"Hello! Are you waiting for someone?" a girl with pigtails asked a boy serenely sitting at a playground's bench. It was the first time she saw a kid her age not playing in the playground, not enjoying the free fun they are offered.
"Hello." Replied the boy flabbergasted that someone talked to him.
"Are you waiting for someone? Your mommy, perhaps?" the girl asked again as she put down her bottled water on the bench where the boy is sitting. She looked at the boy who seem to be looking somewhere aside from her.
"No, I'm waiting for Miss Han, teacher said that she'll pick me up today" the wind blows as the boy answered while playing press with his point fingers.
The trees made a rustling nature-like sound as they sway through the wind. The boy closed his eyes and lifted his face slightly feeling the cold wind touch his skin.
"Oh really? Is she pretty like Miss May?" asked the girl back as she slightly shivered from the cold wind.
"They said Miss Han is pretty" he replied as he kept on playing press with his point fingers. Seems like he is nervous.
"They say? So, you can't tell if she's pretty?" the girl asked in shocked while facing the boy.
"U-um---" the boy turned to the side where he can feel the girl's presence. Nervous on what to say and afraid that he might disappoint the girl talking to her.
He is facing her but his eyes are looking nowhere. It's blank.
"Am I pretty?" the girl asked and smiled cutely at the boy while twinkling her eyes.
"You are pretty." "Very pretty" as his blank stare continues.
"Really? But you don't look like how mommy looks when she tells me I'm pretty. You're looking at me like I'm not pretty" she pouted on the verge of crying.
"O-oh.. you're pretty. Your voice sounds pretty. " whispered the boy feeling shy of the situation.
"What's your name? I am Milly." The girl showed a toothy smile, she seemed to be pleased with what the boy answered.
" My name is Marcus." The boy smiled so does his eyes but if you'll look closely, they're still blank.
"Wow! I'm Milly you are Marcus. Let's play Marcus!" the girl grabbed the boy's hand to the swing.
"I'm sorry, Milly. I can't play..." the boy looked down and played press with his fingers even more but this time it is with force.
"Why? Will Miss Han get mad if you'll play? Your clothes will not get dirty, I promise!" the girl squatted and peeked through the boy's face.
The boy's mouth quivered, as if he's frustrated and sad.
"But I can't see..." the boy's expression got worse as if he is in a hard time.
"Huh?" the girl is shock and didn't know what the boy meant.
"I am blind, I can't see so I can't play." Tears formed on his eyes as he said those words. The pity that he had resurfaced again. "why do I have this? Why am I blind? I don't understand."
"What's that?" the girl asked.
"Milly, your mommy is here! Come!" Miss May, their teacher called.
"Okay!" she then grabbed her bottled water on the bench as she looked at Marcus, to bid good bye.
The boy lifted his head up, eyes looking nowhere and face looking awfully sad.
"Let's play tomorrow, Marcus! Bye!" the girl kissed his cheeks and ran.
-
"Mommy, I have a friend, he is Marcus, he said he can't play because he can't see. He said he is blind. What is that mommy?" Milly asked her mom that night as she was tucked to bed.
"Hmm.. let's say a blind person cannot see the things you can see. They don't know how something looked like." Her mother answered as she sat down on the girl's bed.
"But mommy, he said I'm pretty so he can see!" the girl jolted out of her blanket in protest.
"He did?" her mother smiled as the girl nodded.
"Sweetie, they see through by heart. They see through your actions towards them. If he said your pretty, maybe because you were good to him." Her mother tucked her in again.
"B-but he was looking at me, mommy."
" Hmm.. try closing your eyes. Look around you while your eyes are closed, that's what your friend, Marcus, see. You may see him looking at you but what he see is different from what you see.."
"Really? So he doesn't know how he look like too?" an innocent question that wounded her mother's heart.
"Yes, sweetie..." the mother answered as she patted the girl's head whose eyes are slowly drifting to dreamland.
-
" Good afternoon, Miss May!" approached a tall slim woman in her apron like jumpsuit, hair tied in a messy bun. Her jumpsuit is slightly stained by clay from pottery, Mrs. Wilson, Milly's mother.
"Oh, Mrs. Wilson! Milly is in the playground, come" Miss May guided Mrs. Wilson to the playground.
" I'm sorry I'm later than usual today."
"It's okay Mrs. Wilson, your shop is packed today?"
" Yes, did my presence today made it noticeable?" laughing, Mrs. Wilson answered, feeling shy at the same time.
"Yeah, because you're usually put together when picking up, Milly." Miss May replied laughing too, finding the situation funny.
" oh, there she –" Miss May's words were cut off because of what they saw.
What they saw made them teary eyed, their hearts are squeezing with joy. How can such joy hurts?
There they saw Milly sitting across Marcus with her eyes closed, describing what the playground looked like and Marcus, the boy was grinning from ear to ear.
