Maybe Someday

To See or Not To See

The next time Annabelle wakes up, there's and IV in her arm and her wrists are tied down. Pietro is trying to calm her. "Hey Anna. How are you?"

"I feel happy," Anna says, giggle. "Why am I tied down?"

"So you can't mess with your eyes. How do they feel?"

"Numb. So, how have you been?"

"Fine, it's you I'm worried about."

"I love you," Annabelle whispers. "I love you so much."

Pietro smiles and kisses her forehead. "Get some sleep, Anna. You need some rest. Sleep." Annabelle smiles and slowly, her breath evens out.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~❶~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

When I woke up, Pietro sits next to me. I groan and move around. "What happened?"

"You've been asleep for a few hours. What do I last remember?"

"Pain. Lots and lots of pain," I tell him. He pulls me into a hug. "You were holding me down because I was trying to rub at my eyes." I try to remember and when I do, I jolt into him. "Oh my gosh, I am so sorry. I didn't mean it. I don't hate you. I like you, I'm sorry."

"It's alright. I know you didn't mean it. You made that clear earlier," Pietro says.

"Earlier? What was earlier?" I ask and I feel the heat radiating from his cheeks.

"You were awake earlier. You were heavily medicated. Practically loopy. They gave you medicine for the pain. The good news is that you can leave in a few hours. It's been three days since the surgery."

"Stop changing the subject. What did I do?"

"Really just talk. As you can tell, you're tied down so that you can't get to your eyes. You're going to be tired for a few days and need to rest more than usual but after the week, you'll be able to get up and everything."

I smile and yawn. "Finally."

"You get some rest if you need it. I'll be here for a while." I nod and fall asleep.

The week passes quickly and soon, it's time for them to take the bandages of. I sit on the edge of a bed leaning into Pietro with Wanda holding my hand. "I'm scared," I admit. "What if it didn't work?"

"Don't worry. Just stay calm. There's always hope," Pietro tells me. "Just take a few breaths and smile." I do as he says but I freeze when the door opens.

"Hello Annabelle. Are you ready to take off the bandages?" the doctor says. I nod and take a shaky breath. I hear scissors opening and closing before the bandages tug at my face. My breathing is shallow. Pietro is trying to calm me down. The bandages loosen and he starts to unwrap them.

"Can I do it?" Pietro asks.

The doctor lets go and Pietro takes over. "When these are off, keep your eyes closed until I tell you."

"Alright." Slowly, I feel the bandages come completely off.

The doctor moves his hands around my eyes, checking for irritation. "Wanda, can you turn off the lights, please." She gets up and flicks the switch. "Slowly open your eyes." I try to open my eyes and blink a few dozen times. When I finally get them open, I gasp. Everything is so colorful, even in the dim light. I look at my hands as I raise them.

"Can you see?" Pietro asks.

I turn towards his voice and smile. "Yeah! I can see! This is amazing!" I throw my arms around Pietro's neck and he returns the hug. I do the same to Wanda.

"This is wonderful!" Wanda says.

The doctor smiles at me and moves towards the switches. "I am going to slowly increase the light in the room. If it ever gets to be too much, just let me know." I nod and he slowly raises the lights. He stops after a few minutes and walks back over. "This is the average light in a room. If you will please lie down, I'd like to check your eyes." I do as he asks and lie down on the bed. He shines a small light into my eyes and I cringe. "Try to keep your eyes open. Don't look at the light." I nod and look behind him, at his ear. Soon, he turns off the flashlight. "Alright. Everything looks good. If you have any questions, come and find me. Otherwise, just stay away from direct sunlight for a while so that it doesn't damage your eyes."

"Thank you!" I tell him. He smiles at me before leaving the room. I turn back to Wanda and Pietro and they smile at me. I wrap them both in another hug. "This is amazing!" I giggle before stepping back and looking them both over. "Wow!" I pause on Pietro's eyes and am mesmerized.

He lets out a chuckle and pulls me into a hug. "Come on. Let's show you around." He takes my hand and Wanda take my other hand. They lead me through the halls, telling me where everything is.

Eventually, we make it back to Wanda's room. I sit on the couch and Wanda sets a book in my lap. Pietro runs out as Wanda starts to talk. "I am going to teach you how to read and write. Most words in English are spelled out as they sound."

"I know how to spell and I know what the letters look like in a sense. I've felt them before," I assure her.

She pulls out some paper and a pencil, setting it in front of me. "Write out what you think the letter's look like." I start to write them all out. My handwriting is sloppy but legible. "This is good. You have a good idea of most of the letters. Want to try some reading?" I nod and open the book. I read it slowly to her, stumbling over a lot of the words. "That is good job," Wanda says. She gives me a hug and I puts the book aside. "We will continue working but that is much better than I expected you to be. Now, on to the more important topics. Fashion."

I look at her confused. "How is fashion more important? Back when I'm from, everything was about education so that you could get a job."

"You lived and grew up in what is now called the Great Depression. Today, everything is much better. There many jobs available and a lot of people have enough money. Now that you can see, let's go shopping and get you clothes for the twenty-first century."

"Okay then," I reply.

She takes my hand and leads me out but not before getting something from her desk. We approach a door and before we leave, she turns to me. "These are sunglasses. We're about to go outside so you need to wear them. I'll lead you so try and keep your head down that way your eyes aren't hurt, okay?"

"Got it!" I put them on and she leads me to a car. We get in and soon we're at a mall. She leads me in and we go to all of the department stores. When we finish, it's been a few hours. We have bags filled with new clothes. Wanda drives up back and helps me put everything away. I have a few new dresses along with jackets, shorts, skirts and shirts.

"So, how are you enjoying sight?" Wanda asks.

"It's amazing!"