The Blind Man

A Story by zakuzen

It's a place where these people come to travel. They call it a train station. All I know is that...it is a great place to find food....

A big indoor hall with escalators going up to the train platforms. On the benches, and on the floor, these people often leave bits of food behind. Crumbs of bread, cups with drinks, paper bags with leftover food, you would be amazed of how much litter these people leave around.

At this time of day the hall is crowded with these people coming in and out the train station, going up the escalators, and going down. I have always wondered where they are going. They seem so determined to their destinations, wherever that may be, but at the same time they all have that empty stare in their eyes, as if they themselves don't know where they are supposed to go.

But all of that is not my concern. I'm here to find food, and I'm not the only one. I see pigeons and blackbirds often around these places too. As they all probably know, the more crowded the place is with these people, the more food to be found.

But today I noticed something different amongst these crowds. A person standing in the middle of the hall, and who is apparently the only one not rushing towards anywhere. With almost no movement at all and holding a cane in his right hand, I could see his expression. He has his eyes closed and a humble smile on his face, as if enjoying the moment.

I flew towards this person, and asked him,
"Sir, Why are you standing here and keeping your eyes closed?"

The person responded with a friendly voice, "Hello there kid, that's because I can not see, I'm blind. So it doesn't matter if I open my eyes or not. Do you see this cane? It's a blind mans cane, and I use this to guide my steps"

(As this person was blind, he didnt knew that he was actually talking to a little bird. It was as if he was speaking to an 11 year old child.)

The blind man smiles and continued "I usually come here at this time of day. The hall fills with people, and I just stand here and listen.

Listening to their steps, listening as they pass by, listening to their voices and conversations, listening to children like you running around and play in laughter, listening to lovers kissing each other goodbye, listening to parents trying to hush their crying babies.

It is but here I came to realise, you don't have to open your eyes.....to see..."

Written by Eric Cheung.