A Blind Pig story-2

2004-12-10T01:34:00.000-08:00

Deborah falls into the habit of looking into the room whenever she passes. Almost every time the man is there, sitting, watching the tank. She wonders if he ever sleeps.

He never even seems to get out of the chair. Maybe it's just because of the pain in her own back from all the physical labour involved in looking after a horse, but Deborah can't imagine how his spine can stand it.

As sorry as the sight makes her she also feels an occasional guilty pang of jealousy, wishing someone loved her that much.

A few days later Deborah catches sight of Phil, one of the counsellors, entering 12b. It always makes her feel warm and giggly inside when she catches sight of the man-sized anthropomorphic white rabbit hopping around the place. He always looks so earnest. She finds him cute, though, sometimes wanting to scratch behind his ears. Just once she would like to see him look at a fob watch and announce that he is late. She smiles and carries on with her work.

On her way back from the ersatz stables she pauses by the door, listening but not looking, feeling like an intruder. She hears Phil's voice.

"...and sometimes they never come out of it. Given your wife's situation even if she did we may never even realise. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's nothing to do with you." The sound of the man's voice is just like Deborah had imagined - soft and gentle. She imagines she can hear the pain in his words and wants to wrap her arms around him and make everything all right.

"Well, sometimes all any of us can do is wait. I don't know if it's a good idea to tell you not to give up hope. Sometimes too much hope can be worse than too little."

There is a long silence. Deborah pictures the man looking longingly at the tank, weighing the hope in his heart.

"Anyway," Phil says, "I'll leave you together. Try to give yourself some time for you, though. It won't make as much difference as..."

Deborah moves back down the corridor hastily, like a naughty schoolgirl, afraid of being caught.

A Blind Pig story

2004-12-09T22:54:00.000-08:00

Deborah pauses in the corridor, out of breath from dragging a bale of hay out to the makeshift stable in the rear courtyard. It's the first time since Deborah started at the shelter that they have had a full horse morph in residence and her new charge has made a big impact on her workload.

She sees a light coming from the slightly open door of room 12b. She has never seen this room used before - it is designed for special needs which have not arisen to date. Still trying to catch her breath, she looks in to see what's going on.

The room is unfurnished and uncarpeted, lit by a harsh, bare bulb. The walls are just bare plaster, paying mute testament to the financial struggle involved in keeping the shelter open. A single straight-backed chair sits on the wooden floorboards. The back of the room is filled by a large glass tank. In the gloom the tank looks black, drops of condensation on its surface catching the sparse light like glitter.

A man sits in the chair, watching. Every now and then there is a brief swirl of motion from within the tank, but nothing clear enough to identify. There is no reaction from the man that Deborah can see, but his face is not visible to her. Deborah thinks about talking to him, asking if there is anything he needs, but he looks entirely self-contained. He shows no sign of even being aware of her presence.

Recovered from her efforts, Deborah turns and leaves quietly.

communio

A Blind Pig story-2

A Blind Pig story