To say Naomi was captivated by her book would’ve been an understatement. Sitting in a secluded corner of her favorite café, her fingers ran across the page as fast as her mind could understand them. Reaching for her tea with her left hand, she took a short reading break. She didn’t want to ruin her sip because her mind was focused elsewhere. She let the hot liquid trickle all the way down to her stomach, and only then picked up where she had left her index finger.
*Arise, arise, Riders of Théoden!
Fell deeds awake: fire and slaughter!
Spear shall be shaken, shield be splintered,
a sword-day, a red day, ere the sun rises!
Ride now, ride now! Ride to Gondor!*
She clutched her coat at her sides, chills running up and down her back. She had watched the Lord of the Rings Trilogy an impressive number of times way back when, but reading it for the first time was another energy altogether. The epic proportions of it all, the depth of language and culture of all races and people, the vibrant descriptions that brought the world to life, everything Tolkien had to offer was about to go down in a crescendo so phenomenal that it would leave her changed forever.
Against the constant hum of conversation and instrumental music, Naomi still heard Jack’s shoes squeak her way. As he picked up her empty plate, where an almond croissant had survived only a few minutes, it scraped on the table for a fraction of a second. She smiled and lifted her head towards where she thought he was.
“Everything okay for now, Naomi?”
“Thanks Jack, I’m fine.” She zipped up her coat and lifted her collar, turning her head slightly hoping to face him more precisely. “Is it still sunny outside? I thought it would get overcast a little later than that.”
Jack looked through the window behind her. The late afternoon sun still shone bright in the alleyway, although away from the exterior wall of the café. “Still as bright as can be. And we haven’t turned the A/C on at all today.” He tapped gently on the book. “I think I found the culprit. Where are you at, now?”
She giggled and closed her eyes. “Yeah you’re probably right. They’re at the Pelennor Fields, Théoden just gave his speech, they're about to charge into battle. It’s so different from the movie, but, like, in a good way.”
“I wouldn’t know, I’ve never read the books, actually. Maybe you could lend me your copy when you’re done reading it?” He smiled cockily.
“It would be my pleasure.” Naomi smiled in turn, her cheeks turning a subtle shade of pink. She motioned him away. “I’ll let you tend to your other customers.” She opened a single eye to wink at him and he stared shamelessly, admiring the ocean blue iris and the unnatural sheen of its polish.
“Oh, I’m in no rush at all. It’s been pretty slow here today.”
“People not wanting to waste a beautiful warm autumn day like this one would be my guess. Before winter comes, I mean.”
“Yeah, I get that.” Jack looked at the leaves of the trees behind Naomi. The greens had shifted into golds and reds, and as the wind picked up and swayed their boughs, they let themselves be carried away. Something knotted in his stomach. “Okay, I’ll leave you and your book alone.”
As her fingers ran on the page again, Jack couldn’t help but hang around the table for another few seconds. She knew it, of course, because she hadn't heard his shoes walk away from her table. She wasn’t really reading, but rather moving her fingers on the empty line between the rows of bumps so as to not spoil herself of the next few sentences while she maintained the illusion. His breath deepened slightly and he squeaked away. After a few minutes, a slight strain in her neck reminded her that she was still looking in the direction where Jack had been when they were talking. She shrugged and rolled her neck, still smiling.
-
She had just finished reading Miss Robinson’s records when the hatch between her office and Nancy’s clicked open. “Your next patient is here, Naomi.”
“Great, send her in.”
Following the indication of the voice reader app on her computer, she opened a new note sheet and Ctrl-D’d the date at the top before hitting Enter exactly twice.
Miss Robinson was a smoker, as were most of Naomi’s patients, and the smell that assaulted her sensitive nostrils allowed her to confidently skip a question of her questionnaire. She had been admitted to the hospital 5 weeks prior for shortness of breath in a context of exacerbated COPD and had been referred to Naomi for a control exam and medication adjustment. This was hardly the most exciting job, but it was her only choice if she wanted to keep working as a respiratory therapist. Long gone were the days when she could manage patients under mechanical ventilation. She needed eyes for that.
