C6 Chapter 5

Kakabel – the angel of stars and constellations

When I went to the center the next day, I found Hunter in the garden again. From afar, I thought he looked anxious. He was pacing back and forth in front of the bench and I couldn’t help smiling, thinking that I was doing that to him… I was making him nervous.

He was wearing a pair of jeans and a dark blue knitted sweater. His hair was disheveled as always. And I couldn’t help thinking… if he wasn’t blind, would he ask me out at all? Girls in my school would kill for a guy like this.

I walked as slowly and as quietly as I could. He stopped pacing when I was a few meters away from him. He turned towards my direction and said, “I was afraid you weren’t coming.”

“I… took my time getting ready,” I said. I meant that. I was wearing a pair of skinny tight jeans, a yellow off-shoulder blouse, brown boots and a white beret on my head and I spent hours curling the ends of my long hair.

I know! Hunter was blind. But that did not mean I shouldn’t make an effort to look good for him, the same way I knew I would if he could see me.

He smiled at me sheepishly and I had to take a silent deep breath so he wouldn’t notice how much he could take my breath away. “Thank you,” he whispered. “That meant a lot to me.”

“So… what are we going to do today?” I asked.

He reached out for my hands and then he intertwined our fingers.

“I don’t believe you have seen the rest of this place yet,” he said. “Let me show you around. You would be quite surprised.”

He led me out the garden, never letting go of my hand. “You smell good, by the way. As always,” he said.

I smiled. “You not only smell good. You look good too.”

He led me inside the center. We took the elevators to the right. Hunter moved and walked like a normal person… well, almost. He knew the place very well. He even pressed the number ‘2’ button on the elevator quite precisely.

The elevator opened to what looked like a library. We entered it and were greeted by a woman with gray hair and thick glasses.

“Madam… we are going to use the game room please,” Hunter said to her.

“You know your way,” the lady told him.

We entered a room towards the right side and I was surprised that it looked like an arcade.

Seriously? Inside a library?

There were billiard tables, air hockey tables, and several video game consoles.

Hunter pulled me towards the third door. He swiped his access card. The door opened to a small room with a huge screen in the center wall.

“Voice command activated. Welcome, Hunter Vaughn,” the computer said.

“One of the perks of being blind. They automatically activate voice command option for you,” Hunter whispered against my ear and I couldn’t help laughing. “Let’s sit.”

I pulled Hunter to sit in one of the cozy couches in front of the screen.

“Game,” he said loudly, commanding the computer.

“What game do you want to play today, Hunter?” the computer asked.

“Chess. Two players. Hunter Vaughn, black side. Player two, white side.”

Immediately the screen in front of us changed into a chess board.

“Display guides,” Hunter said and I saw the numbers appear on the left side and the letters under the board. Hunter turned to me and grinned. “I am assuming you can play chess.”

“Of course,” I said. I even thought I was pretty good at the game. But I was worried about Hunter. He couldn’t see. “But you…”

“Will give you a hard time winning this. Watch me,” he said cutting me off mid-sentence. “Your move.”

I turned to the screen. “Knight G1 to F3,” I called and then I watched my chess piece move on the screen in front of me.

Hunter grinned and then he said, “Pawn C5 to C7”.

The next moves we made actually amazed me. I wouldn’t even guess Hunter was blind. He knew where all my pieces were… like he was playing them by memory, which I think was…

Genius! This guy could be a genius!

In the end, I lost. To a blind person! When I thought I was probably one of the best at this game. He was staring at me, probably waiting for me to say something. He has an impish grin on his face that sort of irritated and challenged me.

“Rematch,” I said a little louder. The computer actually caught that and reset our game. “Knight B1 to B3,” I called out.

“Pawn D7 to D5,” Hunter commanded the screen.

“Pawn C2 to C4,” I said.

He smirked. “Pawn D5 take Pawn C4.”

I took it seriously this time. I was calculating my moves. And I knew he was too. Only, he was doing it inside his head! That was already a huge handicap and that is why I didn’t want to lose again.

After five minutes, I watched in dismay as Hunter announced, “Queen D3 to C2.” He turned to me and with a proud smile he added, “Checkmate.”

I groaned. “How did you do that?”

He stood up from his seat. “Hunter Vaughn, Chess Master since the age fifteen!” And he bowed left, right and center. He looked so proud of himself, it made my loss even more frustrating.

“How is that even possible?” I asked him. “Are you sure you’re blind?”

