The Past (4) The Walking Stick

When she was sure that she was out of sight, Delilah ran very far away from her mother's shop. She could not tell vividly how awful she was feeling. She felt as if there had been someone digging something from her heart that was making her bleed within. She wanted to cry or shout but she hated crying in public. She wanted somewhere she could cry and not get disturbed or pitied.

She stopped running and tried to catch her breath, then she looked around as people continuously passed away as if they were living perfect lives. She closed her eyes for a milli-second before fluttering them open and turning to the left. Just some metres away, were two women arguing, she smirked and gazed to her left. On her left were a couple holding hands with a little boy walking at the front. She had no idea when a tear dropped on her cheeks and, she didn't even mind rubbing it off. She looked ahead to scan if there was anywhere she could stay.

Fortunately, there was a vacant shop near a restaurant, she walked slowly to the shop so she could just sit and watch. There was no view to look at in her mother's shop because it was a bit farther from the main street where people mostly reside. Now that she could sit to rest and watch how people walked across the street, she felt that she could think without being disturbed. "She has never acted so weird," she muttered pitifully.

"Is it okay if I go to school when she is barely healthy? Isn't it true that she would have to work extra hard just to pay my school fees? Won't it make mummy fall sick again?"

"Daddy, why did you leave my mummy and me? I hate you so much!" By now there was a lot of liquid keeping her from seeing passengers and people buying stuff. She tried cleaning those liquids but they kept falling. "What if one day mummy forgets about me? What if she doesn't know who I am any longer? She doesn't remember my age, why wouldn't she forget about me?

What would I do if it happens?

Would everything continue to be the same? Would I ever be able to see my daddy again?"

She kept questioning herself but stopped abruptly when she heard another argument going on right in front of her. She rubbed her tears off and touched her scarf, ensuring that she covered every single strand of her hair and that the scarf would not untie itself. When she was done, her mouth open as she walked closer to what was happening.

There was domestic violence between four boys while a girl just watched the scene with her hands folded.

She looked closely at the boys and saw who they were attacking. She watched as two of the boys kept beating up a particular boy with blonde hair while the boy tried fighting back, but the beating got worse as another boy joined the fight and continued to beat only the same boy. Still, the boy did not give up.

Delilah looked horrified as the fight kept going, she wanted to stop the fight but she knew she couldn't and the people fighting were older than her. They could just push her away and she would end up getting injured and causing another problem for her mother.

As the fight continued, she watched as the boys continued beating themselves mercilessly but something caught her attention. It was a long stick lying on the ground behind the blondie.

She was able to figure out what the stick was used for because she had seen a few people walk with the stick. Most people use the stick if they couldn't walk alone with their legs but the boy who the rest attacked the most seemed to be just fine.

She shook her head, the stick might not be for him. She watched mystified as the fight went on. She was somehow impressed by how the boy kept fighting. She stopped thinking as she heard a conversation going on between them.

"Why don't we just beat him up and let him die in pain?"

"Are you scared that I will end up beating the three of you till death?" The blondie replied. He had really pale skin and uncombed hair that did not match his beauty. Even though he looked a bit handsome, the big blows he had received on his face told one otherwise.

"Look who is speaking. I am very sure your body is too weak to collect more beatings. Chris, should we leave him and get back at him tomorrow? I am very sure this blind dude needs a bit healing, with that he would be more challenging," the oldest of the boys said. He looked like he was out of breath but at the same time, he looked disgusted or annoyed.

"No, I need to beat him till he is unable to lift a finger," Chris replied.

A soft voice interrupted, "I think it's enough!" Delilah's attention was caught short from the blondie who was standing alone to the girl who was previously smiling as the fight tension increased.

Delilah was quite confused about who the oldest boy was referring to as blind. Who was blind among them? "I think you might be sued for juvenile delinquency." Immediately the girl said it everyone except Delilah and the boy with bruised cheek began to laugh.

Delilah could not spot what was funny, besides she did not know what the word meant that made them laugh.

"I do enjoy seeing him say that, Ella, you can't imagine how horrified he always looks whenever he threatens us with that," Chris said and again the three boys burst into a huge peal of laughter.

"I must admit, he is brainy than he looks, but unfortunately, a blind man gets to nowhere in the world." The boy standing close to Ella talked for the first time but he was cut short by a blow in his stomach. And then the fight continued.

Getting tired of the fight, Delilah walked into their midst without thinking and pushed them away from the boy they bullied. "Stop that!"

"Who is this kid?" Chris answered as he straightened his shirt.

"Chris, don't start, just leave the little girl alone," the girl interrupted.

Delilah smirked and looked at them one after the other, "I have been looking at everyone for a while and I have called the cops."

"What?" Chris shouted and grabbed Delilah on her scarf.

"Let go!"

"You called the cops?!" Chris pulled her scarf further while Delilah wrestled herself from him. The two boys and the girl behind Chris looked more than frightened as they watched Delilah. Not frightened by her but by what she had just said.

"Let go!"

"I am going to pull your hair until you become bald, kid. How dare you call..."

"The cops!" Delilah heard the bullied boy shout and before she could understand what the boy meant, Chris who was holding her scarf tightly had released her and ran off with the others.

Delilah's widened eyes tightened and she opened them again. She could not describe how scared she was at that moment when she discovered that her scarf was about to roll off her hair. Immediately, she ran to the vacant shop and tied her scarf properly without loosening it. When she was done, she breathed hard and watched the previous scene only to find the bullied boy trying to take up the walking stick on the ground.

Her eyes fused confused as she walked toward the boy. "Are...are you okay?"

The boy stood up and held firmly to his walking stick. "I...I am fine, thank you." He raised his face and it pointed at Delilah's, "Thank you for saving me."

But Delilah remained still. She had never been shocked to this extent in her entire life. Her eyes landed on bluish violet eyeballs. She closed her eyes trying to see if she saw correctly but the same eyes were staring into hers.

She was cut short by the boy's words, " What did those bastards do to you?"

Unfortunately, the next word that came out of her mouth was nothing the both of them expected, "Are you blind?"

She was not expecting a blind boy to fight with a group of boys relentlessly. How was he able to see them do so? And what could he have done to annoy the bullies?