Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 1: befriending the wind
"Jack, where are you?" a woman's voice sounded from the inside of their home. "I'm in the garden by the pond!" the white haired boy yelled back from his perch on the rocks by their pond. He could hear his mother rush out the door, clearly in panic as she yelled "Jack! Get away from there right now! You know you're not allowed outside alone." Jack let out a sigh as he closed the braille book he was reading and jumped down from his rock. He couldn't understand why they were so worried about him. While it's true that he's blind, he had no trouble knowing what was around him. He could sense everything around him just as well as anyone with vision could. Only difference was that he couldn't see colors or read like them.
"I was fine, mom! I was just reading." She took him by the shoulders "Jack, why can't you understand it's not save for you to be alone out here and you know that." Jack's expression saddened "But I like it out here!" she regarded him solemnly she knew why her son loved the outside so much. There were always so many new sounds or smells outside for him to experience, even from the confinement of their garden, unlike the silence of their house. She sighed, "Okay you can sit outside but only if you stay here by the porch, okay?" the boy nodded and she ruffled his hair.
He then sat down again with intend to continuing to read, but all of a sudden he heard a familiar whisper. "Come and play with me!" Jack frowned in confusion, as he didn't sense anyone around him. He was admittedly frightened but his curiosity replaced his fear. "Who are you?" he felt a gush of wind dance around him playfully and he chuckled in wonderment "I'm the wind" he heard the whisper say. He frowned and responded in a voice full of skepticism "The wind?" he felt another gush of wind push him on his feet. He let out a yelp of surprise and the wind just chuckled "okay, I believe you." Jack laughed as he overcame his initial surprise.
His squeals of mirth could be hear inside the house and curiously the boy's parents walked out to see what sort of trouble Jack was now getting himself into. What they saw was beyond compare to anything they had ever seen before, and it shocked them to their very core. They saw their 5 year-old son dance around like a leaf in the wind, tossed around with an unusual grace that made it look he weighted nothing at all. However, what shocked them the most was his expression of sheer joy. Never before in their life had they seen a more beautiful sight. They leaned against each other with tears in their eyes, forgetting all their worries as they looked at the beautiful scene in front of them.
Jack played with the wind every day. He truly enjoyed its company. He loved the tales of its travels it told and all the things it taught him about the world he would never have known otherwise. The wind was his first ever friend, one who was always around, he need only ask for its company "Wind?" a gush of wind told him it was listening. The wind adored the boy, as he was the only one to hear its voice it was because of him the wind never felt lonely anymore. Not now, that the wind could finally be heard again. "Could you tell me a story?" the wind remained silent for a while signaling it was thinking of which of its stories it should tell. It smiled thinking of a young girl he saw not that long ago.
"There is young girl, no older than yourself. She dreams of friendship and love but everyone, but her family looks the other way pretending not to see her pain. She is lonely and longs for company. She kept lying to herself, saying she probably don't deserve one, while she is the most deserving of all." Jack's expression turned sad as he nearly cried at the wind "What? Why? Didn't you help her? Is she still lonely?" the wind gently circled around him "she can't hear my voice like you. She still remains trapped in her loneliness and I can't help her." Jack nearly cried at that. "I can't help her, but you can!" Jack rose his head, clearly eager to help this girl. "You will meet her soon!" Jack's expression turned to one of excitement as he said "really?!" "You will, sooner than you think!" but before they had a chance to say more, Jack heard his mother call him in for dinner.
"Are you ready for tomorrow?" his mother asked trying to cover her worriedness behind her fake cheer. Jack could easily 'see' through her act, but he could understand why she would be worried about him. He didn't like it when his mother was worried about him. "Yeah! I can hardly wait." He replied with as much excitement he could manage. "You're sure you don't want to be home schooled instead?" she asked her tone slightly gave away the hopefulness that he would, she didn't like the fact that he would be attending school, even more because they lived in such a small town that there were no handicap schools around. Therefore, he would have to attend a regular school. He replied with his face full of confidence and determination in order to reassure her. "Yes, I'm sure. Don't worry I'll be fine the teachers all now that I'm blind and will give me a braille copy of their notes and the voice recorder will do the rest. I'll be fine." She still wasn't convinced but she let it go.
After dinner, Jack went upstairs to his room and opened the window to let in the wind. It danced around the room happy to be reunited with its friend even if it's only for a few minutes. "I'm sorry I won't be able to talk to you much tomorrow." Jack said as his expression turned sad "you won't be lonely, will you?" the wind whispered a soft "no, I won't" before it told the boy to go to sleep.