I shiver as I stand out
in the cold Colorado air, pulling my jacket closer to my body. Sighing, I feeling
my breath form clouds in the air. It probably wasn’t the best idea to wear my
jean shorts and short black V-neck t-shirt but at least I brought my jacket.
South Carolina is warm anyway. I can hear my Dad and older brother behind me, checking in my bags and getting my flight arranged. My older sister is still in
the car getting my purse ready for me while staying out of the cold. She hates
it as much as I do.
“And don’t forget to
ask for aspirin if you start getting a headache and...”
“Mother I know.” I say,
a little exasperated. Sometimes my Mom still treats me like a kid she doesn’t
seem to realize that I'm 19 now. For goodness sake, I'm a college freshman, at
Harvard no less.
“Sorry dear, you know
how I get,” my Mom says, apologizing. I feel her hand on my cheek rubbing it
softly. I sigh, smiling at her.
“I know Mom.” I say.
“I'm just worried. You
haven’t flown alone in a while.” My Mom pulls a piece of my black hair behind
my ear. I shiver again, not because of the touch. At that moment I can feel a
snowflake hit my nose. I hate the snow with a burning passion. Ever since I got
in the accident two years ago that rendered me blind, I have hated it. I hate
it almost as much as I hate driving, which is the reason I am flying to South
Carolina this year instead of driving. It’s a family tradition to drive down to
Hilton Head, South Carolina, to see the family and spend time on the beach.
It’s not like we couldn’t afford to fly. In fact, we could probably afford to
take a private jet, but it’s a tradition and my family is big on traditions.
“So squirt you ready to
go?” my Dad asks from behind me and I feel his hand ruffle my hair.
“Yep,” I reply, turning
in his general direction and smiling. My Dad is six-three with arms like tree
trunks. He has the same black hair as me and medium size nose. Once upon a time,
when my eyes had color, they were the same blue as my fathers. Now they are an
off gray or so I'm told.
“Watch out for those
boys in South Carolina till I get there, ok?” says my 22 year old brother,
Devin. Before I have time to dodge the attack, I feel his arm around my neck
and his hand digs into the top of my head giving me a soft nooky. Devin is like
my Dad, tall and strong. The thing about Devin is once I'm locked in his
sleeper hold there is no way out.
“Stop that! I just did
her hair.” says my sister, Christine, as she gets out from the car. I can
picture Devin's devious smile as he looks up at her, not letting me go.
“Come on princess, you
know Catharine doesn’t care about her looks like some people.” The teasing tone
in his voice is obvious. I hear Christine give an annoyed sigh and walk toward
me. Her stiletto heels click on the wet concrete of the sidewalk. Christine is
25. She has long brown hair that ends at her mid back. At five-eight, two inches
taller than me, she doesn’t need heals but insists on wearing them anyway. Christine is always well groomed. Just last week she was ranked number three in
the top ten most fashionable girls of her age or something like that. Christine is the only reason I know that every day I go out of the house looking at least
somewhat presentable.
“Devin Michel Hernandez
let her go now,” my sister says, her voice icy. My brother lets go immediately.
Whenever my sister pulls out full names you know she means business. Christine might look small and weak but she
is a black belt in karate and she could give even my brother a run for his
money.
“And please stop
calling me Catharine,” I say, trying to glare at him. I hear Devin laugh. He
knows better than anyone that I don’t like that name it’s too… proper. I prefer
to go by Cat or Cate.
“All right you two,
settle down,” my Mom says and I feel her hand on my shoulder. I turn to look in
her general direction.
“Now don’t forget that
Aunt Marry will meet you at the gate. Here is your ticket and Dad will take you
to meet your escort. We will be at the house in about two to three days’ time.
Please try to stay out of trouble.” my Mom hands me my ticket and I feel along
the side. Flight 805 to Nashville Gate 42 Concourse C.
“I’ll try Mom,” I say
and I hear her sigh.
“Be safe,” she says
pulling me into a hug. I hug her back then break away. Devin comes up and hugs
me from behind.
