The next morning, Jack stood with trepidation in front of the bathroom mirror. Emily had asked if he’d like her to be there, but Jack had asked her to let him do it. He took a deep breath as he stared at his reflection. Yup, same brown hair, white skin that maybe could benefit from some old spice love, brown eye, er, eye. The giant white bandage was kind of a glaring elephant, alongside the stiches above and below it going down his face. The sight had indeed been startling the previous night when he came in to brush his teeth.
“You’re delaying Jack,” he muttered under his breath. “Come on now, moment of truth.”
Taking a deep breath, Jack reached up and slowly removed the bandage, wincing at the pain as the adhesive pulled on his eyebrow hairs. In the blink of an eye, the bandage was off, and Jack blinked once more with two eyes. He frowned as he examined himself, turning this way and that to get a good look at himself.
Jack couldn’t help but grimace slightly at the sight. The still fresh lines down his face kept together with black stitches made him resemble a decent Frankenstein’s Monster if it had still been October. Now though, the healing scars were slightly off putting, especially combined with his eye, which while still brown seemed to be slightly cloudy.
“Can’t say I’ve gotten any prettier,” he mumbled while tilting his head to get a look at different angles. “Not that I was pleasant to look at before.”
“Stop putting yourself down!” came Emily’s annoyed voice from the other side of the door, causing Jack to start. He turned to the door with a raised eyebrow. Before he could say anything, he heard, “While I respect your privilege for privacy in these trying times, I’m also prepared to use my authority as your significant other to bust down the door in case of tears.”
“What, you going to offer me an egg after busting down the door with a pedestal shaped door knocker?” Jack asked sarcastically.
“Love you,” Emily answered, her voice sounding farther away. “Since you aren’t crying, I’m going to scramble the eggs instead.”
Jack rolled his eye, winced at the slight throb of pain from his left eye, and returned his attention to his reflection. Honestly, the more he looked, the more he decided it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. If anything, the black stitches made his face look a little worse due to the contrast with his white skin and red scabs. The, ‘lacerations were the proper term?’, seemed to be healing well at least with no sign of infection, he hoped. Jack also noted with some artistic interest that the wound lines, with their even spacing and somewhat following the contour of his face, had the effect of drawing the observer’s eye up to his own eye. His left eye, on a much closer inspection, had lost a good bit of brown color in the cornea, resulting in a muted grey/brown color that could have been achieved by a colored contact. It wasn’t. . . disgust inducing he supposed, but maybe a little unnerving? Had it been turned into a ‘googly eye’ he’d have been a little more unsettled.
Still, as Jack lightly touched the skin around it, he was confused that his vision hadn’t changed after removing the bandage. The world still had a fainter grey glow, or perhaps aura, on it in his view. He could still see normally, thank god, but the haze was still a little off-putting. Experimenting with closing each eye, he found that at least the grey would disappear when his left eye was closed now.
Rubbing his chin, Jack closed his right eye and leaned as close as he could toward the mirror to stare into his new greyed eye. The shrinking distance narrowed his worldview as his eye came into better focus and, angling so he wouldn’t block the light, he took a deep long look into his own soul. The darkness within his eye somehow did not relent from the light of the LED bulb above, and instead stood out more. The void peered back, endless, dark, and-
“Right, that’s enough anime for me,” Jack chuckled as he stood up straight. “No need to channel my inner Megumin.” He laughed, and wiped away the beams of sweat that had inadvertently formed on his forehead from his intense concentration. Joking aside, it was weird how he couldn’t see into his own eyeball, but he chocked it up to a result of the damage.
He didn’t notice the darker than black shimmer.
***
Jack enjoyed the plate of scrambled eggs with ketchup Emily had left for him, his girlfriend, scratch that, fiancé having already left the apartment to perform her responsibilities for their shared weekend duty list. Their conversation played around in his head while he ate.
“You have laundry and bathrooms this week,” Emily had read aloud from the kitchen while Jack dried himself off from his shower, “and I have grocery shopping and kitchen cleaning. I can do your tasks-”
“We agreed to do our parts when we moved in together,” Jack called out firmly. “I’m not sick, and I’ve proven I can handle simple tasks. Besides, what am I going to do while you do all the work? Get fat on the couch?”
“Well, I wouldn’t mind…” Emily had drawled with a giggle. “Okay fine. I’ll doublecheck the shopping list and then go ahead and knock that out. Try not to be the hero again while I’m gone, okay?”
“I mean sure, but if I have to fight someone in our apartment then that makes me the victim, not the hero,” Jack deadpanned.
“Smartass,” Emily chuckled, Jack knowing with certainty she had rolled her eyes at him from across the apartment. “Right, I’m off. Try to not drown these delicious eggs in ketchup, you monster.”
Jack chuckled at the thought. Emily had never been a big condiment user, preferring to enjoy the taste of her food without added flavor. Salad was the sole exception as, she put it, plants had no reason to taste good and encourage predation. Even spice in peppers came about to discourage eating, while chocolate required a crap ton of sugar to be palatable, so Jack supposed she had a point.
