Al-Haytham sighed in exasperation as he tried to squeeze through the crowd in the busy Academy Square. He had just finished an exhausting meeting with the Great Sage, and all he wanted to do was return to his office as soon as possible and continue working. Without looking around, he abruptly waved away an invisible obstacle that seemed to be deliberately blocking his path.

–I'm sorry,– he muttered, without slowing his pace.

–It's okay,– a quiet voice said, and Al-Haytham froze. Something in that voice made him turn around. He saw you leaning on a cane, with sightless eyes turned in his direction. An empty, unfocused gaze, as if looking through him. Suddenly, Al-Haytham realized that he had just pushed a blind man away.

The blood rushed to his face. His own rudeness and inattention appeared before him in all its glory. Rarely has Al-Haytham felt so uncomfortable. All of his carefully built self-control collapsed in an instant.

–I'm sorry,– he repeated, this time sincerely, with a note of desperation in his voice. –I... I didn't see it. I did not know…