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“Getting out of the pile of glass would be a wonderful start punk.” The man shook his shirt, and larger chunks of the shiny stuff fell from his shoulders and hit the floor with tings or cracks. “I sure don’t want to fall face first in it.”

So the glittery stuff was ‘glass’. Nithel’s brow furrowed, and he debated leaving the wall to walk toward the man.

The man swung a walking stick around in front of him, recklessly, compared to how Nithel had seen a blind man use his before.

Nithel glanced around once more, then sighed before taking a step to walk over. At three loud bangs, he bounced back like a wet cat, and froze. What was that? 

The room became deathly silent. Nithel held his breath.

Someone on the floor above shouted, “Baron’s dead! The guard murdered Baron!”

The blind man flinched, jerking and scratching his face, under cloths covering the top and upper sides of his face.

Baron. Someone murdered. Nithel’s initial sadness met with a tinkling remembrance. Baron. Was that who had to die for Alessio to live? Relief, small relief touched him, though he felt guilty about it.

“I’ve decided I want to leave. NOW. Can you help me out of this building?” The blind man leaned on his stick, and his shoulders slumped. The panic gone in an instant, it seemed. Just weariness left.

“You won’t run into anything.” After glancing one more time, Nithel jogged toward him, voice urgent but even. “You’re several paces from any wall. Egad!” Nithel’s teeth gritted and he jumped back. He felt like a hundred tiny thorns had stabbed his bare feet, and he didn’t know what to do. “I-” He clamped his mouth shut. Anything he’d say would be dumb.

Nithel tried to stand on his toes, hoping to alleviate some of the pain. It only helped by relieving most of his feet and stabbing his toes worse. “Walk toward my voice.” He backed up. “I’ll try to get it off you.” Nithel imagined this stuff all over one’s body, down one’s clothes, in their hair… and his face arched with pain for the blind man. Why was it here? Where did it come from?    

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@hannahrenner