Finishing up his meal, he walked over to the wink and began to wash the dishes. He took a deep breath, taking in the lingering scent of his fiancé, and sneezed.
“I, ah, ah, achoo!”
The second time he managed to catch his nose with his inner elbow. “Geeze Emily, you change perfume? Ah, nearly popped my eyeballs out,” he muttered to himself as he raised up his hands to rub his eyes. A third sneeze threatened to escape him as he backed away. A sudden pain began to stir in his head. “Ow, didn’t like that. No sneezing until I’m healed, got it. Sheesh, that one really jumbled my vision there.”
Shaking the pain away, Jack blinked as the world seemed to spin around him. Groaning, he stumbled over to the comfy chair next to the window and sat down. Closing his eyes, Jack took deep breaths until the sensations in his head settled before opening his eyes again. The haze seen through his left eye was thicker now, giving the world an odd monochrome filter that clashed with his color seeing other eye. Grimacing, Jack turned his head to look out the window.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
Outside, the light mist of rain was once again falling on the city of Maple. From this window, Jack could see part of the inner city with its tall skyscrapers and claustrophobic streets. Though early morning and cloudy, Jack thought the city was oddly darker than it should have been, and every light seemed like a lighthouse in the darkness, outlining shapes that otherwise blended into the darkness.
The ringing of his cellphone distracted him, and Jack answered it reflexively. “Hello?”
“Hey,” came Emily’s voice over the speaker. “Just realized I forgot to ask you if you needed anything from the store to make you feel better. I’m in line at the pharmacy for the medicine the hospital prescribed to you, a scar cream and some antibiotics. No alcohol while you’re taking those by the way.”
“Right,” Jack grumbled. “Oh, hey you put on a new perfume or something? I had a sneezing fit in the kitchen a moment ago.”
“What? Are you okay?” Emily asked hurriedly.
“I’m fine, didn’t pop any stiches or anything,” Jack waved off her concern. “But I did sneeze so hard I saw stars and ripples. Sitting next to the window to stop the dizziness.”
There was a pause on the phone as Jack heard Emily speak with someone else, the phone clearly away from her ear. “Okay, got your medicine,” she reported. “Hm, that’s odd. I don’t recall… oh! Do you remember Tina? Shorter than me, black hair, likes to sparkle in the sun?”
“The out-of-state girl in your class?” Jack asked after a moment’s thought. “Yeah, the one who complains there isn’t enough sun? Bundle of energy?”
“Right,” Emily said. “She recommended a new bodywash I started using yesterday. Maybe that’s it.”
“Guess so,” Jack shrugged, closing his lefteye slowly as the pain faded away. “Guess that means no hugging until you take another shower. Too bad.”
“Then it’s good I’m gone to get the groceries,” Emily noted. “Gives you a chance to clean in peace. But back to my original question, you need anything?”
“I wouldn’t be opposed to some ice cream,” Jack ventured.
“I’ll buy some rock salt,” Emily said after a pause, causing Jack to sigh and agree helplessly. “Alright, talk to you soon babe. Love you.”
“Love you too,” Jack said before ending the call. He leaned back into the comfy chair and turned to look back out the window. In the short time, the sun seemed to have risen higher and better illuminated the city. He could even see the mountain’s shadow beyond the cityline. With a stretch, he got back up and went to work, walking back into the bedroom to grab any loose clothes and throw them into the laundry hamper, aka the one laundry basket they owned.
“Guess having a health kick girl isn’t so bad,” he murmured as he sorted the whites from the colors in the laundry room. “Food is tasty, saves a lot of money, but man do I miss Bluebell and Mayfield ice cream. Homemade just doesn’t have the same flavor.”
He had just loaded up the washer with the dark colors when he heard a knock at the door. Clicking his tongue, Jack walked over and checked the peephole. The blurry image made Jack confused at first, before remembering and switching to look with his right eye. It was Tim Ryans, the new neighbor, though now dressed more business casual and holding what appeared to be, a basket of muffins? Jack opened the door with a curious expression.
“Howdy neighbor,” Tim greeted with a smile. He held up the basket. “Muffins?”
“Isn’t it supposed to be us who welcome you with food?” Jack asked with a cocked head, though still accepted the muffins.
“Maybe,” Tim admitted, “but I ended up with extra after cooking for the kids, and I can’t finish these on my own, so take em if you want. No one else on the floor wanted any, so you get em.” He paused. “Ah, if you want. Sorry if I seem to be a bit forceful.”
“If I didn’t want them, I wouldn’t have taken them,” Jack said, happily eyeing the basket. “Blueberry huh, good stuff. And yeah, folks here tend to be conservative until they get to know you.” He looked back up at the older man. “So, you’re baking on a Saturday, for schoolkids?”
“Today’s the first day of the play,” Tim explained. “Two shows today, and one next Tuesday and Thursday after school. They’ve been hard at work, so I figured they deserved a little reward.”
