Here's the next chapter! I hope to start updating at least once or twice a month-you know life and all. Please Enjoy.
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Blind-Sightless
"It's not what you can see that counts-it's what is unseen that matters."
Miku ran her fingers over the bar of the slide, wondering how many steps she would get before Miss Andy pulled her back down. She could hear the cries of the aide as she searched frantically, wading through the ocean of children. The eight year old turned, her clouded staring into the opaque nothingness of her vision. Her sight was nothing but gray as she felt the grass lap at her ankles, and as she turned her head upwards there was a faint light in the center of her misted vision.
Miku was jolted as her face pressed against something cold and holey. From what she could tell, the new object was silver. Bit of her flesh escaped from the holes while she pressed her checks tighter against the diamond pattered substance. She raised her hands, gripping the fence. Miku then turned to her right, letting her fingertips brush the fence as she walked through the grass.
'See Miss Andy? I don't need your help.' the young girl thought with a slight smirk. A gentle breeze tugged at her hair as Miku finally found a gap in the fence. A whisper of the wind ruffling the leaves echoed in Miku's ears before it suddenly ended, and her feet dropped suddenly off the grass.
Miku's feet hit the ground before she could blink. The surface underneath wasn't springy soil, and defiantly wasn't wood chips. Miku stooped down, her hand scrapping across a hard black surface. What was this? Miku had felt it once before but where? Indistinct recognition clicked on in the back of her mind. It was road.
She took a step forward, and then another. The sound of her feet tapping on the cement seemed to tickle her ears. Miku's lips curled up into a wide grin as she stomped her feet on the concrete, listening to the reverberation of her drumming feet leap back up into her ears.
"Miku!" Miku heard the pounding of feet before Miss Andy's scream caught her ears. Miku pivoted, and before she could ask why there was such panic in the aide's voice, a gust of wind and the rev of an engine made her shoes stick to the ground like glue.
Miku through her hands up to cover herself as an ear splitting screech broke through the air and Miku covered her eyes, awaiting the impact to come...
But it never came. She opened her eyes, slowly lowering her arms. She reached a hand out, and before Miku could fully extend her arm, it pressed against a front of a car. She felt a slight warmth as she identified the car as red, her fingertips tingling as her hand grazed against it. Miku's head slowly turned in the direction she thought Miss Andy was, but the aide's arms scooped her up from another.
"Miku! Don't you ever-" but before the young teacher's assistant could continue, she was sobbing into Miku's shoulder, her body heaving with sobs. Miku patted Miss Andy's back in confusion.
"She okay?" another voice hit Miku's ears, along with the slam of a car door. A man's voice.
"S-S-She'll be fine." Miss Andy hiccuped. "I'm so sorry I let her g-g-get away. M-Miku's blind so s-she couldn't s-see where she was g-g-going."
"Pay more attention to her then. Next time, you might not be so lucky. Great now I'm late for work. Good day." the man said before slamming his car again in frustration, and backing up before taking off again.
"I just wanted to play on the slide." Miku whispered, still in shock.
"I k-know sweetie. I know."
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Deaf-Soundless
"It takes a special person to listen with their heart instead of their ears."
Len slipped slightly in the gravel as he closed the car door. The nine year old strode forward, wishing he could hear the crunch of his feet in the wet pebbles of the gymnasium driveway. He glanced back, his eyes finding his father who had still hadn't gotten out of the car. Len raised his eyebrows, shooting his dad a quizzical look. His father only jabbed a finger in the direction of the gym doors.
Len trudged toward the rec center, rain pounding on his shoulders while snaking down his neck and into his crimson coat. The child brushed his blonde, water slicked hair out of his face, his blue eyes narrowed as he peered through the fog. Len sighed, pulling the collar of his jacket further up his neck against the drizzle before walking into the building. He shouldered the doors open, wiping his feet on the mat and opened the next set of doors into the actual gym.
Len's eyes flickered over the scene before him. The ground was a sea of blue mats, and perched on the exposed pieces of the hard wood floor were trampolines and different series of uneven bars. Len watched as a group of twenty girls flipped, jumped, spun, and leaped over the mats and onto the trampolines. He glanced at the clock, knowing it must have been free time if they were this close to the end of practice. The coach of the gymnastic team clapped her hands, and the girls rushed over as she began to talk. With a swish of her hand, she waved the girls away. Len's eyes followed the girls as he picked out Rin's bright yellow blonde hair in the small cluster of girls before she started running towards her brother once they were dismissed, pulling her coat over her blue leotard and her flats.
Hi Len. His sister signed. Where is Dad?
In the car. Len responded with a slight shrug. Rin intertwined her hand with Len's, and the two siblings walked back out to the car.
The ride home was short. Their house was in walking distance, but it would have been cruel to make Rin walk home in the rain. As soon as they were home, Len was back up in his room, tinkering around with legos. Rin sat on her bed across from him, reading from a book.
Len felt a sudden stab of pain near the back of his skull. He looked down, identifying what had hit him-an eraser. He looked up in Rin's direction.
Is Dad mad at me? Rin asked, her eyes murky with worry.
Why would he be?
Well...it's just that ever since I made the gymnastics team he's been different.
He's always been different, Rin. Ever since Mom died.
