The Ride

It was late afternoon when the ferry boat reached the island. The trip from the mainland was slow, the sea was wavy. The other passengers, even before the boat touched the ferry dock, crowded the doorway. They appeared to be eager to get out of the noisy vessel.

I was not eager to get out of the boat. In fact, I did not want to come to the island at all. I was just ordered to go, so I had to comply. Follow orders, it is what apprentices do.

It was my first time to get onto the island. I did not know anyone on the ferry boat, and I had no idea on how to get to my destination.

When the loud engine of the boat was shut down, the man shouting from the dock caught my attention. He was shouting: “Dr. Lee! … Dr. Vincent Lee!”

I picked my bag up and then approached the man. He was wearing sunglasses. I thought that it was rather strange considering that the sunlight was fading. “I'm Dr. Vincent Lee,” I told him.

“Follow me sir,” he said as he turned around without even looking at me. Then he unfolded what was on his left hand. It was a guiding-stick, the man was blind.

“I'm George,” he said loudly as he began to negotiate his way to the shore, “I came to pick you up and bring you to the hospital. I followed the man, wondering how was he going to lead me to the hospital.

On the shore, he proceeded to the ambulance van that was parked in the middle of the road. It amazed me how easily could George find his way around, him being blind and all.

When we got to the van, he went straight to the driver's seat. I was puzzled and surprised.

“You're gonna drive?” I asked as I threw my bag inside the van.

“Yes, sir,” he replied proudly as he switched the engine on.

I did not like it. I did not like the idea of me being driven in a vehicle by a blind man. I felt, I should be the one driving not he. But I did not find the boldness to let him know. So, I hesitatingly got into the van and sat on the passenger seat.

“I've been doing it for ten year now, and I've always found my way to the hospital … though not always arriving there in good shape, haaa ha!” he jokingly added. What he said hardly comforted me.

The ambulance siren sounded as the van started to move. Hearing the siren, the people on the road parted to let the vehicle pass.

“You've been blind all your life?!” I inquired, speaking loudly for him to hear me amid the roaring siren. We were then moving 20 miles per hour.

“Yes, sir,” he replied loudly too, and again with a proud tone, “.... never have seen the world, but I feel it closer than visioned people do.”

My attention was caught by the road ahead. “It's a curved road ahead,” I anxiously warned him.
“I know, sir,” he said, smiling. He sensed my anxiety. “Please relax and watch the blind man drive.”

Relaxing was not an option. I thought, I had to be quick and ready.

“There it is,” he sounded when we went over a hump. Then he began to stir the wheel to the left. I held my breath.

He got it right, we went safely through the curve. I shook my head in disbelief.

We moved pass another hump. “There's the other one,” he again sounded as he began to stir the wheel back to its center. I had to concede, he knew the road that we were traveling on.

“It took some time for me to master the turns in this island," he offered. "But, now, I can drive through those curves even with my eyes closed, haaa ha!.”

“What do you do when a car approaches?” I asked as we had been traveling in the middle of the two-lane road since we left the pier.

He shook his head. “There used to be three cars running on this island. Now, there's only one … this van.”

“What happened to the other two?” I pursued.

“One was too old, it got lots of troubles,” he answered. “The other one … I rammed it against the hospital wall.” His lips formed a smile.

It was not good to know. Why the hell do they allow this man to drive, I said to my self.

“Drunk driving,” he revealed, perhaps again sensing my anxiety through my silence. “.... never does you any good.”

A blind man driving drunk. Try to imagine that.

After some time, we went over another hump, I did not see it coming. The sun had set and darkness had crept in. Initially, I wanted to ask why was he not turning the headlight on. But then, I realized, he was blind, he needed no light to drive. I was okay with the blinking light from the siren lamp.

He again stirred the wheel to the right, somehow following the curve. Just like before, he stirred the wheel back when we rolled over the hump at the end of the curve.

Then he turned the headlight on. "There is a broken pavement ahead, on the right lane of the road," he said, "tell me when to stir left to avoid the cracks."

"Oh! No! No!" I uttered immediately. "Let's just go through the cracks." The headlight brightly showed what was on the left side of the road, a descending slope that led to the sea.

"Oki doki," he said as he drove straight in the middle of the two-lane road.

The rough road was long and unforgiving, it shook me to my bones. George was smiling, his lane had no cracks.

"Are we there yet?" I asked after passing through the broken pavement, still doubtful if we could ever reach our destination. Thinking about it now, we would have ended up in the hospital one way or the other, by our own or not.

"Just one more turn to the right," he replied.

It didn't take long, the next turn appeared . I could see the hospital lights from the curved road. As those lights drew near, or should I say we drew near to those lights, I felt more and more relaxed.

Then, finally, we reached the hospital. He parked the ambulance van beside the car that, I suspected, he rammed, seeing the car's wrecked hood.

I arrived at the hospital in good shape. Driven by a blind man. Try to imagine that.