Live Without Leg

LOVE WITHOUT LEG

BACKGROUND: Hospital

The days were hectic and nights were creepy. She didn't sleep much after her recovery. She lost her vision partially hence her view was blurred. Her case wasn't permanent so she had to wait till she recovered and she was the one least worried about that. The company needed her attention and the secretary that Suhail appointed was still working and handling things in her stead as she went through her treatment. She tried to hold the shaking business of JK .ltd as much as she could. All the days went like that while at night, she sat upright and stared at her damaged leg. She still couldn't believe that she had metal inside that leg. She just sat there looking deep into the abyss which she imagined at every shadowy corners of her hospital bedroom. The abyss would look back deep into her soul as well.

She was going to limp for the rest of her life. She had to hit her head and break her leg to come to her senses. She huffed and tucked at her open sweater. She stood up for a night stroll around the hospital.

An object at the corner beside the sofa in her room came to her blurred view as its surface shined in the moonlight. She limped with her stick after getting up and switched on the light. A pencil with broken tip was lying in the same corner.

"Ah! That man? What was his name? I didn't thank him." She flipped her hair back just like she did in her high school.

3 MONTHS LATER

BACKGROUND: Joshua Art Works (Joshua's shop and living space)

"Come on! Spill it out!" Lakshmi banged her coffee cup on the reception table while sitting on the receptionist seat.

"What? I can't understand what you are trying to say..." Joshua undid his apron after spending the whole morning on his new painting.

"Oh. Seriously? You have been acting like someone blocked your butthole for a long time now. What is it? Is there a girl problem?" she wasn't going to beat around the bush anymore.

Joshua got to see Anna's face regularly on live news. At first, they were all about the past and made up scandals which would annoy him. But now the contents had changed. She was making her company take one step each at a time and growing rapidly. He left her side on the same day when she opened her eyes without leaving any contact info so as to avoid repeating the thumping in his chest which he felt when his eyes meets her not at all unusual brown eyes.

"It's really nothing. You are guessing things."

"And I am guessing it right." She declared but his annoyed comeback was stopped at the tip of his tongue by the arrival of customer.

(JINGLE) The bell at the door indicated the arrival of a new customer and they both looked that way. Anna was standing there, leaning onto her walking stick and gazing around. Her blurred scanning stopped when the figure of two people came to her view.

THUMP THUMP THUMP

The crazy changes in his heart which he deliberately tried to avoid was now once again awakened by her presence. It's as if, those crazy feelings were not gone in the first place. They were waiting for her to appear back in his life.

'Let's not deny it anymore.'

Anna pulled her life back into track bit by bit in three months. Even though she couldn't amend the company completely, she was satisfied with her changes. But when she came back to her apartment, she found it cleaned by the maid but it was dark and saddening feeling when she looked around. With the suggestion of her secretary who recently went shopping for his new house build after marriage, she went to the certain shops to buy decorative to brighten her apartment. Even though she couldn't make any difference between two different vases, she was determined to limp around the city to make her treasured house beautiful.

The emptiness in that house wasn't that noticeable with the presence of Suhail. Neither of them were the decorative type. She brushed off the saddening thoughts and got out of her car driven by her trusted chauffeur who was none other than Suhail's chauffeur who had been working for him since his high school. He was now old and grey but more loving. He rambled from behind her about how she shouldn't be doing a lot of work with her metal legs and yet is going around the town just to shop. He was a caring figure and hence she let him be. She thought less about revenge nowadays. She just imagined Suhail smiling at her transformation other than regretting her past.

"Joshua Art Works… sounds familiar." She thought as she entered the shop and noticed the smell of paint around. The smell wasn't bad. She could guess that the arts here were made in the same place. She limped towards the counter were a lean figure of a man and a girl were standing. They both were just a bit taken aback by the unusual customer, not to mention- a famous personality.

"Ah! Miss, Welcome. How can I help you?" Joshua jumped forward to take his chance. His nerd-ishness seemed to vanish in thin air as he saw her.

She let out a smile, more of a chuckle with enthusiasm of a rich woman on shopping.

"Hello~ I wanted to buy colorful canvases for my house."

She was looking forward into thin air as she couldn't locate his eyes. A smile lit on his face, half to the fact that she wasn't looking sad anymore and half to the fact that she was going to buy his paintings. All the canvases for sales were displayed in the same room but he wanted to give her something better, something special. Who knows when such an opportunity would ever occur again?

"Yes Miss. Do you mind following me to the next room?" his hands were stretched towards the door like a gentleman. Lakshmi's one eyebrow was nearing its limit to hit her forehead as she sipped on her already cold coffee. Of course, the puppy in love was acting out of character. His charisma was overflowing.

Anna chuckled again cutely. "Hahaha. I do mind. You see, I am partially blind, so please?" she hesitantly brought her hands forward for him to take. Lakshmi's coffee leaked from the corners of her mouth, surprised to fact that she was blind and half to Joshua who wasblushing hot, unable to keep his composure. He hadn't even yet taken her hand. 'He already lost it? Pfft.'

Joshua's mood fell from clouds at the reminder that she was blind. He led her in, holding her hands carefully as if it would break and showed her around, describing all the paintings. Even though she couldn't see any of the painting, she was fascinated at his descriptions and the way he said them, like a scenery of river reflecting full moon and a child in hood with a lamb, drawing his boat towards that reflection an trying to reach it. She could easily guess that he was the painter.

She momentary glanced at a canvas at the corner and a big one caught her eyes. The colors on it were vibrant and stunning even though she couldn't make out a picture. She poked at Joshua's back to grab his attention and asked

"Um. Sir Joshua. What is that drawing over there?" All the colors left his face. He stuttered to collect his idea for a fine lie.

"Hahaha. That's nothing. I was just messing around with a drawing. It's just… it's just… colors smeared all over." the lie was half cooked and bit suspicious. He clenched his pant.

"Oh. No wonder it has such a bright feeling." She mumbled. For a moment, he felt relieved at her being blind.

She brought 10 paintings at his recommendation quite cheap. Crush made him blind to the fact that he needed money to live. He just smiled dumbly and widely, waving his arms at the car leaving and Lakshmi who witnessed his foolishness came behind him and smacked square at his head with her coffee cup. He just sold his collections made for the coming auction in few weeks.