Rin's chest rose as if she had heaved a sigh. Len tried to not let the subject of their father torment him. But he couldn't help but standing up and hugging his twin before he went downstairs to get a drink.
Len stood at the sink, looking out the window and into the rain as he took a drink of his water. The boy ruffled his hair subconsciously as he took another gulp. Now that Rin had mentioned it, his father had changed. He always came home at night with blood shot eyes, but they weren't wet like he had been crying. And he yelled a lot now. Their father used to be so quiet before the twin's mother had died. And when Rin asked is she could try out for gymnastics, and when Len asked if he could learn to play the guitar, their father let them grudgingly. Especially when Len asked if he could learn to play the guitar.
Why? His dad asked. Why would you want to learn if you can't hear it?
I can hear it here. Len had pointed to his heart.
What Len hadn't told his father was that he could feel the guitar. He knew if he was playing a chord right as if it was instinct. The vibrations seemed to run through his soul and he knew he was playing it right. It was as simple as that to him.
Heavy footsteps made the floor quake and shiver under Len's bare feet. Len pivoted, smiling slightly, his cup still in hand only to watch as a liquor bottle flew towards his head.
Len ducked, broken glass and droplets of alcohol showering down on him as the bottle hit the wall, ricocheting down into the sink.
Len sat there, crouched and defenseless, his own glass of water slipping from his hands and breaking on the floor right by his father's feet. Len glimpsed up at his father, covering his head with his hands. His dad's lip was curled in a snarl as his mouth spewed words of hate Len would never hear. Tears welled up in Len's eyes. What had he done wrong?
His teeth still bared and lip still curled, Len's dad pointed to the stairs, yelling something. Len slowly got to his feet, his legs trembling like jello as his father's hand clamped down on the back of his neck.
Rin was running down the stairs now, her eyes wide and furious. She grabbed her father's arm, tugging it away from Len, her fingernails digging deep into his arm. His father let out a roar that shook the whole house, his hand coming down right across Rin's face.
A shock wave of guilt punctured Len right in the gut as he watched his sister tumble into the glass, clutching her face, tears pouring down her into her hands. Overcome by hatred and anger, an odd vibration ripped through the back of Len's throat, and he felt a scream shake through his body as he wound up, punching his dad right in the nose with a sickening crack.
Blood gushed between his father's fingers and Len grabbed his sister, pulling her to her feet, and rushed her up the stairs, locking their bedroom door behind him. The floor was trembling with screeches of hate and pain from his father. Before he could approach his sister, he made sure the door was locked.
Rinny? Len slowly walked towards his sister, gingerly peeling her hands from her face. He felt himself left out a gasp as her face was revealed. An ugly red hand print was etched across her already swollen cheek. The slap mark throbbed under Len's touch, and there where the palm had met his sister's face a bruise was starting to blossom.
Rin's eyes met Len's and she started to cry harder. Len helped her up onto his bed, and they both sat there in the dark, Rin's body racking with sobs as she curled up in her brother's arms, her tears soaking his shirt and Len staring off into the distance, his face impassive.
The courage and strength that had flowed through Len, the adrenaline that had cascaded into his blood stream was now making him numb with fear. Would he have the strength tomorrow to face his father? To protect his sister?
Len looked out his window. And just as the rain that fell, his own tears started to tickle down his cheeks. He would keep his sister safe and unharmed, even if it was at the cost of his own happiness.
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Disabled-Standless
"Life's a mountain you have to conquer. Let's climb."
Today was the day. Luka felt a burst of excitement surge through her as her mother helped her dress.
"I'm glad Daddy finally got a job, Mommy." Luka beamed and the nine year old pulled on her shirt.
"That's good, Luka-Bear," her mother smiled, zipping up Luka's pants and moving to tie her daughter's shoes. "I'm glad your happy."
"And I'm glad that we finally bought a chair for me."
"Daddy should be back with it any minute now." her mother's smile widened, standing up just as a car horn sounded. "And that should be him now!"
Luka held out her arms, and her mother picked her up, supporting her legs so they didn't flop as they walked outside to the pick-up truck. Luka's father was unloading something from the back and before Luka could call out a greeting her father had set down the folded wheelchair.
"Hey Luka." her dad pecked his daughter on the forehead before doing the same to his wife. "You ready?"
Luka gave an eager nod, her father opening the chair so her wheelchair sat there.
"They only came in one size. That's so we don't have to buy you another one for awhile." her father explained with a wink. "You like it?"
The chair was completely black except for the pink rim of the wheels were her hands would rest and spin the tires.
"I love it!" Luka squealed. "Mommy! Mommy! Can I try it out now?"
"Of course, sweetie." Luka's mom lowered her daughter down into the seat, with a small smile.
Luka wriggled as she sat in the slightly overlarge chair, spinning the wheels so she backed down the driveway. With a laugh Luka raced around the car, her hair billowing as she spun the wheels.
"Thank you so much!" Luka was grinning ear to ear, her light blue eyes twinkling in delight. Maybe all wouldn't be so bad. And maybe now that she could finally be mobile by herself, her parents would let her go to public school.
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That's it for this chapter. I'm still just getting started, so the chapters should start to get longer and more interesting. See that blue button below? You know what to do ;D
~Illumini~