Just Thinking ((OPEN))

Lina Lange

Lina was not quite sure how she had ended up here....wherever here was. She could hear the ocean, and smell the seaweed but it was simultaneously louder and quieter than the docks. A seagull cried somewhere in the distance and something cracked beneath Lina's foot. The day was cool and still, and Lina could imagine the thick, doughy grey clouds over her head. The beauty of nature was one of the things Lina missed most about her sight.

Lina had woken up this morning with no intention of getting lost or secluding herself, but truthfully it wasn't completely unwelcome. Her mind had been cluttered like a professors desk as of late and it was calming to not have to answer questions of feel the eyes on her skin. She had left work that afternoon and set off along the coastline, hoping she would happen upon a market to buy pepper spray from. Lina had recently come to the scary realization of how vulnerable she was, and decided quickly that it was a situation that needed to be remedied. Though she had not happened upon a black market, this peaceful beach was enough to soothe her fraying nerves.

Feeling the ground in a general circle with her cane, Lina found a smooth spot on the sand and curled herself downwards onto the ground. She lay back, letting the slightly rustling sand blow over her skin and hair, partially concealing her thin body. Though it made no difference to her perception of the world, Lina let her eyes slide shut and let her brain slip into a daze.

It was about fifteen minutes later when Lina heard a splash just loud enough to jerk her into alertness. She sat up, turning her face towards the sound. The blackness pressed in around her, and though she could still hear the gentle gurgling or disturbed water, it wasn't enough to tell her who or what was there. Wobbling to her feet Lina stood and held her cane at arms length.

Why couldn't I have gotten that pepper spray? She thought, her fingers vibrating against the cool steel of her cane.

"Who's there?" She called out, her voice small and high. She felt that horrible fear rise up in her stomach, the awful memories threatening to spill out of her eyes and mouth.

Lina's skin crawled at the sudden appearance of a male voice, and afterwards it took her a solid minute to clamber to her feet. Gripping her cane tight enough to turn her knuckles white, Lina swallowed the bile in her throat and forced herself to tune into the conversation. Delta was introducing herself, an odd tone to her voice, vaguely Lina wondered if the boy, Branden, was attractive. Not that anything like that could ever matter to Lina, but maybe Delta would find a boy she could trust. Asif there is such a thing. The nastiness to her thoughts was unavoidable, like a knee jerk reaction. As much as she tried to trust men, she would never completely feel safe around them. She even felt scared around her father now.

"What brings you out here on such a fine day? Taking a break after work with a friend perhaps?" Branden asks Delta, his voice catching a suggestive tone. "And what about you?" Startled to realize the question was directed at herself Lina tried to reply with as little venom in her voice as possible.

"Just walking." Lina breathed, her voice cracking slightly, surely Delta would see her discomfort and send Branden away? But then again, her moods had swung so suddenly in the last few moments that Lina didn't even know if she would realize her discomfort. Giving a small sigh, Lina ran a hand through her blonde hair, untangling the knots she came across, something she had always liked about her appearance when she was able to see it, the waves framing her face like a halo, glowing in brilliant sunshine. She wondered if it was glowing like that today.