Blind Love (Edited)

Chapter 10: The Gift

"Ummm...okay. Laura, I have come to give you this gift."

"A gift?"

"Yes. I mean, it's actually for Landon but, I'll just leave it here with you."

"No, no. If it's for Landon, go on up and give it to him. It's fine. I'm sure he won't mind. His room is the first door right at the end of the stairwell. Don't worry, you'll be fine. He doesn't bite."

"Okay." Lauren was a little hesitant at first but Laura encouraged her with a smile. She made her way to the stairs, with the canvas tucked under her arm, Lauren ascended the staircase. When she arrived at the end of the staircase, she saw a door and she knocked on it. A voice from inside the room said, "It's open. You can come in."

Lauren turned the doorknob and when she opened the door, she saw Landon sitting on the bed. He turned his head towards the door and smiled. He closed his eyes for a few seconds and then opened them back again. Lauren looked around Landon's room. His room was neat and simple. There weren't many decorations on the wall. There were, however, many pictures. There were about four. One of them showed a man, Laura, and two young boys. Another showed Lance and Landon together. The third showed Laura with both her children. And the last one showed Landon as a young boy with a man. Lauren assumed that the man in the picture had been Lance's and Landon's father. It was at that moment that she realized she hadn't seen him around. Lauren had not moved from where she stood and that's when Landon spoke.

"Hi, Lauren. What brings you here?" he asked with a warm smile on his face.

Lauren looked at him in surprise. He couldn't see, yet he knew who it was that was standing in the doorway of his room. "Ummmm..how did you know it was me?"

He laughed softly and he said, "You can come in, you know."

Lauren laughed nervously and went inside, closing the door behind her.  She sat across from Landon, in a chair that was placed right across from the bed. Then she asked again, "How did you know it was me?"

"I smelled paint mixed with some beach scent." he stated simply.

"You smelled paint mixed with some beach scent? I don't understand."

"Everyone smells differently. You for example smell like paint mixed with the scent of the beach. That tells me that you're a painter and from near a beach somewhere. And that you paint a lot, because you have to paint a lot to smell like paint."

Lauren was so amazed that it took her a while to respond. "Wow. That really is amazing."

"Nah. It's just what I have to do. Nothing special."

"Trust me, it's special if probably no one else in the city can do what you can do."

"You're exaggerating. But anyway, what brings you here?"

Oh yeah, Lauren thought. I was here to give him the canvas. Lauren had been so focused on his ability that she had forgotten that she was there to give Landon a gift. "Oh, yeah," she looked at the canvas that was in her hands. "Ummm.. I came to give you a gift."

"A gift?" His head tilted to one side and his eyes closed a while and then opened back up as if trying to see if he had heard right. "Did you say gift? You're here to give me a gift?"

"Yes. I made it. Here." She got up and went over to Landon. Then she took Landon's hand by the wrist and placed it right on the edge of the canvas. He felt all around it but he had a confused gaze on his face. "What is it?" he asked.

"It's a canvas. I painted it for you."

"Huh. So I was right? Thank you."

"I know you can't see and I didn't know if I should give it to you. I debated on whether or not I should give it to you, but in the end the 'give it to him' side won."