Blind
Chapter 3: Death Can Be a Good Thing
Today like any day for the past week Shinobu clean the house, cook for Miyagi, and study about the regions in the small office. Never once has he gone more than 10 steps out of the pouch alone besides that day he ran tried to escape. He behave what society consider as a house wife; a rather jaded house wife. This young man was born in the city and is expected to have a busy city life. Not stuck in this rusty old house in the middle of a desert. He wants to have fun with friends he misses back in the city. He desires to see the night contaminated cloudy sky while committing rebellious acts. He craves to taste the greasy fatty fast foods once more. Most of all he wishes to go home, to see his family and friends again. Shinobu thinks of all of the things he yearns for while getting dinner ready. He cuts the cabbage quickly and carelessly which he ends up slicing a bit of skin from his thumb. Gashes of blood spur out which tarnish the leafy green cabbages. The young man curse silently while throwing the bloody cabbages in the bin. Miyagi, who is sitting right in front of him at the round dinner table observe Shinobu's thumb. He stood up, grabs a box of band-aids from the cabinet and grabs the small boy's thumb. He carefully wraps the green band-aid around the small little thumb and whispers idiot at the boy. Shinobu, who kept his cool all week finally fuse.
"Then if I am such a complete idiot, why did you bring me here?"
Miyagi rolled his eyes and smack his lips in frustration.
"Again with this? I thought you would quit with that attitude by now."
"I would if you would tell me why the hell did you kidnap me?"
"Shinobu, what's your damn problem? I already told you that you said you wanted to come."
Shinobu slaps his convict out of irritation and anxiety. Miyagi did not fight back; instead he remain in place to listen to the boys complains.
"Don't you see? I am bored! Bored of this miserable little house in this miserable country and you! I want to go home!"
With this response from the boy, Miyagi commence laughing softly.
"Is that it? You know you have free will to go outside. Why don't you go and see it yourself?"
"What is there to see besides dirt and rocks?"
The older man took out a package of pasta and pours it into a pot of water which he place over the stove. Finally after he turn the knob to the correct temperature he allege confidently.
"More then you will ever see in a city."
Shinobu walk out of the kitchen and went to what he now knows as his sanctuary. It is the room he first woke up in and now it is the room goes to sleep in. For some strange reason Miyagi never goes inside that room besides re-wrapping bandages from the boys feet. They are almost healed but scars are now forever left as a reminder to Shinobu about his close accouter of death. If he had to choose between living here in boredom for the rest of his life, or going to the afterlife; death would be a good option to commit to. He opens the blinds from the window and sees what Miyagi's truth lays. At first all he sees is darkness and endless pits of red dirt. He stares outside for a while until noticing something he has never seen before in his life. These are what people call stars. Shinobu gaze at the tiny creatures fill with intense white light. He begins to remember about the city he grew up in and how he has never once seen a star up in the sky. Shinobu counted the stars and name each one of them as if he was a small child again. How can something so plain and old be so new and fascinating for a city boy? This question remains in Shinobu's head until he found himself falling asleep on the floor next to the wall where the window is.
…~…
He got up from the cold floor and went to the kitchen to get something to eat but something is a bit off about the kitchen. The electricity does not work. He checks the whole entire house and nothing turns on. Shinobu put on his shoes that Miyagi have lent him and went outside. The sun blazes down on top of him, burning his neck as he calls Miyagi's name. He walks around the house and finds Miyagi in the back of the house working on the electric box that connects to the solar panels.
"What are you doing?"
He turns and smiles at Shinobu.
"Hey, pack some lunch. I'm going to take you to see something extraordinary."
Shinobu shrugs and went back in packing lunch consist of chips, Bread, peanut butter and filled 2 gallons of tap water. Miyagi went inside and put the food into the truck. He then hand Shinobu the keys to the truck while he enters the passenger seat. Shinobu enters the driver's seat puzzled on what to do.
"Um, Miyagi…" Shinobu mutter
"Turn the truck on. Then drive." Miyagi cut him off.
