Chapter 1Her Peeping Accusation, My Prosthetic Eye

I had just moved in when the college student across the hall called the police, accusing me of stalking her in the shower out of jealous rage.

When the police arrived, she cried, tears streaming down her face, and pointed a finger at me, yelling:

“Pervert! Every night you spy on me with binoculars and post my photos online!”

“I saw it all! Your eyes are so lecherous, it’s disgusting!”

The neighbors around us pointed fingers at me, some even shoved me, calling me the scum of society.

“This kind of creep should be chemically castrated!”

“He looks so decent, who knew he was a peeping tom!”

Facing a barrage of accusations, I took off my sunglasses, revealing two deep, hollow eye sockets.

“Officer, how can a blind man, with no sight, spy on anyone?”

* * *

My voice was soft, but it pierced the noisy air in the room like an ice pick.

The neighbors who had just been pushing and shouting at me froze.

The middle-aged woman leading the charge held her hand mid-air, forgetting to lower it.

Everyone’s gaze focused on my face.

Or rather, on the two empty, hollow sockets where my eyes used to be.

They were an indelible mark left by a fire three years ago.

The lead police officer, a seasoned veteran named Detective Miller, paused, then frowned, his tone full of impatience.

“Don’t pull that act with me!”

“We’ll know if you’re truly blind after a hospital examination!”

Amy Lestat, the girl across the hall, stopped crying for a moment, then burst into even sharper wails.

“He’s lying! He’s just trying to get away with it!”

“How can he not see! He stands by the window every night watching me! Those eyes… those eyes…”

She seemed to want to describe my eyes but was too terrified by my empty sockets to speak, merely pointing at me, trembling all over.

“Disgusting! So disgusting!”

Her shouts stirred the neighbors into a fresh commotion.

“Right! He must be faking it!”

“What won’t criminals do these days? To escape punishment, he’d even claim to be blind!”

A young man, filled with righteous indignation, even rushed forward, trying to grab my collar.

“You scum, I’ll deliver justice today!”

Detective Miller held him back.

“What do you think you’re doing! Everyone calm down! We’ll handle this!”

He turned to me, his suspicion and disgust undiminished.

“Come with us.”

I didn’t resist, calmly extending my hands.

A cold touch embraced my wrists.

I was flanked by two young officers, led towards the elevator.

Behind me, Amy’s cries and the neighbors’ curses blended into a cacophony.

“Scum of society!”

“Get out of our neighborhood!”

“Hope you rot in jail!”

I could “see” the self-righteous expressions on their faces.

And “hear” the pleasure in their words as they trampled someone into the mud.

As we entered the elevator, the metal doors slowly closed, cutting off the outside clamor.

One young officer, probably new to the force, couldn’t help but whisper to me.

“Are you… are you really blind?”

I twitched the corner of my mouth, not answering.

The other officer patted his shoulder, signaling him to keep quiet.

But I knew their scales of judgment had already tipped entirely towards the tearful girl.

After all, a young, pretty, pitiful college student.

A sunglasses-wearing, suspicious man living alone.

To them, it was clear who was the victim and who was the aggressor.

Only they didn’t know.

Sometimes, what the eyes see is the biggest lie.

And I, a blind man, “saw” what none of them did.

For instance, Amy’s steady, unruffled heartbeat when she accused me.