Trapped

Chapter 1

The place is dark and quiet. No sounds of birds chirping or even footsteps can be heard. Only my hard breathing is the sound I could hear from here.

I bit my lip and finally walked my way to the kitchen. I took my steps carefully, feeling the rough wall on the tip of my fingers. The walls guide me to places around the house.

I stroked the wall carefully, reading the words placed there. The kitchen was the word.

I finally released a sigh of relief knowing that I finally arrived at the place I intended to go.

I have eyes. Virgin eyes. I have never even seen anything in my entire life. Ever since I was born, my family wrapped my eyes with a white cloth, preventing me to see or even have a single ray of light pass through my eyes. It has been our family tradition. Once I am married, my husband will remove the cloth wrapped around me. The first thing I will see is my husband's face. But it will take years before seeing someone.

I got used to the dark. To me, darkness is beautiful. It just has one color and is simple. It is nothing complicated. When I was a child, I told my parents that I'll remove my cloth. I was so desperate to see, but what my parents did to me was chain both of my hands in the back of my body and left me crying in my room. Since then, I have never tried to take off my blindfold.

I continued to walk and finally entered the kitchen. Seeing me there, my mother guided me until I sat properly at my seat. I dropped my hands at the table, feeling the spoon and fork. I held them tightly in my hands and waited for my family to be here.

I am the only child of them that's why they treated me special. They gave me toys, clothes, and books. They poured me all the love and care they can ever give a child.

I love reading books. Books became my eyes to see the world. It tells me about a colorful world that we have. Rainbow blasting in the blue sky, green trees waving as the wind blew them gently, colorful fishes swimming in the clear blue lake, and a park full of people.

I chewed my food carefully. Fried egg with tomatoes... Yummy...

I continued to eat, not wasting even a single grain of rice. Studies and chores are what I'm supposed to do next before dinner so I need to eat well.

I drank a few gulps of water before heading to class. I did the same thing that I do every single day. Feel the hard wall, searching for the familiar marks in it, and getting inside.

"Rachel!" I grinned hearing her voice. Lenna rushed to my side, supporting my weight. She's my best friend. She also wears a blindfold and follows our family tradition. I held her arms close to mine and stretched my other to reach her head.

I patted them gently. "I thought you'll be late again.", she muttered.

"Nope. We got lots of books to read."

Lenna rolled her eyes. "Books, books, books. That's the topic I less want to hear."

I laughed at her. She doesn't want me to tell her the stories I have read in books, but rather, she wants to know things that happen to me. The things that happened at home, at school, my crush, and many more personal.

"My life isn't interesting. I bet that you'll fall asleep. Besides, your life is much more interesting than my life."

I heard her grumble.

"What's wrong?", I asked.

"Rachel, this might be the last time that we'll meet." The tone of her voice gave me a hint that she is sad. Sadder than sad. 

"I'm going to get married.", she finally said, trying to break the silence we had at the room.

My mouth fell open and I suddenly stopped breathing. "D-do you know anything about the guy you're going to marry?"

"No. Not even a single detail. But my parents assured me that I will be treated well. Don't worry, I will ask him to make me visit you here."

"You know very well that if you got married, you'll never return here.", I muttered sadly. I continued breathing, afraid that I might faint here and give her something like a heart attack.

" I know... But how can we see each other again? I mean, we know each other my sense of hearing and touch. If we are in the outside world, there is a slim chance that we'll meet. I don't want to leave you!", she choked.

I gave her a pat in the back. I too am scared for the future. "Don't worry. I will do my best to find you. I won't stop until I see you again. You're my one and only best friend."

Lenna gave me a tight hug. Before I knew it, we never talk again. She is gone. That day was the last day. If I knew that earlier, then I would have done everything I could to make each day special.

My blindfold was wet with tears that neither my hands can wipe it off. It's too much. I sat outside the door of my bedroom, waiting for her to arrive like usual. I guess habits really are hard to forget. I sometimes call her name in the classroom before remembering that she is gone.

Months kept on passing by. It started to get colder. The first snow fell. I touched the rough trunk of my favorite tree in the garden. Like this tree, it stood tall and majestic even if hard winds blow hard on it.

I sat down, leaning on the tree, and touching the white snow I had never seen. "Lenna, it's snowing...... My most favorite season has arrived. Are you looking at the snow? I bet it is beautiful, like you."

The place grew colder, but the cold isn't important to me. "I miss you already.", I cried.