Prologue
“Noalie, dear?”I heard my mother's calm, soothing voice call out. I turned in her direction, putting my hands out in front of me to find the exact location of her body.
“Mom, where are you?” I asked, still searching.I hated using my white cane in the house. I preferred to touch and feel things while I was at home.
“Right here, my love.” Her voice was much closer now. Her hands enveloped mine, grasping onto them tightly. “You're so beautiful, honey,” she said, pulling me in for a hug.
I had a distant memory of her, but I knew she probably didn’t look the same. Over time, people changed and aged. Even I knew that I had changed since I was five years old, since the day I lost my eyesight. I knew I was taller and more feminine now. Feeling things allowed me to bring a shape into my mind, and when someone told me the color, I could usually fully picture what I was touching.
But I wished I knew what I looked like. My mother told me that I had blonde hair and blue eyes, but I knew that from when I was younger. My family and Halt—my best friend—always told me I was beautiful, but it was so hard to picture myself as something pretty when I couldn’t even see.
“You were looking for me?” I asked, laying my head down on what I guessed was her shoulder.
“Oh, yes. Halt is here,” she informed me, gently sitting me up so I was no longer leaning on her. I allowed her to take my hand and lead me to him. I knew Halt well enough to know that he would already have my white stick handy.
I faintly heard his voice talking to my father about what he planned to do with me today, though it made no difference to me as I couldn’t see anyway. But just being with Halt made me happy. I pictured him to be one of the most beautiful things in this world. One of my only regrets was not being able to see him.
My mother let go of my hand once we were closer to my father and Halt, and I stood there, trying to find my bearings.
I felt a big, firm hand take hold of my much smaller one, and I knew by the rough texture of his palms that Halt had taken possession of my hand. “Hey,” I greeted, letting him pull me to his side where I felt safe, knowing he wouldn’t let any harm come to me.
“Hello, beautiful,” he murmured, placing a kiss to my forehead. I felt my cheeks warm.
Halt and I had been friends ever since kindergarten when I was being bullied because of my hair. It had been very light when I was younger—almost white. A few kids found it funny, so they made mean jokes about me. Halt had come to my rescue, telling them off, and he became my best friend that very day.
As the years passed, we grew inseparable, especially after my accident. I depended on Halt a lot, and he was always there for me, being my eyes and sticking up for me at school. He was the only reason why I still attended normal school instead of being home-schooled. If it weren’t for him, I would be all alone in this world.
Halt helped me get through elementary and middle school with flying colors. I knew people whispered about us in the halls, but I always ignored them and chose to listen to Halt instead who always kept my self-esteem pretty high, at least when he was around.
As beautiful as I imagined he was now, I often found myself wondering why he always decided to hang out with the blind girl. He’d been a really cute boy when we were children.
“Noah?” Halt’s deep voice questioned, bringing me out of my memories.
“Yes?” I asked, turning my head in the direction of his voice.
“You zoned out. Is everything alright?” he asked, worry evident in his deep, masculine voice.
“Everything’s fine.” I smiled. “I just can’t wait to get out of the house and hear the birds again.” Since I couldn’t see, one of the other things I really loved to do was listen. And when the wind rustled the leaves of trees or birds chirped, I could almost imagine what it looked like.
He laughed softly and dropped a kiss to the top of my head, handing me my white cane as he did so. “Alright; let's go,” he said, leading me out of the house where I could hear a car pass and the birds singing happily in the trees. I could hear and feel the gentle breeze as it blew through my hair.
I wanted to see the world so badly.
“Where are we going today?” I asked the man at my side.
“It’s a surprise, but I know you’ll love it.”