“I was serious about
the boys,” he says and I laugh at him. I feel a strap drape over my shoulder and
two hands turn me around.
“Now be careful with it,
it’s Prada,” Christine says and hugs me.
“Will do,” I reply.
Another hand rests on my right shoulder and I turn to my Dad.
“Let’s go he says.” I
nod and allow him to take my hand leading me inside the airport. The moment the
sliding doors open, it takes all of my will power not to rip my hand from his
grasp and put them to my ears. The noise is deafening. To any normal person I'm
sure that it is just loud but to me it sounds like a jet engine. I wince in
pain but continue to follow my Dad.
We pass by a large group of people,
teenagers from the sound of it, then stop. I hear a door open and follow my Dad.
It closes behind me and immediately the noise stops. I sigh in contentment and
continue down the hall. Our footsteps echo through the hall, telling me
that it is narrow, probably big enough for three or so people. The floor is lined with
tile and the walls are made of cement. I want to say that the common color is probably
white, but obviously I really can’t tell. Another door opens and I hear a chair
push back.
“Hello! My name is Agent
Cortez, I will be escorting you to your flight.” I stick my hand out to him and
try to smile hiding the annoyance I feel. Of course my Dad would hire an agent
to escort me. My family is famous for more than one reason. First, there is the
money factor, then there is the fact that my Mom is a world renounced chef, my Dad
is one of the top lawyers in the nation, my sister is a famous super model and
my brother is a football player for CU and in the running for the Heisman.
Finally, there is the fact that I, their blind daughter, am one of the world’s
best blind tennis players and a prodigy chemist major. Our whole family is in
the news at least one practically every week.
“Hello agent Cortez,
I'm Catharine but you can call me Cat,” I say, shaking his hand.
“Alright, Cat please
allow me to check your bag and person then we will be on our way.” I nod and
hand the agent my bag. As he goes through it, being careful not to moving any of
the objects, I turn to my Dad.
“An agent Dad, really!”
I say, annoyed at him.
“Don’t give me that look.
I just want you to be safe,” he says, brushing his thumb along my cheek. I
pinch my nose in exasperation and nod.
“I know.” my Dad pulls
me into a hug then backs away.
“I’ll see you in Hilton
head. Please listen to agent Cortez.”
“I will,” I say. I hear
the door open and close and turn back to the agent.
“Alright Miss Cat, I'm
going to run a metal detector along your body, don’t be alarmed.” I nod in response
and put my arms out. The agent scans me quickly. “Your clean, no surprise. Now
please fallow me.” I allow the agent to grab my hand and pass me a hat which I
put on and tuck my hair into. He leads me out into the noisy airport again. We
load on to a cart and the agent drives me to the gate. We arrive just as I hear
the attendant announce.
“Flight 805 to
Nashville, now boarding. All military and handicapped personnel board now.” The
agent helps me off the cart.
“You must be Miss
Catherine. Allow me to take you on to the plane.” says a way to preppy voice in
front of me. I stick out my right hand and let the flight attendant take it.
She grabs my hand gently as if I'm a china doll that she's afraid to break. I
sigh in frustration and follow her. I hate when people treat me like this, I'm
blind not broken or mentally slow. I hear people talking around me as I am lead to
the gate and give the attendant there my ticket. He scans it and I'm lead down
the ramp to the plane.
“Here is your seat,
please make yourself comfortable and don’t be afraid to ask for anything,” she
says as she helps me sit down on my chair. When I hear her leave I finally
relax and take a deep breath. I sink into the soft cushioned chair of first
class and cherish the few minutes of quiet I have before they begin to board
the plane. The sound of rollers on the ramp hits my ear minutes later and I
ignore it as the first class passengers begin to board.
“Excuse me,” says a
light voice and I turn my head in the direction of it smiling.
“Yes?” I ask.
