What Becomes Of Us (An Anthology)

Yellow - 1

Introduction

The next few chapters will tell about the story of Kaden Roberts, a painter, who suffers from Nyctalopia (Night Blindness) since he was a child. Although almost completely blind at night, his condition does not stop him from pursuing his passion and talent for the visual arts.

Miara Daniels, his childhood best friend turned girlfriend turned fiancee, is his light bearer. She is his muse. The bright moonlight in his night sky.

He loves the day because that is the only time that he could clearly see his love and capture her beauty in his paintings.

What happens when he finds out that he will one day lose the ability to see her as his visual problem progresses?

***

Part 1

"Kaden! Love! Come on!" She shrieked excitedly, holding her hand out to him. Her bright brown eyes sparkled in the orange and pink hues of the sky. Her smile lit up her whole face and the air around her. Her aura shone radiantly against the sunset, like everything around her was there to highlight her presence.

He smiled and took a mental picture of her and the scene so he can paint it tomorrow. She is his favorite subject for his artwork.

He placed his hand on hers, her palm soft and warm in his. He let him lead her to the beach, as they walked barefoot on the sand. She always loved the feel of them under her feet and how the tiny grains slipped between her toes as the cool ocean breeze brushed her face. These are a few things that make her happy and he knew them by heart. His heart knew her well and she was everything it has ever known to love ever since he could remember.

He could see her silhouette guiding her to their spot on the beach where they will stay. In this light, he could still make out how her hair flailed wildly around her shoulders with the wind and how her bright yellow off-shoulder maxi dress danced with the breeze. It will be dark soon and by then all he will be able to see is the radiant color of her clothes, and that is the main reason why she chose that shade to wear on this very rare instance that they went out at night.

She has always been there for him. She took care of him and had been very thoughtful of him.

Miara was his best friend since preschool. They grew up together until their hearts realized their romantic feelings for each other when they were sixteen and they officially became a couple. On her twentieth birthday, he popped the question and she said yes.

Miara laughed as the cold water carried by the soft waves of the ocean licked her feet. Her carefree laughter echoed in the dimming scenery.

With the darkness filling his surroundings, Kaden clutched her hand tighter. Miara turned to him and gently touched his angelic face, her thumb gliding over the dimple on his left cheek.

"I'm here, Love. Just hold my hand and listen to my voice. It will be okay." She whispered softly in his ear.

He smiled and she raised his hand to her cheek. She knew how much he liked to feel her soft skin, how it reassured him especially in times like this.

She is the ray of sunlight that breaks the dawn and the bright moonlight in the night. She is his eyes when he couldn't see and literally at night he couldn't.

***

He has Nyctalopia, commonly known as Night Blindness, he was diagnosed with it when he was five. Being an only child and having lost his Mom to cancer when he was two, life became lonely for Kaden.

Although his Dad, Ron, loved him very much and was devoted to taking care of him, he still had to leave him when he went to work. So, Kaden was left with different nannies who didn't have enough patience to take care of a child who feared the night because of his condition.

Kaden became distant and aloof, fearing that he could be hurt because of his situation, so kids in school did not want to be friends with him until she came along.

Miara, with her pigtails, witty remarks, wacky antics, bright smile and boisterous laughter insisted on being his friend because she thought his dimple was cute.

"Wow! They're so deep!" She said, her eyes widened in amusement as she poked his left cheek.

Little Kaden looked at the odd little girl beside him indifferently.

She didn't seem to notice. "Are they real?" She asked, again dipping her tiny finger in his dimple.

"Stop it." He said, annoyed.

"I'm sorry. Does it hurt?" Her cute little eyebrows furrowed with concern. 

That look of genuine concern was alien to him and he did not know what to do. "No." He replied curtly.

"My name is Miara Daniels but you can call me Mara, that's what my friends, Mama and Papa, and brothers and sisters call me. They say it's a nickname, that's a shorter name than my real name. It's just one letter short but I guess that still counts. Only people close to me can call me Mara. And since I chose you to be my friend, you're allowed to call me that. What's your name?" She beamed, resting her chin on her palm and blinking her eyes twice while she stared at him.

He rolled his eyes and sighed. "Go away."

"Wow! That's a really weird name. Is that really your name? Go Away? Are you Chinese? You don't look Chinese. I have a friend named Go Mei Li. She's Chinese. She doesn't go to this school but we're neighbors." She blabbered on.

