The Story of Long Blink Lucy

This is the story of Long Blink Lucy. When Lucy was young, she discovered that she had an amazing ability. She could look at somebody, and within a second or two, she would get a small vision of that person’s short term future. Lucy didn't understand this power when she was young, and she eventually grew to hate it. As a child, it brought her nothing but ridicule and sadness. When she was very young, she would see visions of her classmates' futures. And not understanding that these were only her visions, she would make what seemed like ridiculous remarks to her classmates. For example, she once saw a classmate covered in dirt, and tears rolling down his face. When she asked why he was dirty and crying, when he actually wasn't, all the kids made fun of her. They said she made up stories, and was a liar. Later in the afternoon that boy fell off the top off the jungle gym and landed in a pile of dirt. When he got up, he looked just like the vision Lucy had seen earlier that day.

It didn't take long for Lucy to realize what was happening. She eventually was able to get some control over the visions. Most of her visions happened a few seconds after she made eye contact. When she had a vision, she could immediately close her eyes tightly for a second or two. When she opened them, the vision was gone. It wasn't long after she started doing that, the bullies in her class gave her the nickname Long Blink Lucy. Lucy didn't have many friends. In fact, she only had one friend. It was a little girl named Angela. That's me. You can call me Angie. That's what Lucy calls me. I was very shy myself, and I was the smallest kid in the class. Lucy was the one kid who never made fun of me, and I was the one kid who never made fun of her, or called her Long Blink Lucy.

Lucy had one vision in school that got her into a lot of trouble. One day she noticed that her teacher’s clothes were torn and very dirty. She asked her teacher about it, because she was concerned that she might be hurt. But the teacher’s clothes weren't torn, and the teacher thought Lucy was making fun of her. Lucy got sent to the principal’s office. Lucy’s mother picked her up from school early that day. When I asked Lucy the next day if she got any in any trouble from her mother, she said, “No, my mom is the only one who understands why these things happen, and she's OK with it. She's my best friend.” Well things didn't go so great for this teacher. The teacher had a secret drinking problem. And that secret came out a few weeks later. She lost her job. A few months later, Lucy was walking down the street with her mother, and they came across a homeless woman. It was her former teacher. She was wearing the same outfit as in her vision from the day she got in trouble.

When Lucy was 12 years old her life became a whole lot more difficult. One day Lucy came home from school just like every other day. She did her homework, and went to the kitchen to have dinner with her parents. On this day, Lucy had a strange vision that she had never seen before. At the dinner table, Lucy looked at her mother and smiled. Lucy's mother smiled back. When Lucy took a second look at her mother, she was dressed in all black. Lucy took one of her long blinks, and her mother was dressed normally again. Within a few weeks Lucy's mother had become quite ill. A few weeks after that she was even sicker. Lucy and her mother sat down and had a conversation about her health. Her mother told her that she had cancer and was dying. She told Lucy all about her experiences with her own visions. She told Lucy that it was OK if she never told anybody, except for maybe one best friend. Lucy's mother’s one person was her husband, Lucy's father. And she lived a very happy life keeping her secret. Next week Lucy's mother was gone.

The death of Lucy's mother put her in a very sad place. Lucy's father was a good man. He wasn't a great communicator, but he tried hard. He had a good job at the factory downtown, and always put food on the table. He tried really hard to make their home a happy place, but after his wife's death, there just wasn't a whole lot of happiness in their house. Lucy finally graduated. With help from her father, she was able to afford college. She majored in mortuary science. It seems like a strange choice, but Lucy wanted a career where she would not see images of her customers' future when she looked at them. After college she got a job in the big city working at a funeral home. She made just enough to afford rent, still with a little help from her dad. Occasionally I was able to go up and visit her. She was living her best life, but still was never truly happy. Her visions always seemed to get in the way.

One day at work she saw the worst vision. A mother of a young family recently passed away, and she was preparing this woman for her funeral. Lucy didn't usually interact with families. She left that for the management. But this time was a little different, and the family was in the room with Lucy. Everyone looked so sad, especially the two little boys. Lucy couldn’t help but look at the youngest boy a second time. He was dressed all in black, just like her mother was a few years earlier. Lucy gave one of her usual long blinks, and excused herself from the room. Lucy was so distraught. She couldn't go back. Later that evening, she wrote an email to her boss and put in her resignation.

