"Open your eyes, slowly." doctor said with enlightened spirit.
I opened my eyes gently, it would take sometime to get used to this, seeing the world after so long. I thought.
Everything is blurred, the light from the sun hurt me, I rolled my eyes and tried blinking hard to clear my vision. I can feel the wet tears that strolled down from eyes to cheeks.
"Easy, easy.." the doctor chanted.
I blinked once again rubbing away my tears with hands. At first everything is dark and then slowly shapes formed in front of me in different colors.
I COULD SEE!!!!!!!
Annie stepped in front of the doctor.
"Ida." she cried hugging me.
It's good to see her perfect smile again. Annie is my elder sis, she is all I have close to a family. I thought of the accident that has taken mama and papa away, leaving me blind since then sis took care of me.


It's been a week since I had my eyes operated. Over the week friends and relatives came to visit me. It's good to see family, friends and the world after a year long.
"Ida, someone wants to see you." Annie called.
I stared at the person leaning at the door. He is tall and handsome.I gazed at him to see who he was. Realization dawned on me when I looked at his deep blue eyes.
Ed! He is been my friend since my childhood. We were together for many years. The day before I met up with the accident he left on some work. I haven't heard or seen him since then.
"You look different." I said looking at his black suit.
He winked at me. There is something different in his behavior, he is always careless and in good spirits with me but now he is pretty tensed. Finally there is something that changed over the year.
We spoke for an hour on nothing in particular. I bade him good bye by kissing on his cheek. He flinched at my touch.
" Do you have another girlfriend,now?" I asked.
"It's always you." he said smiling.
I looked into his eyes. Even though everything about him changed but the love he have for me is never changed. I can tell that by the way he looked at me, the same way he always does as if searching my soul.
"Are you going back to work?" he asked.
"Yeah! the manager is good enough to take me back after a year of my absence."
He is smiling at me when I looked at him, suddenly his expressions went blank and he is staring into the void.
"I gotta go." He left not without a look at me again.
What's wrong with him? Why is he acting so weird? May be he is having some serious problems. I should talk to him first thing tomorrow.


My friends at office welcomed me heartily. Most of the time they even did my work for me. The first day of my office is really good I thought.
Annie insisted on picking me and dropping me during my first week of office since I lost my car too in that accident.
I waited for Annie outside in the car garage. Though few of my co-workers especially my boss Richard insisted on dropping me, I said no saying that I have shopping too on the way.
Annie is 20 min late and by the time she arrived everyone in the building left. It's really good to see the world back with all it's vibrant colors. Annie put the engine down when she saw the red signal. I stared at the traffic ahead us. A bike skidded to a halt next to us. One of the boys grinned at me. He whispered something into the riders ears,he glanced at me and smiled. All of a sudden my eyes started to hurt,they felt hot like on fire. I covered my eyes as if to stop them from the blaze of sunlight. I bent and put my head into legs. Annie was panicked to see me crying in pain.
"Ida,are you hurt? tell me.." she cried in loud tone.
As if a movie played, I could see the bikers hitting the pole hard and dying horribly writhing in pain. I saw them as if I was memorizing a bit from a movie. They played clearly in my head.
Annie pulled away my hands to look at me. My eyes were blood red, I could see that in her eyes. I tried to turn away from that awful scene but the pain made me numb and I went blank after that.
I woke up in the hospital once again, I could feel the medicines smell around. My first thought was I was blind again. I tried to open my eyes but was afraid to face the results. What If I couldn't see again? I drew deep breath and got ready to face the worst. I slowly opened my eyes, a white wall with baby poster stared at me. I cried out of pleasure even the pain was gone.
Annie entered my room at the same instant. She ran to hug me.
"Thank god, Ida you scared the hell out of me." she whispered wiping her tears away.
"I'm sorry." I apologized.
"What happened to me?" I asked.
"Doc said it's normal to have these things after major operation."
I nodded, hoping that it wouldn't happen again.
We left the hospital after taking medicines and some minor checkups. Annie gave me goggles when I'm out in the open again.
"I know you are against wearing these but these are for your eyes protection from the sun." she said.
I sighed and took them from her.


