Smiling And Humming Through Total Darkness

 "And one day we will die
And our ashes will fly from the aeroplane over the sea
But for now we are young
Let us lay in the sun
And count every beautiful thing we can see
Love to be in the arms of all I'm keeping here with me..."

                                       -- In The Aeroplane Over The Sea

                                            by Neutral Milk Hotel

        I was entering the rest room of a mall the other day when suddenly, I heard a soft thud behind me. When I looked back, I saw that a man in shades, and probably in his forties, hit the wall near the door of the rest room—he was blind and he was alone.

       I watched him grope his way towards a urinal and hit the person already standing in front of it. He chuckled, apologized and moved on towards the next urinal.

       On his way outside, he hit the wall again as he was trying to walk like a normal man, he  again chuckled, fixed his dark glasses and walked around it. He politely refused to be assisted and walked outside the rest room towards a waiting companion. He was walking upright even if he had no cane to guide him and was smiling and humming, not letting his disability  slow him and bring down. Not letting darkness pushed him to a corner permanently to sulk, not letting this horrible bad luck hound him and burden him.

       Not letting this terrible blow defeat him and bury him underneath a tombstone of gloom.

       And I suddenly wished everyone would be like him.

       And I suddenly wished I could be like him.