“Could you move your
legs? I need to get to my seat,” she states. I nod and pull my legs up,
allowing her room to get to her seat. She brushes past me and I hear her settle
down on her chair. The rest of the passengers load the plain. About half way through
something hard hits my shoulder. I turn to the source of the bump waiting for
an apology but get none. I sigh in annoyance and choose to ignore it. I could
tell by the material that hit me it was a brief case and I know from experience
that business men are often into much of a rush to notice things around them.
Finally, all the shuffling stops and I hear the airplane door close.
“Miss, here is a safety
pamphlet for you,” says that cheery voice again right next to my ear and I jump
slightly in surprise. I feel the cold hard plastic of the paper in my hand. I
force a smile on my face.
“Thank you,” I say
threw gritted teeth. The attendant leaves and I zone out for the next few
minutes, not even reading the pamphlet in my hand. If there is ever going to be
a problem I won’t be able to do anything about it and either will be left here
or someone will come get me. The attendant comes back again to ask about drinks
and food. I tell her what I want but don’t hear her leave
“Is that all you will
need, Miss? Do you want a blanket or pillow? We can get you anything,” she says
putting a hand on my shoulder. I try not to yell at the lady as I hiss through my
teeth.
“I'm fine.” The
attendant leaves with that and I sigh in exasperation.
“Man, those guys can
get so annoying.” I turn to the girl next to me, nodding.
“They act like I'm a
baby. I mean for goodness sake I'm 19.” I say rubbing the bridge of my nose in
frustration.
“Yea seriously, I
thought they pestered me, but it’s worse for you. My name’s Noel, by the way.”
“Catherine, but please
call me Cat.” I reply with a smile.
“So, where are you
headed?” asks Noel.
“South Carolina I have
a two hour layover in Nashville.” I reply.
“I'm going to Orlando.”
“What for?”
“I’m going home to see
my family for Christmas.” I could hear the contempt in her voice.
“Oh nice. I'm going to
meet my family. We go to S.C. every year,” I reply, switching the subject,
trying not to pry into any further.
“Sounds like a serious
party.” Noel jokes.
I laugh. “So is this your first time in first
class?”
“No,” Noel replies, trying to keep the guilt
out of her voice but I hear it. I know she is probably worried that she sounds
like a snob. “My family always flies first class, even though they know I
prefer coach.”
“Cool.” I say as I
reach into my bag and grab my iPod and Of Mice and Men book. Noel gets the hint
and I hear her turn away from me. I pop in my headphones and turn on the music,
opening my book to my next page. As I get lost in the book my mind wanders. I
can’t help but reminisce like I always do when heading to S.C. it’s one of the
few places
I can still picture perfectly. It’s a place untouched by time and
the changes I have gone through. I try not to let a tear slip from my eyes as I
think about all the things that have changed in the last two years. Before I
was handicapped, I had so many dreams. I was the captain of the basketball and
tennis teams, one of the more “popular” people and I was an aspiring
photographer. What hurt the most about losing my sight was the fact that I had
to give up my dream of photography.
The
sound of laughter fills the car as Jack finishes his joke.
“Come
on Jack, he didn't say that,” Molly says, whipping the tears from her eyes.
“No,
I'm serious, it was so creepy. I don’t know what is wrong with Mr. Main but not
all his cogs are turning,” says Jack, smiling brightly.
“You
should have heard what he said to me the other day.” I say from the back seat.
Jack turns back to me, raising an eyebrow in question.
“What
did he say?” says Mat, grabbing my hand in a protective manor. I turn to smile
at him.
“It’s
a secret.” I say, winking at him. Mat’s smile brightens and he shoves me
lightly. I turn to the window and stop. “Hey look it’s snowing again,” I say,
brightly watching the snow fall. I love snow so much. I hear Mat laugh and I can see Jack rolling
his eyes at me.
“You
and your snow,” says Molly amusingly.
“Isn’t
it the best?” I say, ignoring the teasing in her voice.