Annie brought me coffee and the newspaper early in the morning, waking me up from my bed.
I took in the aroma of the coffee and then sipped it flipping through the pages of the paper. I stared at two familiar figures on the paper.
Where did I see them? I thought aloud.
I ran through the lines trying to figure out where I saw them. News stated that these bikers were killed in an accident at the 'Y' junction near the outskirts.
I realized at once that these are the people I saw yesterday beside my car. One by one the incidents filled before my eyes. How did I forget this?
I read the news carefully. The rider was riding at full speed when hit by the pole accidentally, both the riders are believed to be dead at the spot. She stared at the other picture this was exactly how she saw them die.
She ran to Annie and narrated the whole thing. She listened to me patiently.
"Ida, When this happened you were there at that place. You saw it though your eyes were hurt. Your brain might have registered this images in your mind and now it seems like you saw it before. That's all." she explained.
She's right. What logical explanation would there be other than that. I'm exaggerating things. I thought.
"Annie, I want to go and meet Ed after the office." I said.
"Okay, I'll drop you at his home." she said.


"Annie, Edward will drop me home. You go on." I said standing beside his gate.
She sighed.
I walked to his room on the second floor all the way thinking how he would receive me? I have not been to his home since two years. Will he feel happy at my sudden appearance at his door step? May be I should call him first?
Whatever, I have come this far and I can't go without even saying hi to him.
I knocked on his tentatively. I heard rustle of footsteps near the door. It must be him.
The door opened revealing a stout person in 40's. He frowned looking at me. Must be his roomie, I thought.
"Is ed, here?" I mumbled.
"There is none with that name here, lady." he said gravely.
"I'm sorry." I said.
He nodded and closed the door looking at me quizzically.
I pushed my phone and browsed through contacts.
Ed!
I pressed call button and waited for the ring tone but to my utter disappointment it said the number is not in use. He must have changed his number. May be I'll check in his office but I don't have the details of his new office address. This is frustrating, how naive I'm I didn't even consider asking him basic questions in all over conversation.
I took the bus and went back home.
"You are early," Annie said glancing at the wall clock.
I slumped on to the sofa.
"is everything okay? Do you have any problem?" She fretted.
"Ed is not there, I think he moved out. His number is not in use and I don't know which office he works for." I said.
"You could ask him the next time he comes." she said.
I nodded and excused myself saying that I need rest.
I slept thinking about him. Early morning I came out with an idea waited until the office closed. Then I went to near by place and checked his identity in the voter's roll. Even after hours of searching I couldn't find him.
How could that be? I mean unless he moved out of the country but that he wouldn't do at any cost. What the hell is going on with him?
Like sis said may be I should wait for him until the next time we meet but how long will that be? I headed back to home heavy hearten. The next days I tried my best to talk my mind out of his thoughts.
As days passed I grew accustomed to the changes and I'm under regular medication as my doc insisted on it. There is no sign of Ed again.
"See ya, Ida." Last of my colleagues waved as she drove her away.
There are only two cars left, one is mine and a red swift beside it. I stared at it remembering whose it might be. The familiar itch and burning sensation grew in my eyes. I tried closing my eyes as if to protect from some harmful rays. The burn grew wilder and slumped on to the floor writhing in pain. I heard someone's hurried footsteps towards me.
"Ida, are you okay?"
I tried opening my eyes to see who it was but that hurt very much. I recognized the voice as Richards. He tried to heave me up onto my foot and suddenly the images flickered on my mind as if 34 frames per sec. The red car was on the road and driving at good speed and suddenly from the front a huge vehicle was coming towards it dashing all those in way. The driver tried to pull away from getting hit but in vain. The driver is crushed along with the car.
I let out a huge gasp trying to decipher meaning of this.
"Let's get you into my car. I'll take you to the hospital."
"Not yours." I screamed.
"Okay, okay.." he said panicked.
He scooped me up and sat me in the seat while he hurried to the wheel. As the car moved my energy was fully drained out and let the darkness loom around me.
"Is she okay?" I heard someone whisper.
I fluttered my eyelids before opening them.
"God! you scared the hell out of me." Richards said leaning onto my bed.
"I'm sorry."
He smiled and squeezed my hands gently.
"Annie is on the way." he said.
"Thanks,"
"How are you feeling now?" he said sitting beside my bed.
"Good."
"I'm gonna kill myself if I ever saw you that way again."
I nodded smiling.
"Ida.." Annie rushed into the room.
"She is good. Don't worry yourself." Richards said gently.
"Oh! Richards. I'm really worried about her." she said sobbing into his arms.
How did I miss this? They love each other and when did this happen? I am happy for Annie; Richards a good guy and well settled. They deserve each other.
Annie pulled out of his arms as soon as she gained control.
"I'm fine." I assured her.