As they talked about her symptoms and how she managed her everyday tasks at home, Naomi had already clocked several key elements of her respiratory pattern and was typing them into her file. Dyspnea on exertion only slightly resolved at rest, conversational dyspnea, pursed lips breathing, productive yet weak cough, respiratory rate around 24. She joined her hands as she listened to the rest of her story before turning on the oximeter and presenting it to her patient.
Keeping one hand on her desk as she walked around it, she retrieved her stethoscope from around her neck to listen to her breathing. She palpated her way down her back, counting the vertebrae until she reached T12, and placed the diaphragm of the stethoscope against her skin. She started at the base of the lungs and worked her way up, asking her patient to cough halfway through it. Some ronchis in the lower right lobe slightly mobilized after coughing, she noted mentally. Some crackles in the same area. No wheezing. Slightly diminished murmur. She put her stethoscope down on the desk and felt for Miss Robinson’s neck and shoulders, noticing a slight use of accessory muscles. She walked back to her chair and clicked on the oximeter. 92 percent, it said in a robotic voice.
Miss Robinson’s COPD was getting more and more severe now, and so she and Naomi went over some breathing exercises to help control her dyspnea as well as abdominal breathing to relax the muscles in her shoulders. As the appointment came to an end, they strayed away from medical talk and onto lighter subjects. After they had exhausted those, she uttered her closing phrase.
“Is there anything I can help you with today, Miss Robinson? I’m ready to let you go unless you have any questions for me.”
The woman’s raspy voice was loud in Naomi’s ears. “No, I’m quite reassured with what you told me today.” She took a second to catch her breath. “I wanted to tell you that you have beautiful beautiful eyes.” Another pause. “I’ve never seen a color that pure before, you’re a lucky girl. You’re sure to make heads turn on your way.”
Naomi smiled politely and prepared for the upcoming awkwardness. “Thank you so much. They’re not my real eyes, actually. They’re prosthetics. I lost my eyes in an accident a few years ago.” Her patient melted in her chair and apologized profusely, embarrassed by her misplaced compliment. “It really is no big deal, I get that all the time. Don’t worry about it.”
“I never would’ve thought! The way you get your work done is very professional.”
“I appreciate it. It comes at the cost of long hours of practice.” Looking for something to distract herself, she ran a hand through her hair, flipping her blond locks to the right.
Miss Robinson was still apologizing when Naomi guided her to the clinic’s entrance, and only stopped after she had closed the door. She sighed deeply and rolled her eyes, or at least commanded the muscles in her orbits to do so.
“One day you’re going to give a patient a heart attack.” Nancy stuck her head out of the reception desk to tease Naomi.
“Seriously.” She walked towards the sound of her voice, her hand safely against the guardrail. “Can you imagine us two coding a 65 year old with a 34% FEV1 because they wanted to give me a compliment?”
“You’re a victim of your own success. What she said is true, Naomi. Sometimes, I do forget that you’re blind.”
“Tell that to my prosthetist.” She laid her hand flat on the counter, palm side up, and was quickly rewarded with a piece of candy. She crinkled the paper between her fingers and stuck out her tongue. “Blergh, I’m not feeling black licorice today. Got any grape ones left?”
As Nancy rummaged through the candy, their tinkling against the glass bowl rang hard in Naomi’s right ear. She tilted her head away slightly.
“Last one! Lucky girl!”
She thanked Nancy and wished her a good evening. Following the wall to her right, Naomi entered through the second doorway and made her way back to her desk to complete her notes. As the day came to a close, Naomi had trouble finding where she had put down her stethoscope and proceeded to pat down the surface of her desk, careful not to spill her water bottle. Keyboard, mouse, diffuser.. She cursed at herself. Why didn’t she just put it around her neck like she always did? She slid her hands around the base of her monitor and groaned.
Removing her shoes, she explored underneath her desk until her toes hit something rubbery and limp. Bingo. She clicked her tongue and fished it with her toes, setting it in the lower compartment of the third drawer to her left, right beside the oximeter, its cord coiled neatly on top of it. Shoes back on, she grabbed her coat exactly where she had left it, put on her sunglasses and unfolded her cane. A few goodbyes later, Naomi was out of the clinic and onto the sidewalk, placing the flow of traffic in her left ear. She headed northward and immediately started counting.
