“Mary, there you are!” Nana exclaimed as she saw Mary walk in. Mary smiled and walked over to her grandmother.
“I’ve missed you Nana,” Mary murmured as she hug Nana.
“How was the road hike?”
“It was terrible. Really terrible. I’m tired of walking already. At some point, I felt like I should be carried around in a stretcher”
“Really?” Nana asked as she slowly withdrew from Mary. Mary nodded in reply. “What happened to your braids? Come over here, let me make them right for you.”
Mary followed Nana to a sofa. Nana sat on the sofa while Mary sat on the flour in front of her.
“There are people who wish they could run, you know.” Nana began as she loosen the dishevelled braids on Mary’s head.
“Oh!” Mary muttered, disinterested.
“Let me tell you a story. A long time ago, there was a little boy who loved running more than anything else. He didn’t want to be an Olympic athlete though. He simply enjoyed the trill of running around the neighbourhood in the early mornings and late evenings.”
“Like me, sometimes.” Mary interjected.
“Well, why don’t you listen to the whole story before you make comparisons.” Came the remark as Nana adjusted her posture to be able to reach Mary’s hair with ease.
“At 17, he was diagnoses with a degenerative eye disease called Retintis Pigmentosa.” Nana continued
“A what?”
“Retintis Pigmentosa… I think you can look it up later. He gradually began to lose his sight. At first images were becoming faint for him; then later on he could only sense the presence of light. By the time he was 23, he had lost his sight completely.”
“What? That’s an awful story Nana. Why are you telling me this?”
“Relax dear, I never said I had gotten to the end of the story.” Nana replied as she tugged on Mary’s hair. “So when he got blind, he became easily irritated and overly sensitive. Almost everything and everyone pissed him. He always almost always angry until one morning when he suddenly woke up and decided he wanted to go out for a jog.”
“What? But he’s blind.”
“Yes, he was”
“Okay, was”
“So that morning, he said he wanted to jog. No one knew what to do about him. His dad then decided he could jog but he would come along with him. Thankfully, it was a Saturday morning so his dad could spare the time. The hours during which they helped him with his kit was filled with silence. He wanted to scream that he wasn’t handicapped; that he could do everything by himself. But instead, he remained still. That morning, he returned with sprains in both legs and severe body aches. It had been a complete 7 years since he ran and his body was telling on him.”
Nana paused and looked up for a bit.
“However, it was in that morning he declared to everyone that he wanted to resume running. It was then everyone understood why he had been easily irritated all those times. Here was a young man who took delight in running and suddenly, he can’t any-more. Each time he heard people jog or even walk pass the house, he was painfully reminded of his handicap.” she explained.
“Well, he’s blind now so there’s nothing he could do any-more.” Mary offered.
“You think so?” Nana asked and then smiled a knowingly smile. “It was in the summer of that year that he began to take long walks around the town. He had a little sister then who would follow him all around. His parents offered to walk him but he refused. He didn’t want to be reminded of his handicap every time with their constant dotting. He started with his neighbourhood, a few houses around his home and then back. Soon, his sister was growing weary of the long walks but he was just getting started. It was then his mother bought him a dog. So every morning, he would walk familiar routes with the dog and when he wanted to explore further, his little sister would come along riding her bicycle.”
“That’s nice. But what did he hope to aim? Surely, blind men don’t run.”
“Oh, my dear, this blind man did run. For four years, this young man walked around the neighbourhood until he knew every turn, street and store by heart. He became a source of fascination for the local citizens.”
“Like a celebrity?”
“Well, I don’t think he considered himself as a celebrity given the kind of attention he got. He always tried to prove to people that he could find his way. But every time he stepped out of town, he heard people move out of the way like he was a plague. He wanted to blend him but the more he tried, the more people pitied him. And that was then the anger and irritation came back.”
“Oh!”
“Yes. This time, even his father was tired. They had tried to talk him to going to a special school for the blind. They also paid for expensive classes for him to learn Braille, which he wasn’t even interested in. They tried to give him a life but the only thing he was interested in was walking and running like everyone else. He wanted to be normal but no one saw him as normal. So he began to lie in bed with self-pity. He wouldn't touch his food or even attend to the doctors when they came around. At some point, everyone was scared he would commit suicide so his sister was asked to sleep in the same room. Every night, she would hear him grumble, moan and curse in his sleep. Then one evening, she sneaked up to him and asked that they go out for a jog.”
“What? Why did she do that?”
“Oh! Well, maybe you should ask her when you know who she is. Anyway, after almost an hour, he followed her outside and he jogged for the first time in almost ten years. His sister could sense the happiness and freedom on his face. He didn’t return home that night though…”
“He was kidnapped?” Mary interjected
“No, he tripped and fell. He had bruises everywhere and broke an arm. This time, his father said he was going to a special school for the blind and nothing would change that. He did go to that school. When he returned, there was something different about him. He kept on ranting that he had found God. That God would heal him and all that.”
“But God doesn’t exist.”
“Well, a blind man will hold on to anything. His parents, although atheists, let him be. It was one summer, when his sister was back from college that he decided to participate in the local marathon races. He had learnt about blind people who ran marathons with guides running besides then. Except, for him, he wanted to run alone.”
“What? His father said no, right?”
Well, his father didn’t know anything about it until it was too late. First, he walked the marathon route every day for almost a month. He tried not to walk at night though, and his sister was beside him most of the time. Then, he began to slowly jog. However, he didn’t plan to jog during the marathon. His sister sold him the idea of actually running ahead of the others. That way, he only had to depend on his knowledge of the road and not bother about getting hit by others.”
“Wow!”
“Yes,” Nana replied, smiling to herself as she looked up again. So every afternoon, he ran the entire route while his sister followed on her bicycle. When the day of the marathon came, he ran instead of jogging and won the race, only to find out that his father was one of the local security volunteers for that year. His father had followed him all the way without lifting a finger to help. He couldn't believe his eyes when he saw his son cross the finish line. In his words, it was glorious.”
“Wow! That was swell!”
“Yes, it was.” Nana replied, this time with tears rushing down her cheek.
“So… like is the story real?”
“What? It is.”
“Okay… where is he now? Is he like some famous person? I reckon someone like that could easily become famous. A blind man running alone.” She noted as she laughed.
“Well, during our time, this was still a small town.”
“Nana?”
“Yes, I was the little Sister and that young man is Willie your grand uncle.”
Mary looked up to the huge picture frame that rested on the wall. It contained the picture of a young man in jumpsuits holding a trophy.
“That… That is Uncle… You mean he was…. Blind?” Mary stammered. “But… does that mean I am going to go blind soon?”
"No. Mary, maybe no one has ever told you but Willie wasn’t my blood bother. Our parents actually married after they had given birth to us separately . So you do not run the risk of going blind. Besides, dear sweet Willie said he was going to adopt a child instead of giving birth to one. If he hadn't died in that plane crash, I expect he would have become a local sensation of sort sorts.” Nana pronounced as she sighed. “Aright, I’m done here.” Nana announced as she patted Mary’s hair and withdrew into the sofa. “It’s time you had a bath. You’re stinking.”
“Nana!”
This is my entry for the For The Seek of Happiness by 
I hope you learnt something
Thanks for reading
Blessings
[Image credit:AF]