yah! Where is your umbrella?! You can get sick from that!”

Mei-Xing was nagging us as she handed Kellin and I a dry towel and a cup of hot chocolate.

“Sorry. I didn’t exactly check the weather this morning…”

She looked between Kellin and me for moment, then she smiled towards me.

“It’s alright. Just be prepared next time, okay?”
“Okay!” Kellin spoke up this time.

“Kellin, you can stay at my apartment again. I heard the weather’s supposed to get worse later.”
“But…! It’s Haneul’s and your anniversary! I couldn’t intrude on that!”

“Where will you go then?”
Kellin shrunk in his chair.

Don’t say anything stupid. Don’t say anything stupid.

“You can stay with me if you want, Kellin…”
His eyes widened.

“Really?”
“Y-Yeah…I live in the same apartment complex as Mei-Xing if that makes you feel any better.”

“I mean…I don’t want to be a bother to you, too.”

“It’ll be fine. Really.”
He smiled widely and thanked me.

Mei-Xing gave me two thumbs up and walked into the back of the café.

What did I just get myself into?