For Every Life There is a Story

The Great Blinding - Version 2 - Part 1

I could feel myself falling closer and closer to the ground as if it happened in slow motion. My face hit the ground hard. I layed there for a second. Since the Great Blinding, everyone in the world has lost their sight. I was really hoping I didn't scrape my face up. With everyone in the world blind, there was no way to give or get stitches. I squeezed my eyes closed, ready to feel the wound across my nose as I brought my hand to my face. But there was nothing there. No wound. I opened my blind eyes, preparing to see the same black abyss. The only thing that anybody had seen for 2 whole years. But then something amazing happened. When I opened my eyes, I could see the sidewalk I was sprawled across.

I looked up at the bright afternoon sun. It somehow felt even warmer on my back now that I could really see it. I looked at the beautiful shades of green in the forest along the side of the road. And then I looked at a house nearby. It was almost a normal looking house. Almost. It held the standard white-with-grey-shudders look that most houses did, though somehow it looked so much nicer. It was a small house, but it had a humongous backyard that I could finally see from the sidewalk. There were pretty pink flowers pouring out of hanging pots on the porch like waterfalls. At the edge of the backyard and the woods there was a little bridge, uniting the owner's land and the forest full of small woodland creatures. I could see a fawn and its mother glaring at me as if it was a crime to see them about. I looked away when I saw a grey bunny run across the small, but perfectly maintained front lawn. It ran into the woods and down an overgrown hiking trail. I looked back at the house again. It was absolutely gorgeous.

Except for one thing. After admiring the house, I finally saw the ginormous gash through the beautiful skin of this once perfect fairy tale home. Scribbled in navy blue paint were the words:

Don't Tell Them You Can See.

It is inscribed on the left shudder by the door. This instantly put a damper on my cheerful mood. I was also as confused as ever.

"Why shouldn't I tell anyone I can see?" I wondered aloud, speaking softly to myself.

"Wait, you can see too?" A voice asked, walking up behind me. I recognized him. He was the new kid from class, but I didn't know his name so I decided to change the subject.

"Oh, I recognize your voice from school, what' s your name?"

"You don't have to pretend, I know you can see too." He informed me, smiling at my nervousness. 

"But my name is Noah." He continued.

"Oh, my name is Luella." I said back.

"How long have you been able to see?" He asks me.

"Just right now." I said. I pause before continuing, still uncomfortable.

"I fell and hit my head and my sight came back. It was really strange."

I could tell he was trying to figure me out. He just stared at me, probably wondering the same thing I was. Why us?

"Maybe we should go somewhere more private. We can't let anybody hear us talking about this." Noah suggests.

"Ok." I said, but in my head I was still unsure, and wondering why nobody could know I can see.

My mom still works her two jobs in the summer and I knew she wouldn't be home for at least another 6 hours. I usually take walks while she's gone to pass the time when I'm by myself from 7 am to 8 pm. I'm not real close to her, she never has any time for me. That is why I welcomed Noah into my life. I've never really had a good friend before. I've always been seen as the weird, shy, quiet girl. I hoped Noah would be a fresh start.

We started walking down the path together, back the way I had come. We passed by my house. Empty and ordinary, just like every other house. After the Great Blinding, almost everyone got rid of most of their furniture so they wouldn't trip over them. There was all kinds of furniture in everybody's backyards. We all put our stuff in the back so we wouldn't trip on them again walking up to our houses from the street. My mom didn't think it was necessary and demanded that I not put any of our belongings outside, because "these are family heirlooms". That is, until she tripped over the coffee table and broke her leg. Then she forced me to put everything outside on my own. She yelled about how she didn't "care that these were family heirlooms. They will kill us if we don't do something."

I recognized that same coffee table in our backyard as we passed by my house. I had no idea things looked this grotesque. As if reading my thoughts, Noah says,

"Oh yeah, you've never seen all this yet, huh."

"It looks so different from what I remember." I said solemnly. We walked for a little longer, neither of us knowing what we should say.

"Here we are." He said, breaking the awkward silence.

We were in Noah's backyard. There was furniture scattered around too, though not as much as everyone else had. It looked like he put some of it back inside. There was a treehouse perched in the thickest tree on the property. It looked big enough to fit 4 people overnight, with sleeping bags and everything.

We climbed up the ladder into his treehouse. I guessed he made it himself. I sat on a bean bag, and he sat down on a fluffy blue mat he had on the floor.

"Your parents won't mind that I'm here?" I asked, trying to be polite.

"My mom left when I was a baby and my dad left me right before The Great Blinding. I'm guessing he was going to come home eventually, but couldn't find his way back after he went blind. Especially since there's no way to get transportation anymore. He would've had to walk." He explained.

"I'm so sorry I-"

"No, it's okay. I wasn't close to my dad at all. I don't even miss him." He had a sort of sadness in his voice that told me this last part wasn't exactly true.

"I know how you feel. I'm not close to my mom either." I said, trying to make him feel a little bit better.

"I guess we have more in common than we knew." He said, smiling at me.

Written by  Jellybean Queen

Be ready for part 2!