"Annie.." I said determined to ask her about Richards.
"Yeah!"
"Can we talk?"
She set the plates down and sat beside me.
"Do you want to say something? "I asked tentatively.
She frowned.
"Richard.." I murmured.
She let out a huge sigh.
"I thought you know this especially he is the one that kind of there for me when parents died and you were.." she cut off the sentence in middle knowing those days would bring bad memories and with it pain to me.
May be I was blind to the whole world around me for the past year.
"You don't like him?" Annie asked tentatively.
"You two are meant to be." I said.
She hugged me crying happy tears.

There is no word from Ed…I’m beginning to get worried about him, what happened to him? Why did he leave the apartment? Was he seeing someone else? Annie brought me yesterdays newspaper and Richard walked in with her.

“Don’t worry about it honey at least you are safe…” Annie tried to comfort him. “What happened?” I asked. “Since Richard had to take you to hospital in your car, he asked a friends of his to bring the car but he died in an accident…” she said.

“Is it a red swift?” I asked. He nodded. I was lost in thoughts, last time when I had the vision about the bikers the same thing happened and now the same…She found the column and read through it, the accident was reported exactly as I had in the vision, I looked at the photograph of it, something caught my eyes… I logged unto the system and into the newspaper sight and browsed through the pictures, I enlarged them and there to my utter astoishment Ed was standing behind the back drop of the scene with the dead guy. I browsed for the bikers accident and as I had suspected Ed was standing with the dead bikers,how could that be…?

Something in my mind triggered and I browsed through the latest accident pictures and each picture I found Ed with dead persons. My head swarmed with doubts, confusion and fear. I accidentally stumbled upon the pictures of our accident, I thought reluctantly if I should further go on but decided to see where it will take. My mom and dad were standing with him looking at me bleeding in the car.

This was all weird. What’s all this? “Ida…Ed is here to see you…” Annie said walking in. He walked in, I tensed seeing him. Ed walked in and I could see the gloom that hung over him as a veil. “Annie, I need a moment with him..” I said.
Annie left closing the door behind… “I heard that you went to my flat…”he said. I nodded. “I moved somewhere else a year ago…”He said. “Where…?”I asked. “Just a kilometer away…”he said.

He sat with me awkwardly for a few moments and stood up to leave. “Ed…What’s your job..?” She noticed him flinch at her very question. “Collecting things…” he said tentatively.

“Like dead souls…”she asked. He stared at her wide mouthed. “Tell me the truth, Ed…”she said stading closer to him.

“I work for the death angels.. I collect dead souls for them…” Though Ida knew the answer somehow she wanted to hear it from him. She slumped on to her bed, her heart wanted to deny it. “Ida…this wasn’t a choice I made…Our family had bee doing it for years…”he said.

“Was this the reason that you are away from me?” she mumbled. “When I took away your parents soul, I could no longer see you without guilt eating away me so I was being away from you though I watched over you all the time…”he said.

“Do you have anything to do with the visions I’m having…?”she asked. “No…It was something you get for loving me…” he said. “ Death angels wanted to see if you could still love me even after knowing what I’m…”he said.

I shook my head in disbelief…”I thought I was given this power to help those people…” I mumbled. “That is something that you can never do…Death is inevitable…” he said.

“I had tried saving your parents but they died in one or other way…”he said. Ida couldn’t fathom these things but one thing she was sure, she loved Ed and does these things change her feelings towards him.

“I know… I shouldn’t have come here, none would want death so close in their life…”he said standing up ad walking away from me. I saw two tiny tear drops on his cheeks. “I’m sorry Ida for ever coming into you life… I would never show my face again…”he said. His contorted with pain as he said those words…

I knew how much he used to love me… we were together since I can remember, he walked away from my room. Could I live on with what he is? Could I still love him?Why does it hurt to know that he is feeling sad?

I ran after him…”Ed…” I ran into his arms. “I don’t mind who you are as log as you love me…” I whispered. His face lit up, he picked me up and kissed me on the cheeks, I knew I was one happiness in his gloomy life.

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Tag der Veröffentlichung: 30.11.2010

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dedicated to friends and family. cover art, is from some amazing artist which I found online, thanks to him.