Taeil's POV

quiet 

When he opened his eyes, he was surrounded by darkness.

Cold darkness, his ever-lasting companion throughout life, hiding from him what his hands could touch and his ears could hear.

His breathing would usually drown out every other sound during the quiet morning hours, but today he could hear the birds chirping outside. The familiar noise caused a wave of nostalgia to rise up in him. His mind lingered on the memories of the days he could look out of the window and see the little creatures picking up food. He had been very fond of them. But now, he could barely make out what a bird looked like. Memories blurred into each other, growing hazy, until they became one obscure picture. He was forgetting.

He slowly sat up, stretching his aching limbs. The scent of breakfast billowed over to him, filling his nose with the scent of pancakes and his heart with the promise that he wasn’t alone today. Loud rattling was coming from the kitchen and he smiled to himself as he heard a row of swearwords following it. His sister wasn’t the best cook, but he still appreciated that she was taking care of him. Ever since he had lost his eyesight, they had been closer than ever before.

His stomach grumbled as he stood up and shuffled to the kitchen, dragging his feet over the wooden floor. It had become a habit ever since he had gone blind. His feet were his second pair of eyes, he knew every notch in the parquet and could easily make his way to the kitchen. The scent of burnt pancakes greeted him when he entered it. As expected.

“Oh good morning, sleepy head,” his sister greeted him, her tone slightly mocking.
“Good morning,” he replied quickly, a small smile following his response. His voice was still sore, as if it was still asleep, and he had to clear his throat a few times before it would work properly.

Cold, numb toes rubbed against each other as he stood in the door frame, waiting for his sister to assign him to a chair. His sister’s kitchen was always messy somehow, so she said, and he didn’t want to risk tripping over a pile of unwashed clothes or something. A hand was placed on his shoulder after a short moment and his sister finally guided him to a chair.
He waited patiently by the table while he listened to the pancakes sizzling in the pan. It was a warm, soft noise, pleasant to his ears. Hyobin, his sister, didn’t say a word until she had placed a plate in front of him. The steam of the cooked meal was warming his face and he leaned forward, smiling happily to himself.
“So, are you excited about getting your dog?”

There it was again.
He knew something had been lingering in his mind all morning, a thought he didn’t want to forget but that had been out of his reach. But now it was there again. Today was the day. Today was the day he’d get his own seeing dog! The mere thought of it filled his heart with joy.

“What, me? No, I had already forgotten about it.” His sentence was accompanied by a small laugh and a cocky smile. It was only half of the truth, really.
“Sure,” she replied, her tone of voice taunting him. She always knew when he wasn’t saying the truth.
“You’re gonna help me pick one out, right?” He shoved a big mouthful of pancake into his mouth. They had just right the right consistency, crumbling apart on his tongue while his taste buds came to life.
“Of course,” his sister reassured him, and then went on to talk about all the different dog races she had taken into consideration. Taeil would not be able to see them, so she described them in vivid details, not leaving out any information. He was sure he’d have been able to describe every dog’s fur structure afterwards, if someone had asked him. But he did not complain, he loved hearing his sister’s soft, soothing voice and it warmed his heart to see how much she cared about the subject.
The more he thought about how special today was going to be, the more his heart started to race in his chest. One forkful of pancake after another disappeared into his mouth as he quickly ate up, not bothering to eat properly. He just couldn’t wait anymore.

Loud barking and friendly chattering filled his ears as he ste