Read Even if you are blind, I will show you love :: Chapter 4

— Hello.

"Hello, Setoshi, is that you?"

—Uh... yeah. And who are you?

"Don't you recognize my voice?" It's me, Hikaru.

"Hikaru?" Seriously, is that you? God, how many years, how many winters! Where have you gone, old man? He didn't even say anything.

— Yes, there were problems, but now everything is fine. My family and I recently moved to your town, and I thought I should call an old friend. — He spoke with a joyful laugh, and I understood him — I was incredibly glad to find out that he was all right. — Listen, Setoshi, do you mind getting together tonight? It's been a long time, after all.

— Yes, of course, no problem, I'm all for it! — My mood skyrocketed, and I couldn't contain my joy.

— Okay, then we'll make an appointment for the evening. I'll be waiting. Bye, old man!

— Yeah, come on.

I hung up the phone, and the smile wouldn't leave my face. A friend who hadn't been heard from in a long time finally showed up. We definitely need to meet today.

After work, I happily ran home and told my wife the good news. She was glad too—after all, it was our old friend. We quickly packed up, put on our best clothes and went to the address. On the way, my wife called someone.

— Who are you calling?

"I want to warn Izumi that we'll be late tonight."

"That's a good idea,— I agreed. You fool, I should have thought about that too. Apparently, I became even more distracted from joy than usual.

While talking about the upcoming meeting, we didn't even notice how we arrived at the place.

---

IZUMI'S POINT OF VIEW

So my days passed. I spent weekends with Himari, and the rest I worked. I went to university, but rarely, and just to show up, so as not to be expelled.

Finally, a white stripe appeared in my life. My days were busy, my parents were still silent, but sometimes they would say something if it was something necessary. It's been a long time since I've been mad at them, but I didn't mind if it went on like this, because I didn't want my parents to start bothering me with questions about the future again.

Today was another day off, and I went to the park as usual to see Himari. When I reached the park, I saw her sitting on her usual bench. Milk-colored white hair flutters in the wind. Her small, thin hands are folded in her lap. With her eyes closed, she looks like she's meditating, but I know that's not quite true, because she had headphones in her ears that I gave her recently. Her appearance fascinated me, like a painting by a great master.

I could stand here forever and enjoy her beauty. Lately, every time I look at her, I feel strange. I don't know what's happening to me. Maybe I fell in love? However, I do not know if this is really so [not sure about it], because I have never fallen in love and did not know this feeling, but my heart tells me that this is exactly it.

I went over to her and sat down next to her. Sensing someone's presence, Himari pulled out her headphones and asked: Who's there?

"Hi, it's Izumi."

"Oh, Izumi, it's you. Hello.

The sun was scorching hot today, so I dressed in light clothes, but I couldn't say the same about her. She was wearing a hoodie and jeans, and for some reason she had a mask on her face. I couldn't help but ask her the appropriate question.

- Hey Himari, why are you dressed so tightly? It's very hot today.

She was clearly confused and didn't know what to say, but then she apparently came up with something to say. "I just caught a cold." Exactly. I'm cold because of the cold.

Of course, I immediately realized that something was wrong.

"Well... okay. Shall we go then? I suggested, wondering how to find out the truth more gently.

"Yeah, let's go," she replied enthusiastically.

After that, we went for a walk to places where neither of us had been before.

---

In the evening, my mother called me and told me not to stay late and return home as soon as possible, since they were leaving for a visit and would return late. After walking for a while, I told Himari that I needed to go home since my parents wouldn't be there.

She looked at me in surprise, then lowered her head, apparently deciding to say something. It was obvious that it wasn't easy for her, and I just stood there, waiting.

— Listen, Izumi, can I stay with you for a while? I won't bother you, I promise," she finally said, overcoming her fear.

—Sure, no problem," I replied calmly, since I already had my own plans in this regard.

"Really?" Thank you very much! Her face lit up with joy.

I quickly agreed, because lately she often asked to stay longer when we were walking. Today I decided to find out what the reason is.

When I got home, I made sure that my parents were not there, and invited Himari inside. After putting the kettle on, I asked her to wait downstairs while I changed. She nodded.

When I came down, the kettle was already boiling, and we sat down to drink tea. I put some sweets on the table, and we started chatting about the plot of a recently read book. In the process, I noticed that she started sweating.

"Himari, it's hot in the house. Why don't you take off your hoodie?

"Um, no, I'm not hot. It's just from the tea, don't worry.

— Well, okay.

The attempt failed, but I didn't give up. After tea, we went up to my room. I said I'd be right back, and I went to turn on the heating so she could get hot and finally take off her hoodie.