Counting had become a second nature to her, easily climbing into the thousands while doing other stuff like talking, or listening to an audiobook. The bakery’s radiator buzzed to her right at around her 180th step and she nodded to herself, ever tapping the ground in front of her with her cane.
The sound or the intersection always came to her around the 350th to 375th steps, and today was no different. Her cane felt the lowering of the sidewalk that preceded the corner and she slowed down, angling her wrist slightly to the right trying to find the traffic light pole and thus the pedestrian crossing button. She heard someone else press it before her.
“Do you need a hand, maam? I’m crossing, too.” The voice came from down low to her right. It was high pitched, probably a kid’s.
Naomi’s heart fell in her chest. She didn’t need help, but she had been asked so politely… How could she refuse? “I would love to.” She switched her cane in her left hand, offering her right hand to the voice. “What’s your name?”
Little Emma, 8 years old, had just finished school and was walking back home in the same direction as Naomi. A few times a month, Emma would notice her walking from afar but had never thought about offering her help. After helping her across the street, the girls figured they still had a few blocks of common road ahead of them and decided to stay hand in hand, chatting.
“Mommy is the one who told me to offer my help to people in need.”
“Well, tell your mommy she’s raising a fantastic little girl. You’ve really made my day, Emma.”
Unbeknownst to Naomi, Emma’s cheeks and ears had become bright red both in pride and embarrassment. What she had said was true, it did light up her day. Even though she didn’t need any help going back home, having a guide and a friend along the way made it 100% better.
“This is where I live, Miss Naomi.” She stopped dead in her tracks, tugging hard on Naomi’s hand, who hadn’t felt it coming. “Should I wait for you tomorrow at the corner where we met?”
Naomi’s right hand found her cane again. “That’s very generous of you, Emma.” She knelt down, hoping to end up somewhat face to face with her. “Let’s make a deal. If we cross paths by chance, come up and see me and we’ll walk together. But don’t slow down or wait for me just to help me out. I wouldn’t want your mommy to get upset if you came home late because I left work later than usual.”
She could hear the smile in her voice. “Okay!” The gravel cracked under her shoes as she walked away. “See you next time Miss Naomi!”
There was a jangling of keys and a door opening and closing. Naomi smiled, happy to have made a new friend. She pivoted, adjusting her position to keep the sound of cars in her left ear, and picked up where she had left off, 114 steps beyond 6th avenue. She would have to follow the sidewalk around the corner of the next intersection, in about 50 steps.
-
Gmail. Messenger. Instagram. Be My Eyes.
Naomi clicked to enter the app and asked for help. After waiting a few seconds, she heard a chime followed by a man’s voice.
“Hey I’m Mark, what can I do for you?”
“Hi Mark, I’m Naomi! Can you please tell me which one of these cans is the Creamy Thai Chicken with Rice?” Feeling the cans with her left hand, she did her best to aim her phone at them using her right hand.
“The left one is Clam Chowder but the other one is a bit off camera, can you mov… There you go. Yup, the right one is the Thai Chicken.”
“Alright thank you so much, Mark! Have a great day!”
She hung up and pushed the chowder aside, making a mental note of its position for later. Her left hand anchored on the proper can, she reached inside her cupboard for a bowl, made quick work of the metal tab and poured it all inside. With nothing but the darkness in her mind, she walked to the other side of the kitchen, hand extended, until her fingers fell on the refrigerator. Its surface was cold and porous. She took two steps to the right and found the microwave, easily getting her meal inside. Four taps of the Quick Minute button later, she walked back to the countertop to rinse out the can, touching the inside to feel for any residual food, and dropped it into the recycling bin. She had barely closed the cabinet door when the microwave rang. The time it took her to do such simple tasks…
She used Be My Eyes three other times that evening. After spilling her glass of water twice and even tripping over a misplaced shoebox, she couldn’t remember some of her most basic systems. She didn’t usually need it much and was bringing herself down for it. Her mind was elsewhere. Somewhere in Middle Earth, perhaps. Resting on the shores of the Nimrodel, a stone’s throw away from Lothlórien, or in the depths of Khadad-dûm, fighting against a horde of orcs.
Her phone buzzed, Incoming message from Jack. She frowned, picking up the Hable controller on her bedside and navigated to Messenger. Read message? Yes. No. Yes. She clicked again, expecting the Google voice app but Jack’s voice came through. It’s true, she thought. Jack usually sends voice messages.
