Jak sat there listening to the radio. That's all he did these days if no one visited him or he wasn't listening to the audio tapes people had given him. He felt that his mind was slowly turning to mush. His mind begged to be stimulated, to be released from the never ending boredom that he tried to escape from. He couldn't read, he couldn't watch TV and he wouldn't go outside. He made do with listening to the radio or one of the audio books. The radio was hardly a way to pass time but it was either this or banging his head against the wall for something 'exciting' to do. Right now it was getting more and more tempting to do just that.
From the lack of exercise alone, Jak knew he was loosing muscle. He wished he could just jump up and run, do a mission or even drive around for a while. He was in a strange sightless world with no hope of ever escaping. Even with his despair he was determine to beat it, he would die before he excepted this fate.
A knock from the door roused him from his thoughts. He got up and headed for the door. He turned off the radio as he passed it before pressing the button to open his front door.
"Ah, hello. You must be Jak" a male voice greeted
"Uh yeah, you are?"
"Yes, my name is Solrin. I am your Braille teacher"
Jak stepped back from the door to let Solrin in, "Great come in. It wasn't like I had nothing better to do"
"You have a wonderful apartment" Solrin commented
"Um thanks, at least one of us can appreciate its looks" Jak joked lamely as he pressed the button again to close the door
He heard Solrin's footsteps enter the adjoining living room. He followed. Jak decided he would be nice today. He needed the company and he needed something to stimulate his mind and this would do the trick.
"Help yourself to what ever you like. Don't wait for me to give you something" Jak muttered.
"I am just fine. Come over here so we may start" Solrin instructed
Jak approached Solrin's voice direction before a hand touched his elbow. He could feel Solrin's warm, leathery hand on his skin. He guessed Solrin was in his late forties but he wouldn't know for sure.
"Come, sit" he instructed guiding Jak to his dining room set seat
Trusting the acquaintance Jak eased into the seat. He heard Solrin sat down and unpack a few things. Heavy and light things clanked on the wooden table. Jak waited patiently for Solrin to begin.
"What do you know about Braille?" Solrin asked
"Only it can help me to read" Jak replied, "Other than that I never heard it before"
"Well Braille use to be written through bulky typewriters so the machine can dent grooves into the paper straight away. Times have changed since then and now we may use a special laptop and printer for you to write with" he explained, Jak could hear him fiddle with what he'd unpacked, "A little primitive technology, I know but laptops are much more better than typewriters, don't you think?"
"Uh, yeah" Jak didn't really know what Solrin was talking about so he just went along with it
Solrin continued, "Here I got a laptop with special keys that has letters written in Braille. I shall be teaching you these letters over the course of the weeks and you will learn to write with this key structure"
"Oh" Jak muttered
Once Solrin finish setting up the hardware he went on with the lesson. Jak was glad he was learning something, it beats listening to the radio and doing nothing any day. Jak had no sense of how much time passed since he obviously couldn't see the time or the light from the sun. But once the lesson was finished, he felt it was over too soon. He could hear Solrin start to pack up all his equipment.
"That's it? Its all over?"
"Why yes. The next lesson shall commence tomorrow"
"Can't you continue anymore now?"
"I don't have the necessary documents with me today"
"Oh sorry. Um thanks" Jak thanked him
"No the pleasure was all mine" Solrin replied, "After all I relieved your boredom"
"What?" Jak blinked
"Is that not why you enjoyed my lesson? Warriors like you are harder to teach, they are stubborn and won't give into what they now have become"
"Well I wouldn't go as far to say that I've excepted my blindness. I still can't to do what I'm suppose to do"
"And what is that?"
"Oh you know save the world, kill the bad guys that sort of thing" Jak said dryly
"Oh but you still can" Solrin whispered excitedly holding on to Jak's shoulder
"Huh?"
"You can still do what your warrior heart desires"
"If you haven't noticed I'm blind! I can't go around, shake up, kill or blow anything up" Jak said quite frankly
"So you think" Solrin smirked
Jak felt Solrin let go of his shoulder and got up to leave the table.
