It was pitch black as always. But there were new things this time. The air was more wet and fresh. I could smell both rot and flowers. It smelled similar to dirt but stronger. The warmth from the sun was spotier and I knew I walked in shadows. The ground was harsher and I reveled in stepping on pinecones or acorns despite my discomfort. It wasn’t a cozy place, but boy was it exhilarating.
I felt like a real explorer rediscovering ancient lands abandoned. Every twill made me wonder what kind of fantastic bird was flying overhead. I imagined feathers of every color and even prehistoric flying monsters.
I moved forward faster, eager to find more input for my senses, but I was immediately chastised by a great forest wall. After my head cleared from the collision, I was able to recognize the thing as a tree. It’s bark was cool and gritty. There were cracks all over and I wondered what thousands of bugs live in those tiny chasms. I kept my fingers out of those cracks for fear of meeting an unpleasant host. I remembered now how harsh the untamed wild could be. If I wanted to survive, I needed to be wary.
I fumbled for my journeyman’s staff and reminded myself to check for dangers before stepping. It wouldn’t do to fall in a freezing river after begging my nieces to take me here. This time I swept the area in front of me and slowly crept forward, listening, feeling, and tasting the very air.
But oh, how I was tired of being careful. Now more than ever I wished I had my sight back and could frolic through a forest without fear of tripping over every root. But those thoughts were dark and I already had plenty of darkness for my lifetime. So I turned my face to what sun I could find and made my own light.
The trees got larger and more dense the farther in I traveled. My excitement rose with their branches. What wonders would I find here? An old abandoned ruin? A broken well? Or maybe even remnants of a battle fought centuries ago. I scanned the ground carefully and so it took me a while to notice the cloying sweet smell in the air. There was definately rot somewhere. I changed tactics and followed the new smell with my nose in the air like a dog. With my hand outstretched I ran into another tree. Walking around the tree proved I had found the source of the smell. But why did a tree smell so? I found my answer when a faint buzzing drifted down from the treetops.
That was a bee, which meant this tree was in full bloom, likely making fruit which fell to the ground since no one came to gather it. I reached upwards to locate the truth and broke many branches. I followed the length of the largest branches and had to stand on my toes to continue reaching up. Once a ways away from the trunk, I followed the length of a leafy branch and was rewarded with a soft yet fuzzy ball. Picking the fruit and fondling it confirmed my suspicions. In fact, this was a peach tree. I sank my teeth into its flesh and was not disappointed.
This was surely a grand adventure. Being blind only made this more exciting. I promised myself I would not let my injury restrict my hobbies and would explore more often. I had never noticed such joys when I had my sight. I clearly didn’t need it. Eyes only blinded you to the truth. And the truth was a beautiful and new world every time you stepped outside.
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Uncle Aerin really did seem to be enjoying himself. I worried for a bit when he ran face first into a tree, but his smile was worth it when he found the peach tree. I was glad Penelope had suggest we go to a park. There was no way we were letting our blind uncle explore some god forsaken jungle. I know he seemed down lately, but getting himself killed didn’t help anyone.
So this park was good for everyone. It was a bit small, uncle Aerin would likely tire of its mediocrity sooner or later and we would be done with adventures. After all, blind people couldn’t be real explorers.
Photo by Cherry Laithang