“Hey Naomi, it’s Jack from the café. I…” There was a shuffling noise. He took a deep breath and sighed. “Listen. I’d like to take you on a date. I like our little chats when I’m at work but… No, not but, and I’d love to have more time to talk with you. There’s this sushi place down the street from my apartment that’s really good, and they have private booths where the music isn’t as loud. You love our tartar so much, so I’m guessing you also like sushi? If not, I’ll let you pick another place. So… let me know what you think.”
Her jaw dropped. Literally.
She listened to it again. And again. And again, clutching the controller so hard her knuckles turned white. She knew him so little, yet their connection felt genuine, sincere. Her mental representation of Jack consisted only of his voice, and their fingers occasionally touching when he handed her a cup of tea. Butterflies filled her stomach simply by thinking about the softness of his skin. She grinned from ear to ear and bit her lip, bringing her legs close to her chest.
She loosened her grip on her controller and started recording her answer, unable to prevent her voice from shaking.
-
Black, knee, Dark blue, heels, asymmetric, Cranberry red, mid thigh
She smiled and tugged on the last dress to free it from its hanger, laying it in the center of her bed. Using the braille tags she now systematically clipped on her clothes, she put on a pair of thin black panties, and a simple yet slightly push-up matching black bra. She ran her hands methodically on her body, making sure there were no showing tags or tears in the fabric. Satisfied, she tapped her mattress until she found the dress again and slipped it on. It was a little tight when she breathed in deep, but that should only make her cleavage look better, she thought. Remembering that they would probably be sitting on the floor during dinner, she put on a pair of matte black gym shorts, letting the rest of her legs free to feel the evening air. She sent a (hopefully centered) picture to her friend Macy and she reacted with a salivating emoji. Good.
Letting her hand trail on the wall for guidance, she made her way into the bathroom, finding the low stool with her foot and making herself comfortable on it. Facing straight ahead, she fumbled with the drawers until she found what she was looking for : mascara, eyeliner, and foundation. Macy was her strongest ally in terms of clothing and make-up. She always could spare some time to go shopping with Naomi or, like she had just done, respond to her messages when she was getting dressed. She thought of her like a safety net.
After thoroughly washing her hands, Naomi removed her prosthetic eyes and set them on a clean paper towel not far from the mirror in front of her. This way, she wouldn’t accidentally get make-up on them without her knowing. She blinked a few times, unsettled by the feelings of her eyelids fluttering against her empty orbits, and got to work.
-
After looking up Naomi’s address, Jack had realized that she lived quite close to the sushi place he had made a reservation to, and thus close to his place, too. They had then agreed to walk together, something they had never done before. That evening would be full of first times, they were both sure of it.
Hands in his pockets, Jack’s mind couldn’t stop racing. He had never gone out with a blind girl before, although he was getting used to her needs and quirks as they interacted at the café. Every time he would see her walk in, usually on Tuesdays afternoon, he would make sure to switch tables with whoever he was working with. This way, he would have the pleasure of serving her.
He checked the address one more time. It should only be a minute or two before I… He thought, just as he noticed her. Right on time she was, standing in front of her apartment building, her white cane in hand. Chin raised, she had put up her hair in a loose ponytail, which allowed it to retain some of its volume. At her temples, two strands of hair had been deliberately set loose and framed her kind face, slightly wavy. She heard him coming, Of course she did, he thought to himself again, cursing his shoes. He would’ve loved to stare at her for a minute or two without her knowing. She turned her face towards him and blinked a few times, as if she had forgotten to in the last few minutes. Her cheekbones, already deliciously prominent, plumped up as she smiled.
“I see you only have one pair of shoes.” She pointed out.
Jack almost choked on his saliva. “Yeah I… uh..” He looked down at his feet.
“And I have two, does that make me any better?”
She tiptoed, showcasing the flat black ballerina shoes she had chosen to compliment her dress. Completely starstruck by her looks, her date stayed silent, staring down in disbelief at who he was taking out tonight.
