to be the bull bar and nose of a large vehicle. She sighed in relief, wishing she knew how to drive and wondering if she should try anyway.
Her second thought was even scarier: a vehicle so close to Serenity suggested visitors who wanted to be there.
‘Hello?’ she called nervously, and was glad when nobody answered.
Something touched her ear. She slapped it, imagining it to be Ben’s hand, but the thing rebounded and she realised it was just a leaf; a leaf attached to a branch that persisted in teasing her. She stepped away and found herself in a thicker cage of branches, soft like the veil she’d plunged through on the other side. She pushed through it, and bare dirt turned to soft grass under her feet.
A fine drizzle of rain kissed her face; Mother Nature kissing her wounds through the bandage.
Bandage!
‘Stupid! Stupid!’
Mira stumbled back through the veil into semi-hiding, knowing that she’d have to remove her blindfold now; the one thing that would make her stand out, even in a crowd from a distance. Her heart raced, but she clutched one hand to her chest for comfort, clenched her eyes shut and tore it off.
Panic seized her for an instant, but there was no white pain shooting from her eyes to the back of her skull this time. Slowly, she relaxed her eyelids a little and discovered she was still blind; still blissfully blind. No hint of light or darkness through her stitched eyelids, and no pain. Not even a dull ache.
She sighed again with relief.
It must only be strong light that hurts!
She prayed she was right, and tousled her fringe, hoping the wilder strands would help to mask her damaged eyelids as she stepped out from the shadows.
Still no pain. She stashed the blindfold inside the waistband of her tracksuit pants and headed closer to the kerb, stepping even more carefully now, feeling her way with her feet in the hope she could avoid more hazards without looking too obviously like a blind escapee from Serenity.
Five steps, she remembered foggily. That was all it had taken her to walk from the kerb to the tram-stop shelter upon arrival. They’d been unable to drive her uphill to the entrance because of repairs to the driveway. Five more steps from the tram stop to the tree with its concrete path that led up the hill. Smaller steps now that she didn’t have the constant badgering of hairy-armed case workers.
She guessed her five steps then translated to about ten foot lengths now, and she counted them silently to herself.
Her big toe stubbed the base of a thick timber pole. The light pole, she guessed. She hugged it to be sure of its shape and stifled another smile. The shelter had been to the left of the light pole, which, retracing her steps from the opposite direction, now put the shelter on her right. She groped for it and found it.
Inside, she found a long timber bench seat, where she tucked up her feet and waited.
The road sounded lonely, not at all the same as she remembered from that first day, when there’d been many cars parked at the bottom of the driveway.
A bird chirped a short distance away; a hint, perhaps, that she should sprout wings and fly away. Straining her ears for a promising sound, she wondered how long she’d need to wait until the next tram; or maybe she should swim to the mainland? But how could she be sure she wasn’t heading out to sea? She clutched her temples trying to think.
‘Need a ticket?’ Ben asked. His warm breath brushed her cheek.
Mira screamed, nearly falling off the seat. A dozen questions boiled in her head while another three tangled on her tongue. How had he crept up on her with his noisy shoes? How long had he been watching? And why could she smell blood?
Her hand flew to her eyes, but the stitches were fine.
‘Get away!’ She swatted at his voice, her hands striking empty air. ‘I’m not going back there!’
‘I didn’t say you had to. Mind if I sit beside you, though?’
‘No, and stop treating me as if I’m stupid. I know
Her second thought was even scarier: a vehicle so close to Serenity suggested visitors who wanted to be there.
‘Hello?’ she called nervously, and was glad when nobody answered.
Something touched her ear. She slapped it, imagining it to be Ben’s hand, but the thing rebounded and she realised it was just a leaf; a leaf attached to a branch that persisted in teasing her. She stepped away and found herself in a thicker cage of branches, soft like the veil she’d plunged through on the other side. She pushed through it, and bare dirt turned to soft grass under her feet.
A fine drizzle of rain kissed her face; Mother Nature kissing her wounds through the bandage.
Bandage!
‘Stupid! Stupid!’
Mira stumbled back through the veil into semi-hiding, knowing that she’d have to remove her blindfold now; the one thing that would make her stand out, even in a crowd from a distance. Her heart raced, but she clutched one hand to her chest for comfort, clenched her eyes shut and tore it off.
Panic seized her for an instant, but there was no white pain shooting from her eyes to the back of her skull this time. Slowly, she relaxed her eyelids a little and discovered she was still blind; still blissfully blind. No hint of light or darkness through her stitched eyelids, and no pain. Not even a dull ache.
She sighed again with relief.
It must only be strong light that hurts!
She prayed she was right, and tousled her fringe, hoping the wilder strands would help to mask her damaged eyelids as she stepped out from the shadows.
Still no pain. She stashed the blindfold inside the waistband of her tracksuit pants and headed closer to the kerb, stepping even more carefully now, feeling her way with her feet in the hope she could avoid more hazards without looking too obviously like a blind escapee from Serenity.
Five steps, she remembered foggily. That was all it had taken her to walk from the kerb to the tram-stop shelter upon arrival. They’d been unable to drive her uphill to the entrance because of repairs to the driveway. Five more steps from the tram stop to the tree with its concrete path that led up the hill. Smaller steps now that she didn’t have the constant badgering of hairy-armed case workers.
She guessed her five steps then translated to about ten foot lengths now, and she counted them silently to herself.
Her big toe stubbed the base of a thick timber pole. The light pole, she guessed. She hugged it to be sure of its shape and stifled another smile. The shelter had been to the left of the light pole, which, retracing her steps from the opposite direction, now put the shelter on her right. She groped for it and found it.
Inside, she found a long timber bench seat, where she tucked up her feet and waited.
The road sounded lonely, not at all the same as she remembered from that first day, when there’d been many cars parked at the bottom of the driveway.
A bird chirped a short distance away; a hint, perhaps, that she should sprout wings and fly away. Straining her ears for a promising sound, she wondered how long she’d need to wait until the next tram; or maybe she should swim to the mainland? But how could she be sure she wasn’t heading out to sea? She clutched her temples trying to think.
‘Need a ticket?’ Ben asked. His warm breath brushed her cheek.
Mira screamed, nearly falling off the seat. A dozen questions boiled in her head while another three tangled on her tongue. How had he crept up on her with his noisy shoes? How long had he been watching? And why could she smell blood?
Her hand flew to her eyes, but the stitches were fine.
‘Get away!’ She swatted at his voice, her hands striking empty air. ‘I’m not going back there!’
‘I didn’t say you had to. Mind if I sit beside you, though?’
‘No, and stop treating me as if I’m stupid. I know
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