BLIND DATE

Jack liked people very much.

But he was very shy.

While every one of his buddies had girlfriends, he had none.
Only in his fantasies would his passions come alive.

Until, one day, when he was so powerfully drawn to the
voice of an accidental telephone caller that he momentarily
overcame his timidness. Her name was Jennifer. Before long,
Jack and Jennifer were engaged in the most captivating
conversation, sharing laughs and giggles, even revealing secret
dreams and wishes.

That first telephone conversation was followed by many
others, each one drawing Jack and Jennifer closer, each one
stirring their hearts and arousing their passion, until both were
madly in love with one another.

Finally, Jack mustered all of his courage and asked Jennifer
to meet him in person. Jennifer was overjoyed, having yearned
for Jack’s invitation for a long time.

At the rendezvous point, something dreadful happened.
Jennifer, though charming and personable, was far from the
beauty which Jack had fantasized, and the chemistry was zero.
Tragically, and within seconds, all the love and dreams and
bonds that Jack and Jennifer had so innocently braided
collapsed like a house of cards in a sneeze.

Jack was heartbroken. So was Jennifer, who at once
recognized Jack’s reluctance by his chilling politeness. Even
though they promised to stay in touch and remain friends, they
never saw or spoke to each other ever again.

Several months later, Jack had a further encounter with an
anonymous someone named Melinda. Again, from the abstract
distance via a telephone connection, their hearts fell into each
other’s laps. This time, it didn’t take Jack very long to request
a personal meeting, feeling absolutely certain that even if
Melinda were far less attractive than his imagination painted
her to be, it wouldn’t matter. Her inner beauty was sure to
overshadow any external shortcomings.

Once again, Jack arrived at the meeting point aflame in
anticipation, heart pounding. Alas, once
again, the unthinkable happened. Melinda revealed herself to
be a rather homely looking girl, physically unattractive to Jack.
Once again, a mirage vanished, and Jack and Melinda, despite
promises to the contrary, never spoke again.

Jack was disgusted with himself, with human nature and
with people’s preoccupation with superficialities and physical attraction.
In a rage, vowing that he would never again in his life allow physical image to cause him to reject anyone,
he grabbed a knife and gouged out both of his eyes.

It was almost a year later when fate decided to strike a third
time. Jack once again became infatuated with a stranger on the
telephone Gabriella. Within moments, Jack and she were
enveloped in the most elating conversation, quickly feeling as
if they had known each other forever. This time, Jack asked for
a date at once.

The very next day, Jack sat restlessly at an outdoor cafe
table, his dark shades firmly saddled upon his nose as he
nervously fumbled his cane, waiting for Gabriella to arrive for
their first meeting. Several eternal minutes later, the waiter
delivered Gabriella to the table. Already enchanted by Jack’s
soul and the magical charm of his childlike spirit, she only
needed to take one glance at him to be overwhelmed with desire
for him, having no doubt in her heart that this was the man with
whom she wanted to spend their rest of her life.

Jack smiled shyly in the direction of Gabriella’s soft words,
oblivious, in his eternal state of darkness, that his hollow eyes
were beholding the most beautiful woman they would ever
have seen, but never could.

* * *
(c) mw