"Hey wait a second! You can't just leave after telling all this bullcrap!" Jak snapped
"How did you know I was leaving? I did not make a sound"
"I don't know what cracked your head but I can hear you coming or going, not this feel crap"
"Do you not have Eco powers?" Solrin suddenly asked
"What?"
"Were you not cursed with Dark Eco and blessed with Light Eco?"
"Yeah, well, how do you know that?" Jak asked then he thought, Everyone in the city knows who I am. What a dumb question.
"That is why you can feel things Jak. Unconsciously you are picking up messages that your surroundings are giving you" Solrin's voice approached him, "And you can tap into this ability"
"If you're going to continue this crap then I suggest you leave" Jak snapped, "Because I'm not in the mood!"
So much for playing Mr. nice guy, Jak thought, Oh well he provoked me...
"You can still do the things that you want to do, like save the world, kill the bad guys that sort of thing" Solrin repeated what Jak had said earlier
Why do people keep telling me I am who I was? I'm not who I was! Don't they see I'm blind! Jak thought angrily
"Listen, I can't do what I did! I can't be someone that I'm not and I'm not what you expect " Jak growled angrily, "I don't know what you're trying to pull but it isn't working"
"A warrior isn't judged by his strength but by his heart"
"Why don't you start making sense!"
"You don't see yet"
"I don't see, full stop!" Jak snapped, "Why don't you leave? If you're going to blabber on with this crap then just go! I've got no time for this stupid shit!"
"Show me your power" Solrin popped up with a sudden demand
"No, just go away" Jak snarled, "What makes you think I'm going to do it for you?"
"I would like to see your light powers" Solrin continued unfazed by Jak's reaction
"Well too bad. I'm not some circus freak show, you know" Jak growled stubbornly
"If you do it I will leave" Solrin bargained
"You will?" Jak asked
"Certainly" Solrin agreed
"Well if your going to leave..." Jak muttered
Jak sighed before closing his eyes. It made no difference but it helped him concentrate if he had his eyes closed. This guy was getting on his nerves but if he could get him out of here by doing this, it would help Jak to control his irritability.
Jak had little over all Eco energy levels left in his system. Lucky he had enough Light Eco to change, oppose to his Dark Eco powers that were depleted due to his last mission that had occurred ages ago. He never got a chance to recharge before the accident, then after the accident he was too busy with his deteriorating eyesight, the operation and then eventually going blind, to go anywhere to recharge. It was too bad that he didn't have his Dark Eco powers. Then he would be tempted to change and scare the guy away.
Jak brought fourth his power and felt it fill his entire being. He felt its power charge his muscles, giving him boundless energy. Unfortunately his alter ego couldn't restore his sight. He tried to heal with his Light Eco power but his eyesight never returned. He tried to see through both his alter ego eyes but they did nothing to give an alternate eyesight. He was forever doomed to see an inky grey darkness.
"Splendid!" Solrin applauded at his transformation
"There happy? You can leave now" Jak said harshly
"Now concentrate and focus on your power"
"We had a deal!" Jak snapped, "I change, you leave!"
"So I lied" Jak could hear Solrin's smirk, "Sue me. Now concentrate and focus your power"
"Why?"
"Why?" Solrin repeated as if that was an outrageous question, "Do you not want to do what you always wanted to do?"
"Yes but-"
"So concentrate!" Solrin said more forcefully
Jak sighed feeling annoyed.
Solrin heard his sigh, "Just do it!"
Jak reluctantly gave in seeing he had no choice, "Fine!"
Jak decided to go along with the guy so the guy can eventually leave. Jak closed his eyes once again and focused on his Light Eco power. He felt it, its purity flooded his soul and filled his heart, satisfying him and bringing him peace. He can feel the vibrant energy course through his veins, through his organ systems and through his muscles. The very feeling he first felt when he first received his power from the Precursors. With this feeling his mouth relaxed into a smile.
