Chapter Four: Blind and Happy?
The red engine got a bit of a fright before he turned his attention to a familiar girl with a pair of dark shade glasses, a white cane, and her hair done in a low ponytail with a headband, "Cara? Is that you?", he asked in surprise.
Cara nodded, "Yes, and I'm so glad to meet you again!", she chirped.
James didn't expect Cara to greet him straight away. He honestly thought she would forget about him or just be like any other kid that's eager to go to school. This made James give her a warm smile, "And it's so good to meet you again too."
Just seeing Cara with such joy made James pleased with himself and knowing that he might get to know Cara more and better understand her condition, even if he had to work for Thomas' role for a week or two, depending on the results he received. Either way, James knew that Cara was such a happy girl, yet he wondered how she could keep that smile.
They ended up having a small conversation about their day yesterday and asking simple questions. The more they talked to each other, the night it sparked a connection between their potential friendship. Cara admired James' confidence, although James did end up acting cocky, while James thought Cara was sweet and humble, although he was still secretly confused about how she could be happy and blind at the same time.
Unfortunately for them, after a five-minute chat, all but Cara entered inside the coach as the guard blew his whistle to signal James to get ready, "Oh dear! I must get going, James! I hope to meet you again after school!", Cara cried as she waved her hands and walked her way carefully towards one of the open coach doors.
James was disappointed that the conversation ended as he admitted he enjoyed the young girl's company, yet he knew he had a job to do, and Cara had school and the other children. However, he maintained his enthusiasm and replied, "We will! I promise!"
With that, James began to observe Cara's move as he waited for her to hop inside the coach. He was surprised that the white cane helped her navigate her way to the coach with ease. It amazes him that a young child could be more than capable of making her way alone to the coach without requiring her eyes. Once he saw her approaching the coach door, he spotted the porter, who offered to aid Cara inside, but she politely declined as she stepped inside.
After Cara goes inside one of the splendid red coaches, the porter carefully shuts the doors before nodding his head to James that he can go. James responded with a loud, proud whistle as he puffed out of Knapford Station as he was on his way to Thomas' Branchline and got to Dryaw's School on time for the children and Cara.
…
At Dryaw's School, all the students eagerly ran outside the coaches and headed toward James to admire his paintwork and thank him for the ride. James was being overly confident as usual as he acted modestly again. Once the children left and rushed to the school, as it was nearly school time, James spotted Cara being the last one to exit from the coach as she approached James slowly with a beaming smile, "Thank you, James. I hope you have a good day."
James chuckled and replied, "How can a splendid engine like me have a bad day?"
Cara laughed as she joked playfully, "If that's the case, you wouldn't have to do jobs you don't like. Well, see you soon, James! Goodbye!"
With that, Cara waved at James as she went to catch up with the other students. There, James smiled and replied quietly, "Bye, Cara."
Once Cara was at the front door entrance to the school, James tooted his whistle again and headed his way back to Knapford Station to see what task he was assigned next, and to his annoyance, he had to shunt trucks for a week with Edward and collect students to and from school. He wished he could collect passengers as he found trucks a nuisance, and he secretly feared them after a disaster occurred he had a long time ago that James wanted to forget.
…
After shunting trucks for what felt like forever, James got himself a quick wash before he would even allow himself to pull his shiny red coaches to collect the students. Once he was done, he was eager to go to school, but it wasn't just because the students admired him, but because he could meet up with Cara. He admitted to himself that he couldn't stop wondering about Cara's condition and kept wondering the same question. How can you be blind and happy?
Once he arrived at school, he made a big announcement as always. The students ran away from the school facility as they all rushed to meet James. He again noticed that Cara came out last, which made him curious. Was it because of her blindness, or was something else going on?
Either way, James waited as patiently as he could as he wasn't so good at it, but with Cara, James wanted to be as patient as he could not make her rush and get stressed out. Once Cara arrived, she wasted no time giving him a big smile and a huge greeting. James greeted back as Cara talked about how school went well today. This made James intrigued, but unfortunately, Cara had to go inside the coach as he couldn't waste time chatting when he got work to do.
With that, James explained to Cara that he would be more than glad to hear her story about her day once they arrived at Knapford Station. Cara understood as she didn't want to cause James to make such confusion and delay. So, she headed inside the coach with her white cane as James whistled loudly and made his way to Knapford Station.
…
When James arrived at the station, Cara rushed to James and eagerly explained her day from how Mrs. Woodwind allowed her to demonstrate to the class how to play the violin to find a kitten inside the bush and give it to a nearby teacher to help. James was amazed by her story as she seemed so happy, and when he complimented her, she ended up getting painfully shy as she explained she just did it for passion, not for attention.
Cara was the complete polar opposite of James, and although their differences were based personality-wise, they both slowly appreciated each other, and they knew that they could be friends. However, their conversation would soon be cut short when Cara's mother called her. Cara was quite upset, yet she didn't want her mother to be so concerned. There, she bid James goodbye and admitted she enjoyed a small conversation with him, and James mutually agreed.
