Harper knows her way through this town.
She knows the streets like the back of her hand, each bump in the road, each curb edge, each stop sign, each old, broken down shop.
She can identify most everyone she's ever met by the sound of their voice, the feel of their hands, or the scent of their perfume and cologne. And almost everyone in Franklin, Tennessee has met Harper Morrison.
Almost.
Needless to say, Harper can easily make her way from her little corner seat in Shelby's Coffee Shop back home safely.
Twelve and a half steps (exactly) diagonally from her seat; stop, turn left; three steps to the counter; place her mug and plate on the smooth surface, call a goodbye to Ann and the nice boy behind the counter, Ben; turn right; eight steps to the door. Turn right again once on the smooth sidewalk. Continue down the street for four intersections; turn left; six large steps across the small road; continue for three more intersections; turn right; open the gate; twenty steps up the sidewalk; five steps onto the front porch; two steps from the top step to the front door.
Home, sweet home.
It's simple, really. It's all a counting game and then after you've been doing it for years like Harper has, it's engrained in your mind and you can do it without a second thought; akin to how anyone can find their feet carrying them home when they don't even realize they're moving.
The screen door slams shut behind Harper as she folds up her white walking stick, placing it back in her purse and her purse on the table in the foyer.
"Harper?" a voice calls from the other room.
"Yeah?" she calls back to the voice she instantly recognizes as her brother.
"I'm in the living room with a couple friends."
Harper runs a hand through her short hair, allowing her short bangs to fall over her face haphazardly, and uses the wall to get to the living room entryway.
She's only a few steps in when she feels her brother take her arm in one hand and places the other on the small of her back.
"Hey, Cole," she smiles.
"Hey," he responds.
"I can feel them looking oddly at me. Yes, I am blind," Harper laughs, directing this last part towards the two strangers even though her head is tilted up towards the ceiling and she isn't facing anyone directly.
Cole comes to a stop in front of two very faint figures. Harper takes these for his friends and sticks her hand out towards them, hoping she's closer to one of them.
Eventually, a rough hand clasps around her own with a voice following it.
"I'm Jeremy," he says and Harper's smile grows larger.
"You're from the coffee shop. And you must be Josh," she turns towards the other blob.
"Yeah. How did you know it was me, if you're..." he trails off here.
Harper knows he's embarrassed, she's encountered it many times before, but there's something in the way he fumbles over his words, the way he takes a sharp inhalation of breath after he's said something he finds imbecilic.
She finds it almost cute.
"I recognized your voice and I heard you two talking while I was there," she shrugs, now backing up until her knees hit the chair she knows is situated beside an end table.
Harper slides into it, one leg beneath her and the other curled over her bent knee, foot hanging loosely in the air.
She turns her head back towards where she remembers the three boys to be standing, her smile growing wider at the shocked silence she knows she has caused.
"My name is Harper, by the way."
Josh can't believe it.
Blind.
She's blind.
She doesn't seem blind to him.
Well, sure, now that he knows it makes sense. That insane color of her eyes definitely makes sense now, but her eyes themselves just don't seem like they should belong to a blind person.
They aren't void and emotionless. Sure, they're a bit out of focus and wander from who she's talking to from time to time, but they have this sparkle in them. When she smiles, it's like the cloudy grey of her eyes moves like clouds in the sky. They can show emotions; evoke emotions.
They aren't empty, hollow, or lifeless. Maybe to someone else they are.
But not to Josh.
"So how is it y'all know Cole?" Harper questions from where she's cuddled into a large, overstuffed armchair.
"We're friends," Jeremy speaks up. "I just introduced him to Josh today."
"So that's why your voice sounded familiar earlier today. I'm sorry I didn't remember you," she smiles apologetically as her eyes slowly move towards the ceiling.
"It's alright. I couldn't remember you either. We probably met in between touring," he shrugs. "Which is actually why-"
Jeremy is cut off as Josh's elbow comes in contact with his stomach. He lets out a soft groan and clutches the area tightly.
"What was that for?" he hisses.
"We should let Cole tell her first," Josh hisses back.
Harper's eyebrows raise interestingly.
"I have very good hearing, you know," she smirks wryly. "It's a side effect of the whole blind thing."
Josh's cheeks grow red, despite the fact that she cannot see this, and he starts to mumble a response.
"Right, so I'll call you guys later, okay?" Cole cuts off Josh's
"See you later, I guess. Bye Harper," Jeremy smiles as he passes her, gently touching her arm.
Harper touches his hand in return and smiles, mumbling a goodbye.
"Goodbye, Harper," Josh follows Jeremy's example and she repeats her previous actions.
Once the screen door is heard closing and the boys' footsteps fade out of her hearing range, Harper raises her eyebrows again.
"Cole? What should you tell me?" she inquires, eyes still aimlessly roaming the ceiling.
"We need to talk, Harp."
She says she wants to see the stars.
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