here's a story i wrote for a commonwealth competition. just thought it'd be nice to post it up for the sake of it. :D
Blue
A strike of thunder swathed past the dying grass. The grass was brown and light. Their lifeless bodies danced to the soft tune of the blowing wind. The wind howled. She shivered, then. Rain speared the closed windows, they sounded like the monotonous beats of a dirge. She could hear the lights flicker somewhere above her.
“Brooke’s got one of the prettiest blue eyes I’ve seen in my life.” She jumped at the mention of her name. The voice was gruff. He spit. “Pity, ain’t it? That she can’t be seein’.” he drawled, the accent of a Southerner lingered in his voice. She could recognize that voice. It was her uncle Keith. He was from a small county in Alabama. She lived in Wyoming. Her shoulders drooped as she heard his comment. She was blind from birth.
Brooke had crystalline blue eyes. Her face was spotted with freckles. Her hair was hazel brown and curled at their ends, left at shoulder length. She never tied her hair up for fear that she might bald without knowing it.
The clinking of ice against an empty glass echoed in the small room. The walls were painted a dull blue, but she did not know that.
“Yeah,” a deep voice replied. That voice belonged to her husband. His name was Nathan. She did not know what he looked like, but she had heard before that he had a pair of grey eyes. She wondered what grey eyes looked like. She wondered what blue eyes looked like too. There was a moment of silence.
“Bad weather, huh?” a man’s voice broke the silence. His voice was husky. That was her childhood friend Lucas. From what Brooke had heard, Lucas was a very handsome young man. His eyes were a deep blue, his features sharp, and his hair sandy blonde. He was said to be tall and well built. She had always wondered what he looked like.
A “yes” came back at him. He coughed. She heard footsteps of someone walking towards where she was sitting, she tightened her grip on the porcelain cup she held. Strong hands gripped her shoulders.
“Brooke,” it was Lucas. She turned to the source of the voice. “You’ll be seeing one day. I promise you.” She chuckled. “No one’s gonna donate their corneas to me, Luke.” she gave him a nonchalant smile. “It’s ok.”
He sighed. The sound of footsteps became distant again. A chair was dragged across the parquet floor. She reached down to the can of salted peanuts on the floor, opening it and reaching in.
“I’m gonna go,” Lucas said. He put his glass on the table, a soft thud could be heard. He grabbed his jacket. “I’ll be seeing you.” He continued, his footsteps were getting more and more distant from her. She pulled her blank gaze up, searching slightly for Lucas. “Bye, Luke.” She smiled, bringing her hand up and waving it at the air. She didn’t realize Lucas wasn’t in her trail of sight. Not that she had sight.
His heart ached at her attempt. “Bye, Brooke.” He forced on a smile, even though she could not see it. Pulling open the red wood door, he walked out, slamming the door slightly. He was not the gentle sort.
Lucas pulled his dark blue Ford Mustang over at the state hospital. The sky was still a dull grey. Running into the pristine, white building, the hard droplets of rain pelted his leather jacket. Running a hand through his damp hair, he walked towards the metallic lifts, pressing the metal buttons. They were cold to the touch. “Ding!” the doors of the lift opened, and he walked in, his sneakers met with the floor with soft squeaks.
Walking out of the lift, he moved over to a counter, a petite looking lady sat behind it, concentrating on a bunch of documents. The floor he was on was empty except for the two of them. The ticking of the clock on the wall resounded against the white washed walls. “Excuse me?” he said, his voice polite, a small smile was written on his face. She looked up, the wrinkles on her face were quite obvious. Her spectacles drooped down her button nose. “Yes?” her voice was small.
“I…” he paused for a moment. “I want to donate my corneas.” His voice was hesitant.
“Well,” she pursed her lips, her wrinkles more evident than before. “I’m sorry sir, but we don’t allow people to donate their corneas.” His smile disappeared, as she paused for thought. “Unless they’re dead, of course.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Then… what’s there that I can do? I mean, if I want to donate my corneas,” he bit his lip, fingering the end of his jacket. “to someone I love?”