"Feel the air around you" Solrin instructed, "Feel it flow through you, as if you are apart of it"
Jak did just that and suddenly felt strange, he felt the air flow through him. He felt he no longer obstructed the air flow in the room. He felt like a ghost.
"Feel the natural elements around you, like the wood from the dining table, the iron ore in the walls and the Yakow leather from the couch"
Jak found himself following Solrin's instructions and eventually he could actually feel where the table was or where the walls stood.
"You see the natural elements of this world are alive. Everything we build we get the raw materials from this earth. The wood from the table or the minerals within the walls are constantly 'whispering' in a higher plane than our own"
"Are you saying the walls really talk?" Jak quipped
"Quiet! Now feel the life force in the room like mine or the indoor pot plant in the corner"
"I have an indoor pot plant?" Jak asked surprised
"Shut up and concentrate!" Solrin snapped
Jak bit his tongue for the moment and focused on Solrin since he knew in what direction Solrin was. After a few minutes he could feel his life force, as if the man was giving off an energy signature, as if he could feel his very soul...
"Eco can help us connect with the earth and even can intensify the natural elements. Precursors knew this and this is why they brought Eco to different planets. They wanted to enrich worlds with these gifts and breathe life into them"
"Hang on how did you know about the Precursors doing that?" Jak asked. As far as Jak knew he was the only one to view the telescope that showed and told him the story of the Precursors and the coming of the Dark Makers.
Solrin continued as if he never heard Jak, "Long ago Eco was used to help the inhabitants co-exist with nature before corruption, greed and the strive for technical advances took hold. During this time there were people who specialize in the different unique types of Eco that held its own strange properties.
"Samos?" Jak knew what Solrin was talking about
"Indeed. As you have seen he is able to communicate with living things and bring on healing qualities, such is the nature of Green Eco. Each colour Eco is unique but there are two that are more powerful then the rest Light and Dark Eco. Light Eco and Dark Ecois the most powerful of all and its surpasses all the Eco put together. Combined they can unleash a most terrible power that only the Precursorsknow howto useit.Light Eco will help you connect with these elements all around you, it will help you identify life forces and you will be able to 'see' on a different plane of existence that we humans never see"
"You're saying I can see with... with Light Eco?" Jak asked completely surprised
"Yes, you'll be able to paint a picture in your mind. All this time you have been using Light Eco as a tool, a weapon for you to use but it is more than just power! It brings peace to the heart, it enriches the human spirit with the goodness it holds. It is a wondrous substance compared to the Dark Eco, as you have experienced, turns you bitter and angry with the turning of madness.
Even with this knowledge, you have to be aware of what is going on within your own heart. You have been both cursed and blessed and so you have to be aware of your own darkness. You have let it consume you to the point of turning you bitter and angry and drive everyone away by making you do things you are not aware of until the last moment"
Jak opened his eyes and turned to Solrin. His white eyes not knowingly looking at the man. How does Solrin know so much about all this stuff? How come he's here telling me this?
"And that's it for the lesson today" Solrin said before picking up his bag
Jak released the Light Eco energy from his form in a spray of white embers, "Wait a second! You can't just leave!"
"We had a deal yes? You show me your Light Eco power I leave and we have done just that. Good bye, I shall meet you again tomorrow" he almost gabbled
Before Jak could protest anymore Solrin left with the door opening then closing behind him.
Jak blinked his blind eyes, "What on earth just happened?"
To be continued...
One on one with a wise man. Who is Solrin and why did he just told Jak all about his Light Eco power? Hmmm... lets see if Jak will take Solrin's advice... Will Jak be able to see again? Will he ever learn to live with his blindness? Can he ever learn Braille?
All these thrilling questions will be answers so stay tuned to find out!
Oh come on people you love me! Don't ya? You love me enough to give me a review! Hey! Don't look at me as if I'm some kind of freak! Oh alright, you don't have to review if you don't want to but I will be very sad.