He laughed. “I would give everything to see the glare on your face right now,” he assured me. “And to answer your question… it’s all about having a very good memory and a lot of imagination. I was playing blindfold chess even when… even before I lost my eyesight.”

I buried my face in my hands. “Oh my God, I feel so stupid.”

Hunter laughed. He went to me and raised his hand, reaching out for mine. I took his hand and he pulled me up on my feet. I felt him snake his arms around my waist as he pulled me to him.

I stared up at him and gulped. I was sure that my heart was pounding loudly inside my ribcage. I hope he couldn’t hear it.

“I was gonna wait until the end of the date to kiss you,” he whispered.

“But?”

He took a deep breath. “I haven’t really been a patient guy.” And with that, he leaned forward and his lips found mine with so much accuracy I couldn’t have escaped that kiss even if I wanted to.

His breath smelled like mint. His lips felt like velvet. His arms were like iron bars, caging me, holding me against his body. I went pliant and helpless. My heart pounded uncontrollably, and my pulse hammered like crazy.

When the kiss was over, I felt dizzy. I was glad he was holding me. I don’t think my knees would be able to support me. He leaned his forehead against mine and inhaled the scent of me. I closed my eyes. I didn’t look. Instead, I did what Hunter did. I felt! I savored the moment without seeing… without looking.

“What are you thinking?” he asked in a whisper.

I took a deep breath. “That… that was my first kiss,” I replied.

He leaned forward and gave me another kiss. Then he smiled. “Then you will never forget me.”

“I have a feeling I won’t,” I whispered against his lips.

He gently pulled away from me and took my hand in his. “Come. I don’t want to ruin this date by beating you in another game of chess. Apparently, you are not such a good sport.”

“What? No!” I protested, glaring at him.

“And you have a short temper,” he said, laughing. He let go of my hand. Then he pulled me, wrapping his arm around my shoulder, hugging me to him and kissing the top of my head.

Next, he took me to the music room. I got excited to see all the musical instruments around me. When my parents were alive, my life was full of music, happy tunes and inspiring melodies. My stepfather’s musicality was one of the things that attracted my mother to him.

“Apart from the guitar, what else can you play?” Hunter asked.

I saw a grand piano in the center of the room. I smiled widely and then I took Hunter’s hand and pulled him towards it. I pulled the piano bench and sat on it, telling Hunter to sit down beside me.

“I’m going to sing and play for you. I’m actually a frustrated singer,” I joked.

I placed my fingers on the keys and then I closed my eyes, letting my hands play the notes I knew from the heart.

I sang the song for my mom… for my stepdad and for Hunter’s mother. The people we held dear in our hearts, who were taken away from us too soon.

“Spend all your time waiting, for that second chance… for a break that would make it okay…”

I didn’t realize it but tears were rolling down my cheeks when I sang. I remembered my mother… and how she didn’t have a choice but to save my life… how she chose escape than face the consequences of what she had done to her soul mate.

I remembered my stepdad, and how he never made me feel I wasn’t his flesh and blood… how he truly cared for me and provided me with the fatherly love I had craved so much since I was a kid. And that, had he been himself… had he not lost his lucidity… he would never have scarred me.

I also cried for Hunter. I understand how he chose to cave in, and shut his father out. He was angry… he blamed him for losing the most important woman in his life. And not only that… he lost the most important gift of God… the gift of sight.

I wanted to comfort him… to convince him not to give up… to give him even just a little sense of purpose again. So he would continue his journey… and realize that no matter how much he lost, life was still worth living for… there was still so much in the world that was worth fighting for.

“In the arms of an angel… may you find… some comfort here…”

I sang the last words and played the last notes a while ago, but we both seemed to have frozen in time. None of us spoke. We were lost in our thoughts. I was not strong enough to speak again. Tears kept rolling down my cheeks but I refused to make a sound. I refused to let Hunter carry my burden… because I knew he was already carrying too much of his own.

“You sing… like an angel.” Finally, he spoke. When I turned to him, I saw that he was trying his best not to cry. He took a deep breath. “I feel your pain. But you are stronger than that. Don’t let your misery define who you really are. You… are an angel to me, Allison. And yes… I do find comfort now. Because God sent you my way.”

He reached forward and felt for my chin. He tilted it up and leaned forward to kiss me. He tasted my tears. I’m sure he also felt my pain, no matter how hard I tried to hide it.

