Chapter 6
1686 Words
Chapter 6
After he locked their house he walked to the nearest optical shop at their city. When he entered he saw the old woman again! The old woman he helped when he saw her yesterday morning.
While walking Atticus saw an old woman pushing her cart full of trash, he run to help the old woman.
“Thank you, Hijo. Your clothes will get dirty, is it okay?” the old woman asked
“Yes, it doesn’t matter.” He said
“Thank you! You are so kind! Are you going to school?” the old woman asked him
Atticus nodded and adjusted his eyeglass.
“Yes, I am studying at the Lind University; I am living here at block 4 Maria Street.”
“Oh, we are neighbours but I rarely saw you here. Did you came from another city and decided to live here?” she asked
Atticus smiled and he adjusted his eyeglasses again. That was his mannerism.
“I was born at this city, Roka City was my hometown. I just didn’t go out always that’s why people from this city were not familiar of me.” He said
He had a good conversation with the old woman and she tells him story about her life.
“Hijo! What are you doing here? Are you going to buy new eyeglasses? I noticed that you are not wearing your eyeglasses.” She said.
Atticus scratch his neck, “I,uhm… Yes, grandma, I l-lost my old eyeglasses that’s why I am here because I need a new one.”
He doesn’t want to lie but he needs to, he’s sure that the old woman will worry if he tells her that his eyeglasses was broken after his classmates bully him.
“Oh! That’s great,” she said.
“How about you, grandma? What are you doing here? You need new eyeglasses too?” he asked.
The old woman shook her head and smiled at him, “Actually I am here because I was with my daughter, hijo, and she’s inside. She visited me!”
Atticus saw how happy the old woman, yesterday they talked about her family, that her husband passed away and now she’s living alone at her house.
“I am living alone, Hijo. My husband died last month because of cancer.” She said
“I am very sad to hear that,” he said while putting all the trash on the trash bin
“Do you have children?” he asked the old woman
She nodded and looked at the sky
“I have children, I have a son and a daughter but they’re not here at the Roka City because they have their own family to be taken care of. They rarely visit me but it’s okay. The fact that they’re living healthy is what matters.”
Atticus suddenly stops from putting the trash on the trash bin. The old woman’s life was so sad because she was living alone.
“Don’t give me that sad look, Hijo! I am a strong grandma; my husband taught me how to be strong when this time will come. Before he passed away he taught me the greatest lesson of being alone.”
“That, when everything leaves you must not stop your life you must keep moving. Continue to look for the beauty of the world. It will going to be a hard battle being alone but living in this beautiful world was worth it.” She said
She is old and she lives alone in this huge city. Atticus smiled and throws all the trash in the trash bin. When he was finished the grandma offered him money.
He’s happy to know that her daughter visited her. He was worried when he left the old woman yesterday; he felt a pain on his chest knowing that the old woman was living alone in her house. She looked strong but you can’t really see the true feelings of a person. The old woman may look strong on the outside but weak on the inside.
A lot of people are like that.
They will pretend that they are okay, they will smile, and they will show you that they are happy but on the inside they are so broke. A lot of people act so tough but when you looked at their eyes directly you will know what they truly feel.
They say that eyes never lie.
“I am happy to know that your daughter visited you!” he said.
“Yes, hijo, actually I will this city soon because my daughter told me that I can live with them right now, isn’t that great?” she asked him.
“So great that I felt very happy by hearing what you just said grandma, atleast now you are not going to leave alone, you will not go outside and walk five minutes to throw garbages, I’m sure they can do that for you now.” He said.
The old woman laugh, Her laugh is like music to his ears. Atticus is so happy, last night his father gave him money, he had a good conversation with him early in the morning and right now he learned that the old woman he met yesterday will now going to live with her daughter, she will not going to be alone anymore at her house.
“Sir, what’s your name?” the assistant of the ophthalmologist asked him.
Atticus turned his back and looked at the assistant, “A-Ah, I am going to get new eyeglasses, do I need to show anything?”
“If you’ve been in this clinic for the second time we just need to look for your records, is this your first time here?” she asked.
Atticus nodded, “Yes, the first time I got my eyeglasses was five years ago and I got it because my father bought it for me.”
“Okay, we are going to test your eyes, you just need to fill up this form.” The secretary told him.
But because Atticus cannot see what’s on the paper clearly he looked at the old woman, he’s embarrassed to ask for her help.
“You need help, hijo” the old woman asked.
He slowly nodded and he showed the form, “I need to fill this form, grandma, but I cannot see it clearly because of my poor vision, can you help me write my name on this form?”
“No problem, hijo! Let me…” the old woman said and takes the paper.
After filling out the form Atticus thanked the old woman and passed the form to the secretary. When a woman from a room went outside, she smiled at him.
“Helena! Are you done?” the old woman said to the woman who got outside the room.
“Yes mama, I’m done the doctor said I just need to wait for my new eyeglasses.” The woman said.
“Who is this young boy, mama?”
The woman named Helena looked at him, Atticus suddenly didn’t know what to do.
“He’s Atticus, Helena; he’s the young man who helped me yesterday to throw the garbages.” The old woman said.
Atticus suddenly felt ashamed. When Helena offers her hand he takes it and they shake hands.
“Wow, you are nice, thank you for helping my mother, Atticus! Such a good person you are.” Helena said.
“Y-You are welcome, Helena, it’s the right thing to do when you see a grandmother throwing heavy garbages.” He said.
Helena smiled at him then turned to her mother, “Mama, I told you to let the garbage man to get the garbage in front of your house right? They will come and get it for you.”
“Don’t worry Helena, at your house I will not do it.” The old woman said.
When the assistant called for his name Atticus went inside a room and then he saw a woman wearing a white robe.
“How are you, Atticus?” the woman asked. She must be the doctor.
“I-I’m good, thank you for asking,” he said.
“Is this your first time going into an optical?” the doctor asked.
Atticus nodded, “Yes, when my vision got bad my father just bought an eyeglasses for me.”
“Oh, but the good thing is you will have your eyes check now. Okay, Atticus sits here and just relax okay? Look at the letters in front of you.” The doctor said.
Atticus looked at the picture; it has letters from smallest letters to the biggest letters.
“Okay, tell me what number of the letters you can see clearly?”
Atticus looked at it again; he really has a poor vision! He can’t see clearly even the number 3 on the letters. When he’s done being examined, Atticus goes out of the room and he saw Helena and the old woman.
“Are you done, Hijo?” The old woman asked.
“Yes, the doctor said I’ll just have to wait for few minutes. Are you going home now?”
Helena answered, “Yes, we waited for you to say goodbye and to thank you again for helping mama. Thank you for being a good young man Atticus, continue to be one.”
“A-Ah, you are welcome! I am always willing to help.” He said.
The old woman walked close to him and hugged him tight, “Take care always hijo, thank you, till we see each other again!” she said.
When the two women left, Atticus smiled.
What a great day!
- Writer