Naomi wore a sleeveless red dress with a plunging neck that gave him a gorgeous view of her cleavage. Tightening around the waist to accentuate her figure, the dress then widened at the hips into see through frills, like she was dressed as a candy wrapper, and stopped at half-thigh. Her legs were long and slender, with muscular calves that could only be the result of her interest in long distance running. Too bad she could only do it inside, now…
“Are… Are you done?” Naomi asked, looking up at where she thought his face was. Without any visual reference point, it seemed to her that they had been standing together for an eternity.
“Sorry,” He said, mumbling a few words, “It’s just that you’re so pretty.”
She blushed and lifted her hand towards him, palm side up. He took it without hesitation. “Thank you.” Using her other hand, she felt his shirt up and down, appreciating the soft fabric, noticing the bowtie he had put on. Her second hand joined in to inspect the rest of his outfit, the line of his pants, his leather belt. “You’re not too shabby yourself.” She found his hand again. “Are we ready to go? I’m starving.”
“Yes, of course! It shouldn't be a long walk, it’s so close by.” He hesitated. “Naomi, is there anything I can do to help you out? I’ve… Never done…”He looked for the right words. “This before.”
She chuckled. “You’re so cute.” She lifted her forearm parallel to the ground, their hands still together. “Keep that steady, it’s going to be my guide. Think about it like a lighthouse to an off-course ship. “If there are any big cracks or bumps, just tell me ahead of time. Deal?”
Jack smiled, once again staring at her gorgeous prosthetics as if they were her real eyes. “Deal.”
-
Their dinner went adorably. The restaurant having no braille or any sort of accessibility measures, Jack was forced to read to her every single item that was available to them and while he did, he could not stop staring at Naomi. Her being blind, he didn’t fear being awkward when he looked at her for minutes at a time, memorizing her face like his life depended on it. He had already done it several times at work, even though his coworkers had reprimanded him for it, but how could he not? There was an aura about her. A way she presented herself, even stricken with such a disability. Even now, in the restaurant, she paced the menu with her finger under Jack’s attentive guidance as if she could see it by herself. To an outside observer, the illusion was almost perfect.
Meanwhile, Naomi was no stranger to japanese restaurants. She would actually often order sushi from this very place. The staff even often offered her free spicy mayo since she was such a loyal customer. But she couldn’t tell Jack. He was so sweet, so caring, and never lost his patience when he had to repeat the list of ingredients that were inside a sushi roll.. How could she break his rhythm without being insensitive?
After he helped her set up her plates, she could pick, dip, and eat her sushi all by herself, once again showcasing her independence despite her disability. And while she assumed he had taken advantage of her blindness to stare at her cleavage for the entire dinner, it was her eyes that captivated him.
He already knew that she tried to look as normal as possible during conversations and such, but he had never noticed how she actually moved her prosthetics as well. Of course, they were nowhere as mobile as her real eyes could’ve been, but he could see how she followed her movements with them. Staring down at her plate, then back up at him, the glass beads shifting slightly inside their sockets, the atrophied muscles unable to get a proper grasp on them.
Jack wondered how Naomi would react if he told her that they actually turned him on.
-
“And we should be either in front of my apartment, or one building behind, because you take longer strides than mine and that messed up my step count earlier.” She announced proudly.
Jack stared up at the concrete building, astonished. “I… I am impressed.” He sighed, turning towards Naomi. When she failed to sense her movement and stayed facing away, he took her other hand and pivoted her body himself.
A strange silence fell between them. A silence full of questions and expectations. Naomi’s hand climbed up his arm to find his chest, making it up to his face, hoping not to freak him out with her explorative touch. As it rested against his cheek, she would've traded all the money in the world to be able to see his face. Her next words would then change their relationship forever.
“Can I kiss you, Jack?”
Jack’s stomach knotted looking down at her blue eyes, immobile under her expressive brows, her lips calling out his name. “Please do.”
He felt her jump slightly as their lips met and he forced his eye closed, reluctantly detaching his gaze from hers. Her lips were soft, her breath sweet. Finding Naomi's waist, Jack pulled her closer, feeling her body pressed against his, and wondered if he had been stranded into a dream. He detached himself and looked at her for a brief second. He smiled, for she had closed her eyes, too, while she stood in front of him, mouth slightly open, waiting for his return. Their lips intertwined and her hand fell low on his back.
