Love's Sight

CHAPTER 1 Marissa Embers knocked on the door of Laura Sands’ bedroom. When she did not get an answer, she opened the door and peeked inside. She saw Laura, with earphones in her ears, listening to music and sitting in a chair by the window. Marissa entered the room and tapped Laura on the shoulder. Laura jumped and turned toward Marissa. “Who’s there?” she asked. “It’s just me,” said Marissa. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I just wanted to let you know I was here.” Laura’s sightless eyes stared at where Marissa’s voice was coming from. Laura smiled. Marissa had been her best friend for a long time. She might fuss at others for bothering her, but never Marissa. “What are you doing here? Don’t you have to work?” asked Laura. “Today is my day off,” said Marissa. “I came by to see if you would go to Danny’s with me,” said Marissa. Laura started shaking her head. She had been very reclusive since she lost her sight in a tumble down the stairs a month before. She tripped over a toy on a stair step and tumbled all the way down the stairs, hitting her head on the banister at the bottom. Unconscious, she was rushed to the hospital. After she regained consciousness, she was unable to see. Dr. Holly Smith, her specialist, said she might get her sight back. They would just have to wait and see. Laura was losing hope. She was beginning to think she was going to be permanently blind. “Please, say you will go with me. I want to look in the mirror, but I don’t want to go by myself,” begged Marissa. “You can hold onto my arm. No one will notice a thing.” “Why do you keep looking in the mirror? You have not seen anyone, yet,” said Laura. “I can’t give up. I know my true love is out there,” said Marissa. “Okay, I would not do this for anyone else. Do my clothes and hair look alright?” asked Laura. “Your clothes are fine. Sit still, and I’ll fix your hair,” said Marissa. She took the hair brush and proceeded to style Laura’s hair. “You know,” said Laura. “You need to go to beautician school. You are really good at fixing hair.” “I am thinking about it,” said Marissa. “As soon as I save enough money, I will go.” Giving Laura’s hair one last pat, she handed Laura her cane and, taking her arm, led her out of her room, down the stairs, and out to her car. Marissa drove to Danny’s Bar and Grill. It was a popular place to eat in town and had been even more popular since Marsha Dane brought a magic mirror to Sharpville. It was past dinner time, so the place was not crowded. There were only a few stragglers around. They were leaving as Laura and Marissa entered. Marissa led Laura over to the table with the mirror and helped her be seated in the chair in front of it. “I have to run to the restroom. You sit here and hold my place for me. I’ll be right back,” promised Marissa. Laura did not say anything. Silently willing Marissa to hurry, she turned toward the mirror as if she could see it. She had the strangest feeling someone was watching her. * * * * In Kansas City, Joseph Hillard was leaving the men’s room on the way back to work, when he glanced in the mirror and saw a girl looking back at him. He looked around, but no-one was there. He looked back at the mirror, and she was still sitting there, looking straight at him. He looked at her background. It was familiar, but he couldn’t place it. The girl started to fade, and he was looking at his own reflection again. He sighed. He did not have time for this. He had work to do. The type was not going to set itself. He had a newspaper to get printed. His ghost girl would just have to haunt someone else. Joseph went back to work, and even though he tried, he could not quite get the ghost girl out of his mind. She kept intruding into his thoughts.