“Kind of you, especially since you’re a substitute,” Jack noted with a raised eyebrow.
“Well, not to brag,” Tim grinned happily, “but I’ve basically been teaching them the whole year. Their teacher is out on maternity leave. If I wasn’t the roaming type, I’d be happy doing this full time ya know. But, that’s the life of a sub I suppose.”
“Sure,” Jack said, taking a step back and subtle moving his body behind the door. “Well, thanks for the muffins. I have to get back to cleaning.”
“Ah, one last thing,” Tim said quickly before Jack could close the door. The older man reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card. “One of my old high school buddy’s older brother ended up setting up shop here in the city after his residency as an eye doctor; don’t ask me to remember the exact name. I always say it wrong, and it always pisses him off. Not sure if you’ve got an appointment yet, but my buddy’s brother is one of those private doctors who doesn’t overcharge like a hospital doctor. Tell him I sent you, and he’ll give you a discount.”
“Uh, sure, I guess,” Jack blinked, accepting the business card. “I have to check insurance being in-network and all that, but if it works then thanks.”
“No worries. Ya take it easy now,” Tim said before walking away.
“Oh, right,” Jack suddenly remembered to ask. “What play is the club doing?”
“It’s a rendition of the Spanish Inquisition, as told by Monty Python,” Tim answered with a wink. “No expects the Spanish inquisition, after all.”
Jack eyed the other man for another moment before closing the door without another word. He walked back into the kitchen, rubbing the back of his head while staring at the business card.
“I Spy Eye Optomology,” he read. “Doctor, Glee, Nie, Ny,?” he rubbed his eyes as the words seemed to blend oddly for a moment. “No, Glenis Jinkins. Doctor Glenis Jinkins. Interesting name. Guess I’ll look at this later.” He sat the business card down onto the dining table next to the muffins and promptly forgot about it as his mind returned to the task at hand. He managed to clean down the shower and toilet, taking a moment to shift washer to dryer and starting a new load of light colors, before Emily returned.
“You bake while I was gone?” came her questioning voice, drawing Jack out of the working trance he’d fallen into.
“No, neighbor made extra!” he called out to her from the bathroom. This one stain on the sink was really bothering him and he couldn’t get it out.
“Which one? I didn’t know anyone baked on our floor?”
“It was the new guy, Tim!”
“Eh? Really?” Emily asked, Jack hearing her get closer. “Well, I guess that was kind of him. I assume the business card came from him too?”
“What? Oh yeah, that,” Jack took a moment to remember. “Just an eye doctor he went to school with. Haven’t looked him up yet.”
“Right,” Emily said, walking over to him. “What are you doing?”
“Just trying to get rid of this stain. It’s being stubborn,” Jack explained, still not looking up to look at her. He was really getting annoyed now.
Emily frowned at him. “Jack, the sink is clean. There isn’t a stain there.”
“What do you mean? It’s right there. . .” Jack broke off as he stared down at the white porcelain. The faint red puddle on the bottom of the sink was still there. It was strangely familiar, with a strong feeling on the tip of his tongue where he’d seen it before.
The realization hit him hard. When they’d first moved into the apartment, Jack had accidently cut his hand while replacing the sink bowl after they’d found a large crack in it courtesy of the previous tenant. He’d bled onto the new porcelain, much to Emily’s annoyance and amusement at the time as he’d attempted to hide the injury. The pool of blood had looked just like the stain, only darker and touchable. Gingerly, he reached down and rubbed the bottom of the sink bowl while slowly closing his left eye.
There was nothing there. Jack licked his dry lips.
“Maybe I should go see an eye doctor,” he said slowly.
Emily just nodded, before hugging him from behind.
Jack appreciated the hug, before letting out another strong sneeze. “Ow, pain,” he groaned, holding up a hand to cover the left side of his face. “Emily, you mind just taking another shower real quick?”
“Sure, no problem,” he heard her say quickly, the sound of her clothes hitting the ground as he stumbled over to the bed to sit. He took several deep breathes as the sound of the shower turned on. “Hey, I you an eyepatch for your eye,” Emily called out from the bathroom. “It should be on the bed with you.”
Jack looked over and found a ‘Nick Fury Eyepatch’ next to the plastic it had been wrapped in. Groaning good-naturedly, he reached over the plastic and put it on. The patch was a perfect fit, as it turned out, and Jack walked back into the bathroom to look himself over.
“I can work with this,” he nodded in satisfaction. “Yeah, good choice Emily.” As he said that, he couldn’t help but look down at the sink again. There was no stain.
“Right?” Emily asked with a laugh from the shower. “I saw it while walking through the pharmacy. I drew a heart on the inside, so that where ever you go, my heart goes with you.”
“Cheesy as hell. I love it,” Jack chuckled as he flipped the eyepatch up to look at it in the mirror. Blinking away the odd look it had at first glance, he noted the cutesy heart drawn in marker on the other side of the eyepatch and smiled at it.