They stood for a minute or two on the sidewalk in front of Naomi's apartment building, enjoying each other's company, completely forgetting the world that spun around them. Then, she brought her lips to his ear and whispered softly.
“Follow me.”
Suddenly, Jack was no longer in control. As if she could see perfectly fine, Naomi guided him up the concrete steps to a card reader and opened the door for them. After a calculated trip through an elevator and a long corridor, it seemed to Jack that she had started counting again. Left hand on the wall, she stopped at the third doorway and unlocked the door by pressing her chip against the knob. When the door closed behind them, she turned around and started walking backwards towards her room, her back bumping against the doorframe.
Jack stepped forward, his hand on her neck, dropping a kiss on her forehead. “What now?”
She looked up at him, feeling his presence so close to her despite the endless void that filled her vision. Her mouth opened and closed unconsciously, as if trying to find the perfect answer for this unique moment. But none came to mind. Her eyes fluttered, and with as much confidence as she was able to muster in her hand, she tugged at his belt, biting her lip. Nothing more had to be said.
Jack let himself be dragged onto her bed, their lips joined like their lives depended on their proximity. With one hand on Jack’s neck, Naomi lowered herself on the bed and found his belt again, undoing the buckle and pushing it down as much as her range allowed her to. Grunting in frustration, her hands traveled up to feel under his shirt instead, tracing the contours of his pectoral muscles. A shiver ran through her back and by the time she had shrugged it off, his shirt was nowhere to be felt.
She heard him stand up followed by the sound of clothes falling to the ground. When he came back, he was wearing nothing but his underwear, short, tight fitting boxer briefs, making the underlying heat in her body rise by a notch. Jack kneeled on the bed again, giving Naomi the time she needed to look at him through her hands while he stared at her eyes.
In the room’s dimness, lit up only by a thin ray of moonlight, her prosthetics seemed as lifelike as ever. Even though they seldom moved in her orbits, he loved to watch her as she pretended they were still of any use. Tilting her head up and down as her hands moved across his body, how she blinked every few seconds out of habit, yet sometimes forgot to, leaving them open wide, their unnatural sheen accentuated by the moon’s glow. As he reached for her face again, he lingered in front of them, wanting to confirm she was really blind, waving his hand like he was a cartoon character.
He reached for another kiss before grabbing the bottom of her dress and tugging it off of her body, revealing the push-up bra she had meticulously chosen earlier. She pushed herself back to remove her shorts, striking a pose wearing nothing more than her matching underwear. She brought a finger to her mouth and bit it naughtily.
“What do you think?” Naomi said in a whisper.
Walking on his knees, Jack closed the distance between them, glancing down at the obvious camel-toe in her panties, before coming back to her eyes. Their blue irises glared at him. “You’re the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.”
She answered with a point of saddened irony. “I wish I could say the same to you.”
He pushed back her blonde hair behind her ear, freeing even more space in front of her eyes, and let his hand wander down her body. Over her prominent collarbone and her perky breasts, and how he burned to see them free, against her ribs, quivering under his touch, on her stomach, flat and athletic, leading down to her mound and folds, already warm and wet with desire for him. Using both hands, he slowly, very slowly pulled down her panties, sliding them off her legs to reveal her cleanly shaven lips. He stopped for a second and she lifted her hands, asking for physical touch. He pulled her upright and unclipped her bra, allowing her breasts to hang naturally from her chest, springing up the erecting in his boxers. She felt for it and breathed hard, awkwardly reaching for a kiss a few inches off of his face. He corrected her position with a guiding finger underneath her chin, and rewarded her with a taste of his tongue.
“Don’t ever think you’re inferior to the other girls. To me, you are the utmost perfection.”
He pushed her on her back again and promptly removed his boxers before joining her again, pressing his naked body against hers, her nipples hard against his chest. He kissed her once more, her nails digging in his back, before teasing her with the tip of his penis. Naomi’s body shivered with envy and she gasped, opening her legs invitingly. As he penetrated her, she moaned so loudly that, before her accident, her eyes would’ve revulsed so far back inside her skull that they would’ve turned completely white. However, in their current state, they stayed mostly still, fixed on an empty corner of the ceiling. And Jack almost orgasmed just by looking at them.