Free His Eyes by Renee Carter Page B

he climbed on Aeris’s back with little difficulty. He held out his hand and I passed back the reins. He laughed, letting the reins fall against the horse’s neck, and said, “No, you .”
    “Oh.”
    I grabbed his hand and was amazed when he lifted me off the ground...that is, until I panicked. How was I supposed to get the rest of the way up?! I began to flail, but he caught me around the waist with his other arm and pulled me on. I awkwardly swung my leg over the horse’s side and, sighing, leaned back against Tristan’s chest. I stayed there, catching my breath, until I heard Tristan clear his throat. I quickly sat up straight, my cheeks bright red.
    Tristan reached around me to take the reins. “Okay, tell me where to go.”
    I guided Tristan out the stables and onto the fields. We moved through the grass at a gentle canter. Even though I bounced roughly with every step, I found the ride enjoyable. The air blew through my hair and I breathed in the fresh scent. Relaxing, I closed my eyes. A few moments later, I heard Tristan whisper in my ear, “Are we getting close to the fence?”
    I shrugged and lazily opened my eyes. My heart skipped a beat. The fence was barely five yards away. I screamed, “ Turn !”
    “How close are we?” he asked calmly.
    “ It’s right here !” I yelled and I turned my head, like we were about to get into a car accident. As we began to rise off of the ground, I felt Tristan press his chest against my back until I was bent over the horse’s neck. With a nearly hysterical laugh, I felt a rush like being on a roller coaster while we soared through the air. The moment was brief and the horse’s front hooves quickly hit the ground.
    Tristan pulled me up and I could hear his smile as he scolded, “Amy, are your eyes open, now ?”
    At first, all I could do was laugh. When Tristan brought Aeris to a halt, I managed to sputter, “I-I’m sorry. That was amazing ! I take it you’ve done that before?”
    He brushed a hand against Aeris’s shoulder and said in a dark voice that made me forget my laughter, “I used to do show-jumping. I was at a competition when, well....” His voice trailed off.
    “I’m sorry,” I replied softly.
    “Hey, you don’t cause genetic retinal weakness.”
    “I know....” I was overwhelmed with emotion and I couldn’t say why. I just felt for him and things he’d miss seeing. I spun around and threw my arms around his neck. Tristan let go of the reins and we were suddenly hugging each other with a kind of fierceness, like we never wanted to let go. I wondered if he knew why, because my mind reeled to think of it. The blood pounding in my ears made a very nice distraction.
    When we pulled apart, he asked, “Have you had enough riding for today?”
    I watched his face, wondering what he was thinking. I suddenly wished that I could see him without his glasses but, even more, I wanted to see him happy again. I offered, “From the road, I saw a trail that we could go on.”
    Tristan paused for a moment and then a dizzyingly bright smile filled his face. “Yeah, sure.”
    Feeling warmed, I turned back around. I tugged on Aeris’s reins, so he began to canter in the direction of the path. “So, Secret Music Fan—”
    “I never said that I didn’t like music,” he interjected.
    “True,” I conceded. “Do you have a favorite book, too?”
    “ Catcher in the Rye .”
    “Going for the classic.” I smirked. “You’re deeper than you look.” I immediately bit down on my tongue. What was I saying? Just because he looked like a model—
    “Most people at Clarence would probably disagree with you,” he said bitterly.
    Relieved that he wasn’t offended, I added too quickly, “But, you’re different than you were. Aren’t you?”
    “Yeah, I think so. Before, I thought I was happy living party-to-party, but I wasn’t.”
    “How do you feel now?”
    He was silent a moment, before replying quietly, “Becoming blind wasn’t something I