Midnight

Sitting out on the porch listening to a whippoorwill somewhere in the distance and the sound of the stream off to my left rushing along.

This time of night, sounds of slight rustling of other smaller animals foraging in a wooded area off to my right are easy to hear. A slight breeze plays along my skin as I sit rocking back and forth slowly.

I don’t get many visitors and I like it that way. When people do come by (think last time was two months ago), they think they have to do things for me.

Living here like I do, I learned how to get around so that now, I don’t have to use my hands to feel my way around. Just count the steps in my head. And every place I go in my house, everything is memorized.

When you’re blind, you make do the best you can. I don’t mess with the Internet and don’t have a television. But I do have my music. Have to have my music. Makes the day and before bedtime, calm. Keeps me relaxed.

Wait.

What was that sound? Now it’s stopped and—no, there it goes again.

Doesn’t sound like an animal. Animals don’t shuffle. Someone is out there.

Reaching for my rifle to my left, I levered it to add a bullet to the chamber. Might be somebody thinking about robbing me.

I can hear heavy breathing of some sort as if whoever is out there had been running.

“Don’t know who you are but take another step and I’ll put a hole in you so big nothing will patch it up! Just go on and find someplace else to play!”

I hear shuffling moving away from me as if running. They must have gotten the hint.

Wait. They aren’t running away, they circled to my right and are closer. Turning in that direction I raise my rifle and fire a warning shot in the air and then levered in another round. I heard a large amount of movement then but no voices.

“Next time I won’t shoot in the air! Last chance. Get off my property or you’ll be on a slab at the county morgue!”

Quiet again.

I called for Willie. Willie’s my hunting dog though we don’t go hunting. He’s ten which means he’s as old as me. So neither of us do much.

“Willie. Willie boy, come here, now. C’mon, boy.”

Next thing I know there’s Willie, snuggling against my legs but what’s this?

Reaching down, it just isn’t Willie. It’s a second dog.

“Willie, was that you out there rummaging around? You almost got yourself killed, you know that? And who might this other one be?”

I could feel Willie rubbing alongside the other dog. Feeling this new one’s ears and body, I could tell it was a Basset Hound, and … I’ll be hanged, and it’s a she from what I’m feeling.

“Willie? Did you find yourself a girlfriend? I’ll be.”

I let up off the rifle and set it back where I had it.

Both Willie and now Mabel, laid down in front of me feet.

Sitting back, I smile thinking we just became a bigger family.

Guess what people say is true. Love can be found in some of the strangest places.