Chapter 2: Chiaroscuro

What is essential is invisible to the eye.

(Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)

A hallow container made of flesh and blood. Trapped in a capsule travelling the path called life. What is more horrifying than to be alone in a cold and blue town?

Darkness is like a tea spilled all over the sky. The crescent moon looks like a bright smile when viewed at a different angle. Stars glim and sparkle, twinkling up above the sky, in sync with one's heartbeat.

He wiped his rosey cheeks with his cold and bare hands. His tears are free falling as he flips the pages backward in the most heart wrenching chapter of his life. He sobbed and suck his breath, letting out little noises, trying not to awake Mimo. Gasping for air as he his tears rolls down. Covering his mouth.

Like a hammock in the night sky, he's slowly lured to sleep, his tears are not stopping, he wanted to escaped from the bars of the past, full of heart breaks and pain and tears.

But how can this handcuff be removed when he's holding on it with both hands? How can he let go when of what made him once complete?

He wanted see, he wanted to see what people often say, the beauty and the more to life, will he still be able see those things? Even without his visions?

Sun kissed lush leaves and bush, trees swaying to the music and rhythm the wind has created. He felt something licking his face, it was wet, furry, soft and fragrant. He tried to stop it, but it is unstoppable. Tried to resist it buts it was irresistable.

'Mimo, sto--hahaha! What did I do to deserve such a sweet thing as you? Hungry? Lets go the kitchen and grab something to eat before we go.'

He lazily moved away from his feet, finding his sleeping slippers, folding his sheets, hardly hitting his pillows, making the dust and mites leaving his territory. His hands carefully reached for a stick. Walk right through his door room, twisted the door knob and let Mimo get out first. The dog's excited and really playful.

He's careful with his steps. Counting every stairs and feeling anything near. Instincts. Lucas' vision was lost since the car accident, from then he can't see nothing but darkness. More than his vision, he lost his family, his life, and darkness has eaten up not only his eyes but his whole world. He tried to run, he tried to hide from the past, yet it haunts him, in memory, in dream.

One deep night, like how his thoughts of ending and wasting his life has brought him. Street light, busy streets, loud horns, now fading, quite and solemn. Just his footsteps can be heard as he passed through a tunnel. Holding a can of beer in his left hand and his stick on his right hand. His hands are full yet his mind are empty of any thoughts. He's mindless of he is doing. Suddenly, the wind blew hard and had gone cold, stars were out of sight, and lightning stuck the skies, as heavy rains drops in the pavement, he quickly run in the inner side of the tunnel preventing the rain and moisture touch his skin.

He felt something moving, it has fur, it has four feet, it has ears and it has a tail. It was a puppy, a wet and cold puppy, trembling and afraud of tge cold and thunder brought by the raging storm. He put his beer can down and his stick on the floor, he slowly picked up the puppy and drew it closer to his heart, now he can feel how much its trembling, he hugged it tight, embraced it. The heavy rains, the thunder and their heartbeats, and then the world gone quiet for a while as soon as it all stop.

Not knowing it, he fell asleep in the same spot he last found himself drunk, there was no sound of cars passing by, he supposed it's still midnight or dawn.

'Ouch- my head hurts a lot. I need to go home now.'

But he can't find his stick, but something pat his hands, it was his stick, and the puppy starts barking. He gathered all of his senses, decided to go home and so he got up, he just only made two footsteps, and the puppy started barking and barking and barking.

Now, he is having his morning breakfast with Mimo, his puppy.