She smiled a knowing smile at him. Her smile was warm. “You can fill out this form, so that if you do die, you can be sure your corneas go to…whoever that is.” She paused yet again. “Don’t do anything silly, though.” She added, passing him the form. “Fill everything in.”
“Brooke!” she jumped yet again at the mention of her name. It was Nathan’s voice. She heard the footsteps of two people approaching her. She reached out, and a large hand took hers. “The hospital just called.” He sounded as though he was about to burst with happiness. “You’ve got a donor.” She almost leaped for joy. A smile drew itself on her face. “We have to go now, to get the transplant done.” Someone handed her her walking stick. Guessing it was her Uncle Keith, she said a silent thank you, allowing Nathan to pull her over to their car, not caring about the rain. Never had she thought that she could pull out of the dark she had grown inured to.
Arriving at the hospital, the nurses and doctors were quick to wheel her into the operation room. She never thought she would have the chance to see.
A few weeks had passed since her operation. She was more than overjoyed when the cloth covering her eyes was removed. The feeling of sunlight, the blue of the sky and the chance to look at her husband was something she had never experienced before. She wondered where Lucas was, for she had not heard of that familiar voice for those long weeks.
It was then that Nathan walked into the bright room of hers. Sunlight crept in through the opened blinds, the blue sky peeked at her. The expression on his face was one that she could not read. He clutched a piece of paper in his hands.
He walked over, handing it to her. “It’s from Lucas.” His voice trembled ever so slightly. She looked at the crumpled piece of paper, the neat words written in blue ink looked foreign to her. “Read it to me.” She pushed it back to him. His expression worried her.
He took a deep breath, forcing a smile on his face. “Hi, Brooke! I know this is going to sound really sudden, but I’ve moved to Canada! Got a really awesome job over here. Hope you’re ok. I heard you got a donor! That’s great…” Nathan paused. “Look, I don’t think I’ll be able to keep in contact with you anymore. Work’s taking a lot of my time, and I’ve got a new girlfriend too. She’s absolutely amazing. I hope you enjoy seeing things! I’ll see you when I see you, I guess. Love, Lucas.” Nathan folded the letter, passing it back to her.
Her voice trembled. She was at a loss of words and as she bit her lip, a tear slid down her cheek. “I’ll never get to see him, huh?” she said, reaching for Nathan’s hand. “I hope he’s happy, then.” She wiped her tears, sitting up straight again. “Take me to see my donor.” She said. Her eyes began to grow tumescent from her tears.
He paused. “He’s dead, Brooke.”
“Then take me to his cemetery. I want to thank him…” her gaze drifted to look out the window. The outside world was inviting. Life was no longer a blanket of black. He looked hesitant. “Please, Nate.” She pleaded, pulling his hand. He nodded reluctantly.
The cemetery looked surprisingly peaceful. She held his hand, looking at the pictures on each grave. The sun shone warmly on the ground, the green of the grass was serene. She looked up at the boneless blue sky and found it so deep she thought she might drown in it. “Here,” Nathan nudged her softly, pointing to a grave before them. In the distance, the ochre branched willows swayed stiffly, pollened catkins like yellow thumbprints.
The picture showed a handsome young man. His hair was blonde, his features sharp, his eyes a deep blue. Tears began to drip down her jawline, her own blue eyes scanned the picture. She felt like she knew him for years. She ran her finger down his picture. It was smooth and cold to touch.
“Thank you, mister. I will look at life through your eyes, now.” She paused for breath. “I’ll look at things beautifully, always.” She could hear Nathan’s soft sobs from behind. Turning around, she only saw his back.
“Thank you for giving me the gift of sight.”
-end-
lights will guide you home
and ignite your bones
and i will try to fix you