"You sure talk a lot." He said as he tried to ignore her and continued coloring his drawing.

"You sure talk little." She observed and watched the little boy color his drawing. "That's a pretty picture. Did you draw that? That's a lot of blue. Do you like blue? I like yellow."

"It's the sea. It's supposed to be blue." He answered coldly. It was clear that he was getting impatient but the little ball of sunshine beside him was unfazed. 

"Oooooh... I like the sea too! I love the beach! I know it's blue." She proudly declared but the little boy she was trying to be friends with did not care. "So, dimple, do you draw a lot?" She asked.

"Yes I draw a lot. And my name is not dimple." He answered, hoping Little Miara will leave him alone if he does.

"I know that's not your name but I have to call you something. My Mom said it's rude to call people 'Hey' or 'You'." She pouted.

"It's also rude to call them made-up names." The little boy sighed like an old man who just lost his patience with a kid. He then said, "Kaden. My name is Kaden Roberts."

"Hi Kaden." She triumphantly grinned from ear to ear.

"Hello." He said plainly.

"I'll just sit here and keep you company. I promise to be quiet."

"Why do you want to sit beside me?"

"Because I like looking at your dimple and there's no one here. I'll just stay here so you're not by yourself." She smiled at him.

Her smile was the prettiest thing he has ever seen and he couldn't help but smile back.

And that was exactly where she stayed… Right next to him... All the time.

Her constant joy and contagious optimism prodded Kaden out of his shell and soon he was not afraid to step out and explore the world anymore. He did not fear anything anymore, not even the night, because she had shone her light on him and gave him courage to face anything.

***

"Love, it's starting." Miara announced with a little squeal. She was really excited about it and Kaden couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm.

"Okay, Love, tell me everything." He said as he felt for her waist and slipped his arms around her as he hugged her from the back. He planted a soft kiss on her shoulder before he rested his chin on it. "What do you see?"

He closed his eyes as he listened. He won't be seeing it with his own eyes anyway, so he would see it through hers.

She leaned her head on his and looked up. "The sky is clear. There are no clouds, no moon. It's color is a mix of dark blue and violet with some yellow and pink hues on the horizon. Can you visualize that, Love?"

"I'm a painter, Love." He smirked. "Ouch!" He cried as he felt her elbow hit his belly and they both laughed.

"Okay, Mr. Smart-ass Painter guy, picture Starry Starry Night by Van Gogh. That's it." She snorted. 

"Babe, please... I'm sorry. I won't try to be a smart-ass anymore. I promise." He said as he raised one of her hands to his lips and kissed it.

She smiled. "The meteors are starting to streak across the sky now. A few at a time. There's one to our left... a couple to our right... a bunch of them right in front of us drawing bright white lines on the blue and violet backdrop. Oh wow!" She gasped.

He felt her hold her breath and fall silent in his arms. He could imagine her looking up at the sky, her full lips slightly parted in a gasp, with the lights dancing in her beautiful eyes that he was sure were then filled with amazement in whatever she was seeing.

He gave her a moment before asking. "What is it, Love?"

"Oh goodness me. I'm sorry, Love. It's just too beautiful." She sighed. "There are hundreds, no, thousands of those white lights now falling across the dark sky like rain. Open your eyes, love."

Kaden slowly opened his eyes and looked up and although everything around him was completely dark, he was able to catch a few of the white streaks and a concentration of them in his central vision that gave him a glimpse of the mix of colors they did to the night sky.

"You're right, Love. It is beautiful." He held her tighter in his arms and rubbed his cheek on her shoulder. "But not quite as beautiful as you." He whispered as he trailed soft lingering kisses down the side of her neck. "Thank you for everything. Thank you for always being there for me, My Mara. I love you." He breathed in her ear.

"I love you, Kaden. I will always be here. I will never leave you." Miara turned to face Kaden and placed his hands on her shoulders.

He smiled as he felt the silky skin of her shoulders. She knew him too well. This has been their evening routine. Something that comforted him in the darkness.

Kaden slowly slid his hands up her neck, along her jawline and up her cheeks then he gently touched her eyes, her nose and her lips. Her lips... He bit his own lip and took a deep breath as he felt the warm plumpness on his thumb.

He slipped one hand on her nape and rested one palm on her cheek. Kaden then slowly leaned forward until his lips met hers and they shared a passionate kiss under the shower of falling stars hoping all their wishes of eternal love and happiness would come true despite all the odds.