Then he pulled me into his arms and hugged me. I felt him kiss the top of my head and inhaled through my hair. We sat there for a while in silence, listening to the beats of each other’s hearts.

I never felt like this before. For the first time, I felt a sense of thrill… a sense of excitement, coupled with a sense of comfort. Hunter may be blind, but I felt like he saw through me, pierced through my tough shell, broken through my bottled-up emotions. I felt that there was no one else in the world who could see the real me, who could protect me and keep me safest in the world.

After a few more moments of silence, I heard Hunter’s watch beep. “I think that would be the call for lunch.”

I didn’t know where he was leading me next. But we entered the elevator again and this time, he pressed for R.

“Rooftop?” I asked.

He grinned. “Top of the world.”

The elevator doors opened and Hunter took my hand in his. Carefully, he led me out and then he counted his steps towards the right. I found a door in front of us and saved him the trouble of opening it for us.

The door opened to the rooftop pool. “Where to? You’re not going to push me, are you? I can’t swim,” I said in a teasing tone.

He raised a brow at me, as if he was really bewildered with my confession. “A kick-ass chick who plays the guitar and the piano like a rock star, sings like an angel, and challenges my genius in the game of chess… cannot swim?”

“Well, what do you know? My parents thought music was a life-saving skill. I’m sure they’ve been misinformed.”

Hunter took a deep breath and I didn’t miss the trace of frustration on his face. “I wish I’ve met you before…” He trailed off. “I would have loved to teach you how to swim.”

I smiled and reached out to squeeze his hand. “It’s never too late for that. Maybe someday.”

He smiled back at me. “Yes. I’ll figure something out.”

He led me towards the covered gazebo on the side. I was surprised that the table had been set for two. There was a waiter there. Hunter felt for the chair and pulled it for me.

“Thank you.” I wanted to tell him that he didn’t have to do that, but I had a feeling that before he lost his eyesight, Hunter was raised to be a gentleman. And he needed to feel like he was still his old self today. He needed to feel normal. That he could still ask a girl out and give her the time of her life. And I realized that I was having the time of my life. I felt better than I ever did in a very long time.

After lunch, we made a stop in the dormitories. He opened the door of one of the rooms. When I stepped inside, I found a neatly arranged bedroom. Everything was white. The bed, the couches, the lamps and other decorations. The only things that were blue were the wallpapers and the carpet floor. There was a drum set in the corner.

“You play drums too?” I asked.

He nodded. “It was the only thing I could play after my accident. Somehow, for the past year, all I wanted to do was… hit something.” Surprisingly, he said that with amusement in his voice.

“Won’t you disturb the others in the next room?”

“The rooms here are sound-proof,” he replied. “Just let me get my guitar and we’re out of here.” Then he grinned. “I wouldn’t want you to think I have dishonorable plans laid out for you.”

I actually glared at him and hit him in the stomach with the back of my hand. “Oww!” he yelped. “I was kidding!”

“Go quick. I don’t want anybody to catch me here,” I said. “I don’t sneak in to a guy’s bedroom on the first date.”

“Just tell them you couldn’t help it. You find me very irresistible,” he said in a conceited tone.

“I will tell them you’re only pretending to be blind, so I would feel bad enough to go out with you.”

“Ouch! You don’t really mean that, do you?”

I stared at his face and I thought I saw pain cross it. I immediately felt guilty… and stupid!

What were you thinking?

I didn’t know how to tell him how sorry I was for saying what I said. I guess my time talking to no one else but Meredith made me a little insensitive.

“Hunter… I’m sorry.” I stepped closer to him and because I didn’t know what else to do, I gave him a hug. “Of course I didn’t mean that.”

“Good. Because here’s your chance to explain what you’re really doing here with me,” he whispered.

I didn’t know what he meant by that until I heard somebody behind us call, “Hunter Vaughn!” The shrill voice belonged to an old nurse who was standing by Hunter’s door, arms crossed over her chest. “This is a rehabilitation center, not a motel room.” She gave me a look of disapproval.

Shit!

I opened my mouth to defend myself, but no sound came out. She raised a brow at me.

“Mrs. Devlin? Shoot! Did I not lead my guest to the library?” Hunter asked, faked innocence enveloped his voice.

“No. You’re in… you’re in your room.” The woman looked confused now. She was starting to look guilty too. Hunter’s feigned innocence was working on her.

“I’m sorry. You know… being blind and all. I still get lost in this building,” he continued.

Get lost? Ha!