No, I'm not a pervert. It was just that her constant requests to stay late after walking suggested bad thoughts. It seemed to me that something was wrong at her place, but until she told me, I had no right to interfere.

When I returned to the room, I grabbed a book that she hadn't read yet. I sat down next to her and offered to read to her, and she happily agreed.

I was reading to buy time. Fifteen minutes later, the room became very hot. Even I, dressed in a T-shirt and shorts, could feel it.

I looked at Himari. Her face was flushed, especially her cheeks. I didn't stop, and the result was what I wanted. But there's one thing I didn't take into account.

The heat made her feel sick and she lost consciousness. I quickly put her on the bed and ran to turn off the heating. Then he brought a fan, put it next to her and opened all the windows. If I hadn't done that, my parents would have scolded me for being so hot.

When I calmed down, I finally decided to take off my hoodie on my own. A terrible sight appeared before my eyes. Her whole body was covered with bruises, bruises and scratches—on her arms, legs, stomach, even on her face. There was a cut on his lower lip, his upper lip was torn, and his cheeks were bruised. Fear gripped me. I didn't know what to do.

Should I call an ambulance or the police? I rummaged in my pockets, but there was no phone. Damn, I left it in the kitchen. I was about to follow him when I suddenly heard Himari's voice.

"So you saw it after all,— she whispered softly.

— I noticed that you were hiding something, but I didn't want to put pressure on you.

"I didn't want to burden you with this, so I tried to hide it.

"You don't burden me with that." On the contrary, I will be glad if you tell me. We're friends, and friends should help each other.

–...okay. I will tell. But know that our friendship may end after that," she looked at me with a serious look. I nodded silently.

— For you to understand, you need to start from the beginning. Since my birth. When I was a child, I lived with my father. My mother died immediately after giving birth, but my father treated me with warmth and affection, trying to replace my mother. However, it didn't last long. When I got a little older, he started drinking and withdrawing into himself. I was just sitting in my room, playing by myself. And yes, I was born sighted. When I got bored, I went outside to play with other children. In the evening, my drunken father called me home.

After a few years, the situation worsened. I found out that my father used to be in the mafia, and he also met my mother there. When he got drunk, he told me how much he loved her and blamed me for her death.

Then some people started coming to us, demanding something from my father. It ended with fights and shouting. He became nervous and started taking it out on me. Every time he returned from work, he beat me for the slightest mistakes, and when there were no mistakes, he blamed my mother's death.

One day I got tired of it, and I said I was tired of being beaten. He got even angrier and hit me so hard that I lost consciousness. When I woke up, I realized that I couldn't see anything. That's how I went blind.

After that, he stopped hitting me, afraid that he might overdo it and go to jail. But he warned me that if I told the police, he would kill me.

I thought everything would be fine now, but it didn't last long. He started beating me up again. Yesterday was no exception. It was scary. I didn't know where he was going to hit, and I couldn't defend myself because I couldn't see anything. That's why I've been asking you to stay late lately—I was afraid to go home.

I listened to her, stunned. When she finished, I couldn't say a word. Then, gathering his thoughts, he asked:

"Why didn't you tell me before?"

"I didn't want to drag you into this."

"Should we call the police?"

— It won't work. Earlier, the neighbors called, but the police just talked to the father and left.

"Then at least stay with us for a while.

"I can't." My father will find me anyway.

I walked around the room, thinking about what to do, but nothing came to mind.

"Listen, I have to go home, or my father will start looking," Himari interrupted the silence.

"I'll walk you out."

—No, you don't have to. I have Akaru.

"Don't be silly. I'll walk you out, period.

We walked through the dark streets, and her words were spinning in my head. I didn't even notice how we got to her house.

— Well, I'll go. Thanks for seeing me off.

— yeah.

I stood and watched her walk away, feeling anger and helplessness build up inside.

She entered the house, and Akaru went to his booth. I remained standing, watching them go, but soon realized that it was time to return home. On the way, thoughts about her story did not leave me for a second. Halfway there, I stopped abruptly, realizing something important. I remembered a dream I had a couple of weeks ago: a man was beating me up, and I couldn't do anything against him. The memory sent a cold sweat through his body.

Himari's description perfectly matched what I saw in my dream. I felt all the pain she was going through then, but it was just a dream. She had experienced it in reality.

Realizing this, I started running back. Along the way, I chastised myself for not having figured it out sooner. How could I let her go back to that house after her story? I ran as fast as I could without stopping, and in a few minutes I was at her house.