CHANGES 2

After work, half hour past nine in the morning, Kaye got home safely. She put her coat on the coat rack and changed her boots into slippers.

"I'm back." she said when she saw her roommate walked out of his room. For no reason, she felt that this apartment is not boring anymore.

"Welcome home. I ate breakfast already and I left some for you. Just heat it up." he reminded her before taking a seat on the couch with his phone and tablet on each hand.

'He isn't using his walking stick anymore?' she asked herself when she observed him walked without the stick tapping on the floor. "You don't really have to bother yourself and you have to stop buying take outs. We have food on the fridge. Nevertheless, I'm still thankful because you save my time."

"Did you forget that I can't cook?" he said turning his head so he can face her, though not really seeing her clearly.

"Oh right. Sorry." she said upon realizing her mistake. She opened the food cover and saw a bowl of egg drop soup and a plate of fried rice with ham and bacon. 'Are these really take outs? Where could he buy these?' she thought to herself.

"Thank you for the food." she said once again before digging in. She only heard an 'Hn' as a response from him and he continued with whatever he was doing. When she finished her food, she took a quick shower and changed into comfortable clothes.

She went back to the kitchen and checked her ingredients. She didn't talk to him and he wasn't saying anything either, but the atmosphere was still harmonious.

She took out the five hundred grams of sliced fish fillet and the pineapple juice from the fridge. She put the fish fillet on a bowl and added two tablespoon of fish sauce and a ground black pepper. She mixed it for a few seconds and set it aside.

She took another bowl and put the condiments all together to make a sweet and sour mixture. She poured one fourth cup of vinegar, one fourth cup of sugar, one fourth cup of pineapple juice, one fourth cup of ketchup, a tablespoon of oyster sauce, a teaspoon of cornstarch, a teaspoon of salt and black pepper. She mixed it thoroughly to make sure that there were no lumps of cornstarch, then set it aside.

She took another bowl and put one cup of flour, one cup of cornstarch and one cup of water. She mixed them all together and pour it on the marinated fish fillet. She took out her frying pan and pour a good amount of oil to fry the fish.

Ivan was just listening to her movements without saying anything. He smelled different ingredients and he could tell that she's making something sour because he caught a whiff of vinegar. When he heard her frying something, he smelled a scent of cooked fish.

Kaye fried the fish fillet until it was golden brown. She then strained it and set aside on a plate with tissue to take excess oil. She put the dirty bowls on the sink and pour water on it. She took out a chopping board, two pieces of whole onion, two pieces of green bell pepper and two pieces of red bell pepper. She sauteed the chopped onions for ten seconds and added the chopped green and red bell pepper. She sauteed them for another fifteen seconds before adding the sweet and sour mixture.

While waiting for her sweet and sour mixture to boil, she put two cups of rice on her rice cooker and pour a good amount of water. She plugged it on a vacant sucket and let it cook by itself.

When her mixture was boiling she added the crispy fish fillet and mixed them for another two minutes before placing them on a bowl. Just right on time, the rice cooker clicked which was an indication of her cooked rice. She put a placemat on the table and put the sweet and sour fish and the platter of rice. She took out a bottle of water, a glass, a plate and spoon and fork. She covered the food and utensils before checking on the time.

It was quarter past twelve already when she finished cooking. She walked toward the busy man on the couch and poked his shoulder. "I cooked food for lunch. If you're hungry just check out the kitchen table. Don't order takeouts again. I'll sleep for a while." she then left after saying her piece without waiting for his response.

She turned on her aircon and got on to her bed without a second thought. It was her second time cooking for someone outside her family. First, was Ms. Harley and second was her nephew, Ivan. She texted her mom and dad before dozzing off to sleep smiling.

Ivan just stared on her closed door not knowing what to say. Not in his wildest dream did he expect her to cook for him. His Auntie would either send him food which happened this morning or he would order takeouts which happened last night.

He smiled and continued typing on his tablet using a screen reader. At one in the afternoon his stomach growled due to hunger, so he walked toward the kitchen. He found everything he needed for dining placed on the table. He took the spoon and fork and placed some rice and viand on his plate. On his first bite, he smiled happily for the reason that it was his favorite. He didn't expect her to take note of what he likes.

He was eating when his phone which he placed on the table rang. He picket it up and answered it before it would ring again. "So noisy. She's sleeping." he muttered under his breath before answering.

"Hello Ivan. Have you eaten already? If not -"

"I'm currently eating Auntie. Thank you for your concern." he said before his auntie could blabber other things.

"That's good then. I'll get back to work since you're eating. Bye." just that and his auntie dropped the call. It was more like a routine every meal time. Either it was his mother or his auntie who would call him asking if he had breakfast, lunch and dinner.

He didn't really mind so he continued eating his lunch. When he was done he took the utensils he used and put it on the sink where he felt the bowls that Kaye left after cooking. He looked for the dishwasing and sponge before washing them slowly. He made sure that the pan and the bowls would not make any clanking sound to avoid waking her up. It took Ivan almost thirty minutes to clean and to return the stuff on their right places since he wasn't really familiar of the kitchen.

He wiped off the sweat on his forehead and walked back to the living room. The moment he sat, his phone rang again. 'I really need to change your ringtone. You're so annoying.' he secretly cursed his phone on his mind.

"Hello my dear brother. Why were you doubting if your sense of hearing is good for you or bad?" his sister asked him directly that it took him time to register the message.

"I'm not. And why are you still awake?" he said while trying to recall the time when he said that.

"Yes you did. I am still doing my report so I'm still awake. I just opened your voicemail and you said that having an enhanced sense of hearing was good but now you're doubting it. What happened?" when his sister said those, he just realized what he did.

'Crap. It was recorded? Ivan, you're being careless!' he cursed himself as he massaged his temple after knowing his mistake.

"That... I mean... it sometimes get annoying if you could hear too much. But I'm glad with the soundproofing of my new apartment." he made an excuse which made sense to his sister.

"I'm glad you're doing fine. If you can no longer handle the situation, just let us know."

"Thank you. I'll remember that. You should go to sleep as well. It's very late."

"Yes. Goodnight bro." and his sister ended the call. He stared into nothing and sighed.

 'This is my punishment and it doesn't matter if I couldn't see again.' he thought to himself. 'It wasn't really your fault. It would've been worse if you didn't crash on that post yourself.' argued back the other side of his brain. 'I saw what was about to happen. If I didn't do it...' he couldn't stop blaming himself.

It was the biggest reason why Ivan didn't like to undergo operation. He caused a sudden change to someone's life and it's just right that he can no longer see the world.

A change of world and a change of life. He wanted to do a lot of things in his life, but he has to start over again after being blind.

He would smile, laugh and show them that it's alright, but the fear still lingers in his heart. He couldn't even let his parents know about it. The guilt of knowing what you've done but can't admit it, tear him apart.