"I don't know how to drive." The boy replies nervously
Miyagi lean towards Shinobu, grab the boy's small soft white hand that is held on the keys with his rough tan hand; guide it to the key hole and jams it into the key hole. He then turns Shinobu's hand signally the boy to turn the engine on. The engine roars stridently causing the truck to quiver. Shinobu place his hands on top of the wheel and looks at Miyagi for help.
"I seriously don't know how to drive. I'm Japanese, I'm underage!"
"Non-sense! You don't need to know."
"But what if I crash!"
"You're in the outback! It is sheer impossible to crash!"
Shinobu timidly stares at the wheel until Miyagi shift the stick and yell at him to drive. Out of fear Shinobu push the gas petal in full speed and screams in terror while Miyagi hollers in joy.
"Where do I go?" Shinobu shrieks.
"Just keep going straight and try not to hit any dingoes."
Shinobu continues driving in full speed until Miyagi tells him to slow down by gently lifting the foot up. They soon reach a small dried pond and spotted a Kangaroo.
"Miyagi! Look! There's a kangaroo!"
Shinobu was about to step out of the car until Miyagi held him back.
"Oh no you don't. Those guys can kick."
Shinobu looks at the kangaroo. His coat looks supremely dry and rough. Just like the red dirt which the animal stands on. Shinobu takes a closer look and see's the animals leg has been shot and along with him a trail of blood. He softens his eyes in pity and looks at Miyagi as a helpless boy who wants to help the animal.
"Miyagi, he's hurt."
Miyagi who also saw the animal's leg reaches behind to grab what appears to be a shotgun and opens the glove department to get bullets for the gun. Shinobu stares at Miyagi in horror. Questions burst into his mind. As Miyagi loads up the gun Shinobu stutters queerly asking him.
"What are you going to do with that gun…"
Miyagi looks back without any emotion.
"Gonna kill that worthless roo"
Shinobu grabs his wrist and shouted at him.
"No! Why would you kill an innocent kangaroo! He is hurt! Can't you see!"
"Exactly, he is hurt. That dang animal is suffering so I am doing that thing a favor."
Miyagi rolls the window down just enough for him to let half of his body out. He seats on the top of the window comfortably while leaning on the truck's roof with the gun for support.
"Miyagi! Don't do this to a harmless creature!"
Miyagi ignores Shinobu's cries. He aims for the kangaroo and triggers the gun. At the moment he press the trigger, Shinobu pushes him from the truck which causes the fire to miss the kangaroo's chest and ends up hitting its other leg. The silent desert where you can only hear the wind blowing is now being filled with echoes of the gun fire. The kangaroo moans in pain as it falls to the ground. Miyagi cursed and walks straight to the kangaroo intending to end its misery. Shinobu runs up to Miyagi trying to stop him but in return the man just pushes him out of the way from him and the kangaroo. He places the gun right on top of the kangaroo's head. Shinobu grabs Miyagi's wrist which held the gun and cries to him.
"Please! He doesn't deserve this! Don't kill him! I beg of you!"
Miyagi looks at Shinobu and back to the kangaroo. He ignores the pleas and just triggers the gun once more ending the life and suffers of the animal. Drops of blood gush out; hitting the boy's legs and shoes. Shinobu looks down at the kangaroo who was moaning right before the gun fires at his head which in return makes him silent. The sight of this was just absolutely horrifying for Shinobu. Miyagi looks up and spotted some bird coming ahead. He picks up Shinobu who was still crying over the kangaroo and throws him into the truck on the passenger seat. He turns on the tuck and heads back to the house. During this ride all he can hear was Shinobu's sniffles and hiccups. He rolls his eyes and spoke.
"Hey, stop crying to brat. I did this for its own good."
"It did nothing to you! What can a kangaroo do to a human?"
"A lot, just because you think they are cute and peaceful does not mean they are. They are wild creatures as well as pest. They destroy crops and hurt people by causing car accidents."