“Of
course it is,” says Mat, grabbing my hands. I smile up at him. Out of the
corner of my eye I see Jack reach for Molly’s hand and she turns to smile at
him. Suddenly the car jerks, sending us flying to the side. The world is a blur
of screaming and falling. I feel my arms snap as it makes contact with Mats
hard chest. Things begin to fly around and the glass next to me shatters. I
feel it hit my face and cry out at the sudden pain in my neck. I close my eyes,
quickly praying for it be over. pain floods me as something hits hard in my right eye. Finally, the car stops and the air is deathly
silent. Groaning, I push myself off of the floor and open my eyes, feeling
around. For some reason it’s really dark
and I can’t see a thing. I feel the familiar carpet of the car below me and
shove off the rest of my seat belt that wraps around my waist. The top has been
completely shredded up. My body fights me as I try to move, feeling for Mat,
Jack, or Molly.
“Oh
my god, are you all right?” I hear someone, a girl I think, ask and I turn to
the sound.
“Help
us please.” I say, my voice coming out in a hoarse whisper.
“I'm
calling the police.” says a boy’s voice. In a matter of minutes, sirens fill
the air. I continue to crawl along the car to where I know Mat should be.
Finally, I feel skin beneath my fingers and I fallow it, realizing its Mat’s
arm.
“Hey
Mat are you ok?” I ask pulling at it lightly. He doesn’t respond and I begin to
panic. “Mat, Mat what's wrong? Wake up!” I yell at him, shaking him, as he
continues to not respond.
“Hello?
Is anyone in there?” a male voice calls in.
“Help
please! Help, Mat’s not moving!” I yell back.
“Alright,
we are coming in. Please don’t move, we will be there in a minute,” replies the
voice. I hear the screaming sound of metal being ripped back. I feel hands come
around me and I turn, expecting to see a face but my world remains dark.
“I
got you,” says a voice and I feel myself being lifted.
“Please
sir, help him, you need to help him!” I say hysterically.
“Were
on it! We will get your friends out soon,” he replies and I nod.
“Hey,
is it night time already?” I ask him as I feel him walk along the ground. The
sound of cars and sirens fills the air. I feel the man shift beneath me and I
think he is looking at me.
“What
do you mean?” he asks, his voice confused.
“Well,
it’s so dark.” I reply. “I was wondering if the sun had already set.”
“No
mama, it’s only five o’clock.” replies the man and I hear the worry in his
voice. He sets me down on a chair. “How many fingers am I holding up?” he asks.
“I
can’t tell it’s too dark.” I say worried.
“No,
it’s not. The sun is still out and it’s light. I can see you as easy as the
nose on my face.” he says and I stop. No, it couldn’t be. I grab for the man,
trying to find his shirt.
“Please.”
I beg. “Tell me it’s not true.” I say tears streaming down my face. I hear the
man sigh.
“I
need you to remain calm as we check your vitals. You broke your arm and we
think you have fractured a rib or two. The adrenaline is still in your blood so
you don’t feel anything now but moving could hurt you more,” the man says and
my world falls apart. I still numbly as the ETM’s cater to my needs. A
helicopter comes to take Jack and Molly to the hospital. Mat is dead.
I rub away the tears in
my eyes as the memory comes back to me. My life changed so much and I couldn't
do anything to stop it. Apparently one of the glass shards cut off some nerve
for my eyes. And if it hadn't, well I already lost my right eye. It took me months to get used to being sightless but eventually it
happened and life went on. At first I was handicapped then I joined the blind
athletes association and my life started to return to normal. My only regret
has been my major. Now I'm a chemist but like I said I had always wanted to be
a photographer.
“Ma'am the plane is
about to land,” says that shrill voice in my ear and I turn to her, confused. I
reach out my hand and feel the tray in front of me, still holding untouched
food and a drink. Oh well, guess I'll save to food for later. The attendant
helps me put my chair in the upright position and takes my food, putting it in
a bag and giving it to me. The plane lands in a matter of minutes and the
attendant is at my arm again. She helps me up and I turn to grab my bag from
beneath the chair.
“Well see you around.”
I say to Noel and leave following the attendant out. She leads me to another
agent named Mark, who then leads me to another cart that will take me to
another gate, where I will have to wait to finally get where I'm going. To the place
where my memories are not scared by my past.
