A blind man was sitting on a bench near the bus stop. He seemed idle and in no hurry to go home or elsewhere unlike the people passing by hastily. My next bus was to arrive in a half an hour; I missed the current one by a minute. There was a free place on the bench next to the man. Impulsively, I decided to sit.
“Hello,” he said.
“Uh…Hi, sir,” was my response.
“Beautiful day, isn’t it?”
“I guess so…”
How did he know?
“Tell me, young lady, what do you see?”
What a peculiar question!
“I see people of all ages going fast to their destinations. I see buses stopping and cars passing by,” I answered as-a-matter-of-factly.
“No. Open your eyes a little bit more. What do you see?”
“But I just told you, sir!”
“That is also what I saw before I was blinded. But now, as a blind man, I have finally opened my eyes. Never have seen any clearer.”
“Well, what do you see?” I wondered.
“Mmm…Cloudless light-blue sky and glowing warm sun. Verdant grass barely hidden by little fragrant flowers. Birds chirping joyful songs in tall trees.”
And these words hit me right in the core.
“But, how do you see all this?” I wanted to know so badly.
“How? I hear, feel, sense it.”
I was amazed.
“I apologize for the informality, but may I touch your face and hand?” he continued.
It was strange to let him do so, but I felt that I could trust him. Why? Just because.
“Thin hand. You are petite and svelte. You have the right facial traits and your face is very smooth. Beautiful young girl. Inside and out, surely,” he analyzed me.
“Oh, thank you kindly, sir!”
“It’s the truth,” he said sincerely.
Brief silence.
“I have a question…” I said hesitantly.
“Go ahead.”
“You feel these beauties of life, but do you ever wish to perceive them through the eyes?”
“No. And do you know why? When I could see, I lead a busy life. Always running somewhere, taking no time to get acquainted with my surroundings, to breathe deeply. And years flew by just as my life flew by. When I lost my sight, however, I lost the sense of time. And as I lost the sense of time, I began to appreciate life more, to not let it slip off my hands. I began to feel it with every breath I took, with each beat of my heart.”
“Ah…”
“I’m blind, but I’m happy.”
And for a moment, it seemed that time stood still. But I realized that, in fact, it did not once my bus arrived.
“Your bus…”
“I’ll take another one. Let’s just look at the panorama.”
For the first time, I looked at the world and actually saw it. This world called life. |
Submission Name: An encounter with a blind man