I spent some time with Lucy the next couple weeks at her place. She decided she didn't want to go back to work right away. Her father was understanding and promised to do what he could so she could keep her apartment, at least for a little while. A few weeks later Lucy went to the coffee shop on her block where she’s a regular. She sat down in her usual spot by herself. Then, in walks a man who was absolutely beautiful and impeccably dressed. He wore a sport coat over top of a designer T-shirt, designer jeans, and shiny black leather shoes. He had amazing black framed glasses that were slightly tinted so you could just see his beautiful brown eyes. Lucy made eye contact with the man, and the man smiled back with the most perfect smile and the most perfect white teeth. The man then walked over to Lucy's table and introduced himself.

“I’m Tony Blakefield. Are you Lucy?”

Lucy nodded her head.

“May I have a chat with you?”

Lucy looked back and forth, a bit confused, and then looked back at Tony and shook her head yes. Tony sat down.

“Hi Lucy, it's been a long time. I'm from a large organization that studies people like yourself, seers. You are a seer or aren’t you Lucy?”

“I don't know what you're talking about.” replied Lucy.

Tony: “Oh we've been watching you for a while, many years actually. You're from a long line of seers. It was hard to tell if you had the gift or not. You keep to yourself, and you really haven't shared the secret. At least your father and Angie aren't talking.” Tony paused. “So you are a seer.”

Lucy was a little shaken and gave a sad frown. She looked like a kid who was just caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

Tony: “You don't need to feel bad Lucy. I'm here to offer you a job. And a better life for yourself. Does that sound something like you'd be interested in?”

Lucy lifted back up her head. She nodded yes. “What kind of job could I possibly have where you can use my visions?”

Tony: “So what my company does Lucy, is we look at photos and videos of people in powerful places doing bad things, and we make predictions about where they're going to be next. And we use that information to collect ‘public trust recuperation’  payments.”

Lucy: “So… You rob corrupt politicians?”

Tony: (chuckles) “Well that's an interesting way of looking at it. I'd like to think of it as spreading some of that ill-gotten wealth to some of the good guys. You're a good guy Lucy, aren't you?”

Lucy shook her head.

Lucy: “But my abilities only work on people in person.”

Tony: “That's because you don't use your abilities, you hide them like most of the other seers. I'll give you a little practice and you'll get much better. You're probably good at seeing when you're on zoom meetings, aren't you?”

Lucy: “Yeah, I could see on a zoom meeting.

Tony: “Well you'll get even better. And you'll be able to see just fine with recorded videos. Perhaps in the future you'll be able to see using just photographs.”

Lucy: “I get paid for this?”

Tony: “We pay very well.”

Lucy: “I don't know, I just don't know if I could use my seeing for a job. It's brought me nothing but pain. When do you need to know an answer?”

Tony: “I run a friendly, relaxed organization. I never want my people to feel like I’ve pressured them into doing something they didn’t want to do. Why don't you give it a day to think about it. Perhaps you have more questions. Let's meet right here tomorrow and we can discuss all the details.” (long pause) “You don't have to live in pain, Lucy.” (shorter pause) “You could have everything you've ever wanted. We'll talk tomorrow.”

And with that, Tony stood up, smiled with his beautiful teeth, turned around, and walked out the door.

Just as Lucy was about to get up and get on with her day, in walked a young woman who stared right at Lucy and walked right over to her table.

“Hi Lucy, I am Tabatha McDowell. You just had a conversation with Tony Blakefield. You know who Tony Blakefield is, don't you?

Lucy: “He runs a big business organization.”

Tabatha: (laughs) “Tony Blakefield is the world’s wealthiest and most successful crime boss. He's wanted in almost every country. Many people consider him a terrorist. You're not really considering working for him, are you?”

Lucy: “Oh, no… well no.. well I don't know.” (pauses) “I’ve never heard of him. Don't you think I would've heard of an international criminal and terrorist? I’ve never seen him on the news.”

Tabatha: “You're the new seer that he's trying to recruit, aren't you?”

Lucy looks at Tabatha, Tabatha is now dressed all in black, just like the little boy, just like her mother. Lucy takes a long blink.

Tabatha: “What's that?”

Lucy: “Nothing, well, not nothing… You're in danger Tabatha. You need to leave, and I need to leave too.”