"Why did you kill it then? You don't even own a damn farm to say they are pest." Shinobu argued back
"There are a shit load of roos in this damn country. Way too many to be even being close to be considered endangered. If we let them live then these animals will overpopulate and die of starvation. Do you get my point?"
Shinobu shook his head.
"So why!"
"Stupid! If you were shot in the leg and left in the wild with no help you would slowly starve to death since you can't do shit. Isn't that way more painful than just being kill right there on the spot. You only gonna feel pain for a second and that is it."
With this response the blonde seems to quiet down and think about what Miyagi's words may mean. When he saw the animal alive it was week and helpless. There was no way for a chance of survival if he was left there all alone. Still, they could have helped. They could have feed and healed the animal just like how Miyagi healed Shinobu.
"Hey Miyagi, why didn't you left me to die?"
Miyagi turns and widen his eyes at what he heard.
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
"I was suffering and hurt just like that kangaroo. So instead of shooting me with the gun just like you did to the kangaroo; you just took me back to your house and took care of me."
"It's different. Kangaroo means nothing to me. A human does."
They finally got back to the house. Miyagi turned off the truck and left the keys in the key hole. They sat there for a while in silence.
"Do you understand?" Miyagi ask trying to break the silence
"Not really. I see your drift in why killing the kangaroo but I do not understand why I am alive."
Miyagi took in a deep breath. He reaches into his pockets for the box of cigarettes.
"It's because…I am in… no, never mind. You will understand later on when you're older."
With that Miyagi exit the truck and walk back into the house. Shinobu stays in the truck for a while thinking until he got sick of the silence and went inside as well. It turns out the lights went back on while the two were out in the desert. He feels the cool fan hit against his sticky moist skin. He hears Miyagi coming out of the bathroom.
"Well, it's summer. It's getting pretty damn hot considering it's going to be Christmas next week."
"Christmas? How can there be Christmas when it's like 40 Celsius outside?"
"It's feels like 36 right now. Anyways you can have Christmas here. Let's see what we can do to make it feel a bit more Christmas like."
"How about making the red dirt turn into white snow?" Shinobu ask smirking.
"Sorry to burst your bubble but that won't happen till July. Oh, I know! Lights!"
"Lights? You have Christmas lights?"
"No, I have candles and flashlights." Miyagi replies while he heads to the kitchen to look for them in the cabinets.
"You're joking right? What kind of Christmas is that? What about the tree? Presents? Don't forget the fruit cake and the music."
"You see that coat hanger over there by your room. That's our Christmas tree. Fruit cake taste like shit yet everyone still makes it. Let's compete with that and make cabbage cake. I got some cassettes in my room with music. And I can care less about the presents. You can just cook me a non shitty present how does that sound?"
Shinobu looks at Miyagi wondering if he was really serious.
"That sounds like a horrible Christmas. What kind of childhood did you went through?"
Miyagi looked at Shinobu and chuckles.
"Christmas doesn't always have to be what you see on T.V. You do know what Christmas is right?"
"Yeah, a time to share family and friends." Shinobu respond
"No, it's just a holiday to celebrate Jesus Christ birth for the Christians and Catholics. I ain't Christian but that doesn't stop me from celebrating it."
Shinobu sighs and helps out Miyagi with the candles. He doesn't want to argue anymore with his captor and figures make the best of what Miyagi calls Christmas.
...~...
Note: Long time since I have updated. I had trouble thinking of a way for Shinobu to learn about life and death in this chapter since September but I have been putting this story off for far to long. How convenient, when I first wrote this story back in August I set it at December due to Shinobu being on Summer Vacation. Now it's Christmas time so I have more inspiration due to it being December! Too bad I am gonna have to study for mid term exams. Oh well, I would like to thank to those who review and favorite this story. Especially to xMoymoy who reviewed just today and basho chin who I didn't know reviewed this 2 months ago which I didn't read till now. I was surprise there was some people who like Miyagi being a bad boy. :D
I hope to those who still reading will be happy with this somewhat short chapter. I will try to update as soon as I can.