With that, they said goodbye as Cara went to her mother. James' smile turned into a slight frown, "Cara is so happy. She's one lucky girl, but… how can she be happy despite being blind? I still don't get it?"
…
Days rolled by, and the same routine happened for James and Cara. Cara got up, had breakfast, got her bag packed, and was ready to go to Knapford Station with her mother while James got up and waited at the station for the coaches and the students. Once the students arrived, James and Cara had a quick conversation before James must take the students to school.
Once the students were dropped off, and Cara said her goodbye, James would dread to work with trucks at Knapford Yards with Edward, yet Edward would make sure he could get the job done right without complaining. During his work, he would ponder about Cara, which Edward had noticed him thinking to himself, which made James frown a bit.
After hours of shunting, James got a quick wash as he collected the coaches and students. When he arrived at Knapford Station, he would have a small yet great conversation with Cara about their day, which slowly but surely, built their friendship, and of course, Cara couldn't stay for long as her mother would call out her name. James was getting used to the changes and admitted that he enjoyed having Cara around. One time, she showed him her grandmother's wooden brown acoustic guitar, implying she was into music.
…
Friday came, and James was now shunting quietly with a small frown of confusion at Knapford Yards. He was still pondering the same question, yet he still didn't fully understand. Edward noted James' behaviour since Day One, yet he didn't want to intrude on James' thought process. James was wondering to himself, and he finally asked Edward a question he needed to know as he sighed, "Edward? How can a blind person be happy?"
Edward stopped shunting his trucks for a moment as he turned his attention to James, "What do you mean, James?", he asked with such curiosity.
"What I mean is that how can someone born blind still be happy when they can't see anything, not even their own family or friends?", James explained as he still pondered with a slight frown and raised an eyebrow.
Edward was even more surprised to hear that from James, "And what makes you ask that?", he asked.
James took a deep breath and explained his story, "Well, on Monday, I met a blind girl, and she seemed unaffected by it. We ended up having nice conversations, and she had so many good stories to tell, yet she still couldn't see a thing. It doesn't make sense. Cara would smile and seem to navigate her way without her eyes. If I were blind, I would be so upset."
Edward listened as he understood what James was wondering about, "Well, James. Cara is happy and blind, and I see there's nothing wrong with it."
"Nothing wrong with it?", James gasped in shock, "What makes you think that? Cara can't see anything, and she goes slow whenever she needs to find her way. Anyone would find it difficult, and with her seeing nothing, she would never get to see the beauty of life."
Edward remained calm as he smiled, "James. Eyes aren't everything. You don't need your eyes to see the beauty."
"You don't need your eyes?", James cried, "How can you live your life? I mean, Cara is only a child, but when she gets older, she realises that being blind is not necessarily a good thing! The poor girl! She doesn't realise she got it hard!"
Edward frowned a bit as he could understand where James was standing, yet he knew that he needed to explain a lot for James to understand Cara and help him build his friendship with her and learn from her, "James."
However, James didn't listen as he continued to rant and rave before Edward finally called the fifth time, "James!"
James went quiet as he looked at Edward with a confused and shocked look with wide eyes and an upside-down smile, "James. You said Cara is young. Well, she seems to be happy because she's like any other child. Her condition isn't affecting her as she can live a fulfilling life like any other person."
"How?", James asked.
"Because everyone lives their life differently, and Cara is no exception. Cara uses different methods to help her get through life with ease. Although we can't guarantee Cara will be happy about being blind, she can still truly be happy without her eyes. We got other senses, right?"
Edward waited for a response as James blinked as a nod, "Well, Cara can use her ears to listen to her way, she can use her nose to smell the aromas, she can still taste things, and most importantly, she can still feel. She's not different at all, James. If you get to know her more, you will see that she's like any other girl. Trust me."
James' eyes went wide. This made a lot of sense. Cara does use her ears to follow voices and uses the noise of the white cane to know if she's on the ground or not. Most importantly, he slowly realised what she meant, that she didn't need pity, but rather opportunities. Cara may not get as much experience in some ways, but she can enjoy many things that people with sight can, "So, you're telling me that blind people can live a happy life because they are still them?"
"That's right. Having a disability shouldn't define you at all. If Cara is happy, then you shouldn't pity or worry at all. She's still like any young girl. Again, once you get to know her, you will understand her condition. Probably even better than me.", Edward chuckled heartily, "I may meet some blind people, but with you having a new friend, I'm sure you will teach me more about people being blind."
With that, James' mouth went wide, and he thought to himself, "Cara is happy cause she's herself and doesn't allow her blindness to spell out "weakness". Now I'm slowly understanding. I think Cara is amazing. I hope we can be friends."
There, Edward and James went back to shunting as Edward was more than glad to help James understand that blind people can still be happy, and James hoped to understand Cara more, despite having a better picture from Edward's explanation. At least James doesn't have to ponder as much about Cara's being blind. Cara isn't just "the blind girl". Cara is Cara, and James is James.