And Lucy stood up and walked out of the coffee shop.

The whole scene with Tabatha was very disturbing to Lucy. Could Tony Blakefield really be this evil guy? Was Tabitha right? Was Tony Blakefield planning on killing Tabatha? That would be horrible. All day the scenarios played over and over inside Lucy's head. She spent the day trying to get a grasp on what happened that morning. She was at home later that afternoon, and decided she needed to get some fresh air, and try to clear her head. She walked to the end of the block and turned the corner. She saw Tabatha at the end of the next block crossing the street. Tabatha looked over and waved, and started crossing the street. Just as Lucy waved back, a speeding police car with the sirens on came around the corner and struck Tabitha. The officer pulled over. There was a big scene. A few bystanders rushed in to try to save Tabitha, but it was too late. Tabatha died on the street after being hit by a police car. Tony Blakefield had nothing to do with it, perhaps he wasn’t guilty of any misdeeds. At this point Lucy walked home in shock over the day’s events.

Lucy hardly slept that night. The next morning she woke up and went back to the coffee shop. She took her regular seat, and a few minutes later Tony Blakefield walked in. He smiled with those perfect teeth, and walked right over to her table and sat down.

Tony: “Well Lucy, have you given it some thought?

Lucy: “A lot has happened since yesterday. I don't know.”

Tony frowned, but paused and waited for Lucy to continue.

“I have a question that will help me make up my mind. I don't like the visions. Is there any way I can make them stop, temporarily. So I could only use them only when I need to?

Tony: (smiles) “I knew you were gonna ask that.”

Tony pulls a glasses case out of his jacket pocket and places it on the table in front of Lucy. “Try these on Lucy, see what you think.”

Lucy opens up the glasses case. Inside was this perfect set of sparkling ruby red frames covered with small multicolored jewels. The lenses were an iridescent pink. She picked them up and tilted them towards the sunlight. The lenses picked up bits of cyan and mint green highlights, making the lenses into a warm swirl of magical colors. Lucy smiled.

Tony: “Try them on.”

She did. Then she looked around the room, one at a time at the faces of the people in the café. She saw nothing but the faces of people enjoying their coffee and breakfast. No visions. Lucy smiled even wider.

Lucy: “How often would you need me to work?”

Tony: “We only do three… to maybe five jobs per year. So we would only need you to work one or two days a few weeks before each job.”

Lucy: “So 6 to 10 days a year? I don't think I'll be able to keep an apartment for that little work.”

Tony: “Oh Lucy, you'll be paid a six-month salary for each job. Plus a bonus after each job is completed. You'll be able to keep your apartment, and have extra to enjoy your life.”

Lucy: “I’m still worried that my powers won't be used for good…

Tony: (cutting her off) “Oh, you can have full confidence, Lucy, that my company's business will be making a profit for the good guys.”

Lucy wasn't sure about this. There was a very long pause.

Lucy: (finally breaking the silence) “Do you know of a local dentist… I mean, your smile… it's perfect.”

Tony grinned, the biggest grin Lucy had seen on Tony's face so far.

Tony: “I’ll text you her information.” (Pause) “We work next Thursday and Friday. I’ll send you the Zoom link just before the meeting. Make no other plans for those two days”

It was a few weeks later, Lucy invited me up for a girls weekend. We had a great time. On Saturday morning, Lucy got a text message from Tony. "Lucy, I've wired are you a preliminary bonus. Please go out tonight with Angela on me. Enjoy yourselves a round of drinks at the highest rooftop bar you can find. Around sunset, you will get the sign that the plan has gone into affect. Act surprised, and then carry-on, and enjoy your evening. Everything will work out perfect.”

So we went out that night. We were having a round of drinks watching the sunset at the most perfect rooftop bar. Lucy was wearing her ruby glasses with those crazy pink lenses. I decided to take a picture of her as the sun was setting. She had the most perfect smile on her face. Just as I took the photo, there was a large boom, and the horizon lit up with an amazing flash. And then it was gone, with the only remnant being a cloud of smoke rising up from a building in the direction of the financial district. Lucy didn't even flinch. That perfect new smile never left her face. It’s funny, I’ve never seen her so happy.

The End

“I have spent the best years of my life giving people the lighter pleasures, helping them have a good time, and all I get is abuse, the existence of a hunted man.” -Al Capone