Seeing Eye {BILLDIP}

One

It has been years since the incident of the boy’s blinding. The pair of twins have moved back to Gravity Falls for the rest of their high school years. Their parents saw it best for Dipper to be in a rural environment instead of an urban one with many hazards. Ford even volunteered to teach Dipper himself when he isn’t busy.

    The pitter-patter of rain sounded against the window to the boy’s room as he sat on his bed. There wasn’t much for him to do since he had lost his sight. He had learned braille; so at least he could still enjoy books. The only ounce of sight he can enjoy is in his mind. He could picture how things look from using his other senses. In his dreams he sees images of the world he knew from the years before, but he didn’t know how much it had changed since then.  

    He lets out a sigh, laying back down.

    “I wonder when they’ll be back.” He says to himself. Throughout the years he has been noting the changes in his voice. Instead of the higher pitched one he use to have when he was younger, his voice was now deeper. What else has changed about him that he didn’t know about?

    He lays there with his head resting on his pillow. His room is near silent as he listens to the ticking of the clock, barely audible against the rain, while awaiting the return of his family.

    He was told to stay in his room and wait for them to get back. They didn’t say where they were going or how long they’ll be.

    Dipper sat up again after a few minutes. Thoughts began to stir in his mind. What did they leave do to? After all these years, why do they treat him as if he can’t take care of himself? Sure, he can’t see a thing, but he knows the layout of the Shack by heart.

    Shaking the thoughts out his head he sits up and carefully gets out of bed. He reaches his arm out next to him as he slowly walks until he feels the coolness of the wall. He continues to walk until his fingertips reach the outline of the door. Feeling around for the smooth on the wall, he makes his way out of his room and to the edge of the first step before the decline. The boy takes in a deep breath, not sure if he can do this alone. Mabel had always been the one leading him down the stairs. If she would just let him do this himself he could prove to them he was capable of moving around without help.

Keeping his hand flat on the wall, he slowly puts out his left leg and lets his toes touch the next step before putting his weight on that foot. He stands idle for a moment before bringing his other foot down too. He exhales and continues down the stairs with the same process as he had done with the first step.

Once he got to the bottom of the stairs, he cautiously makes his way over to the table. He sits down and sighs. Might as well wait until they get back. Life has become quite boring for him, he can’t just read his books when he can’t see them, and he definitely can’t go out in the woods to explore. Mabel wouldn’t allow it.

He knew that his sister was only looking out for him but over the years she has become a bit overprotective. It’s not like he hates it when she does it, but it can be annoying when he is perfectly capable of handling himself.

Slowly, he found his way in the kitchen. He felt his way around to some cabinets. He could hear the low growl of his stomach. It had been a while since he actually ate something and then hunger was getting unbearably uncomfortable. His hand touches some crinkly plastic in which he picks up after concluding it was a bag of chips.

Keeping his hand along the wall, he made his way over to the table and carefully slid himself in.

The day went on as he sat there. Hours went by and he eventually fell asleep out of boredom. He didn't wake until he heard a loud thud, which startled him and made him fall to the floor. He curled up and placed his hands firmly on the floor to collect himself. He heard clicking against the floor before he felt a wet object on his face followed by a hot breath that came with panting.

Not too far off he heard the familiar giggle of his sister. He reached out and his hand came in contact with fur.

“We were out getting you a seeing eye dog. We got the call this morning saying we could come get him. His name is Alexander.” The voice of Ford sounded closer than Mabel’s background giggle.

Dipper managed to stand back up, holding onto Alexander to steady himself. He felt around and grabbed the leather of a leash.

“He'll lead you to wherever you need!” Mabel said excitedly. Dipper concluded that the dog was most likely his sister's idea. But, he was certain there was more to him just having a dog now.

“In a few weeks you'll be able to go to school with Mabel. I just need to get the paperwork necessary for them to register that you will have a dog with you because of your  condition.” Ford's voice was no longer close.

Dipper tilted his head down. They were always too protective and dodging the word blind, in fear of it being a much too sensitive topic. He slowly walked to the wall and placed his hand on it, the leash in his other hand as he got to the stairs. Dipper felt Alexander brush up against his leg as he was lead up to his room.

He sat on his bed and felt around Alexander's collar to unclip the leash. The dog jumped up and curled up next to the boy.

Despite it being late, Dipper had no intention of falling asleep. He couldn't. His mind was alive with thoughts, worries, fears. He couldn't believe that Ford was actually going to make him go to school. He hadn't been to a public school since before the summer he lost his sight.

He let out a sigh as he laid back, waiting for the moment sleep took him. Being asleep was hardly different from being awake. What he sees with his mind is just his imagination. The waking world is much different and he  could tell from the way it sounds...