Blind Lies

2

I choke back a scream when I widen my eyes but see nothing. I  move my suddenly rubbery fingers to my eyes and try to pry them open, even though I know that they are already. I open my cracked lips wide, preparing to shout for my parents but they come before I can make a sound. Four hands, two on each of my arms clutch me, forcing me to stay down. I drop my jaw in surprise. The first time they have ever touched me in my memory. And it's in a time where I can't think about it.
"What's happening?" I cry with desperation, "mom? Dad?"
They don't answer, but a metallic crreeak takes the place of their always  tense voices and astringent laughs. Their fingers are hard, unyielding. I wonder know that they should be my parents but gulp anyways. What if they were just random people in our house at night? Was it still night?
I teeter nervously as the metallic creak stops, leaving a tinny silence in its place. I open and shut my eyes, over and over again to give me something to distract myself. The hands stay put on my arms, but no one says a word. Fright starts to creep its gentle but foreboding fingers through my spine, and I try to stop a scream from gurgling out of my mouth when another creak sounds. Stiff fingers release their vise grip and I breath in little breaths. What was going on?

Finally, a voice speaks up.

"Stay down, Elaina. I don't want you to get more hurt than you already look." My mother's. She laughs her crazy laugh and I sigh in two second relief. A wash of nausea floods through my mind as I understand her words.
"What do you mean? Do I look bad? What's happening?" I say anxiously, gingerly crossing my fingers over my face. All can I see back is darkness, deep darkness. "What's wrong with me?"
"Er, we don't exactly know hon. We have to take you to the hospital." says another voice. My father. I smile a little. He voiced a word of endearment! But it took me about two seconds to figure out why this wasn't good.

There was a deafening pause. I hold my breath. There's a 'but', there's always a 'but' to awkward sentences like that.

"But we can't bring you to the hospital," my mother's voice says softly. "we are not rich enough to send you for medical care honey-"

Right after the word 'honey' escaped from her lips, her tone became harsher as if blaming herself for showing fondness. My father started to talk like that as well.

"Just be thankful that we can pay for the roof under ourselves-" My mother starts.

"Not to mention the delicious food we make for you. Okay Elaina?" my dad finishes. I shift in my seat, surprised by their sudden change of tone. I try to grab the curtain over my eyes and throw it aside, but nothing happens so I just concentrate on my breathing instead of my unfortunate situation.

"Okay," I say, and it's so small I can barely hear it myself. "but can't we do something? What's wrong with me?" Frustration builds along with anger. Just tell me! I want to shout.

Another silence occurs. I wonder if they are communicating with each other through their eyes and twiddle my thumbs from underneath the fluffy quilt, feeling my fingers brushing through the fabric swiftly but not being able to see it. It was odd, odd to know that my eyes were here but I can't see. Nonetheless it seems...natural. It seems like this was supposed to happen, I think to myself, not that it was. Or was it?

I reflect last night's events, playing them over in my head. Silent parents. Silent night. Maybe they know all about it but didn't care to explain?

"Go...back to sleep," I hear my father say through my 100 mile per hour thoughts. I notice that he avoids my question once again of what was happening. "you better-"

"No," I blurt out, surprising myself along with my parents. I can almost see their looks of shock; I never interrupt anyone, but something in me was changing. Something was twisting.

"I'm not sleepy, okay? Just tell me what's wrong! You do know, I think you do." This time I do yell. The house endlessly echoes my words, as if stressing on what I've just done. Tears start falling down my cheeks, triple shocking anyone who thought they knew me. It was odd, the feeling of wetness streaming down my face while not being able to see it myself, just like my thumbs that were now clenched along with the rest of my fingers. Suddenly, I feel quite alone in this world, even though my parents were right beside me. I feel like I am nothing now, nothing of importance, as I was just a pitiful blind child. Alone, alone, alone, a voice taunts in my mind, you are a loser, Elaina. You're mean now, you're aggressive, you are a wailing pitiful child. You can't see now, and your own parents don't trust you enough for them to tell you why you are visually impaired! You are so alone. You are no one. You have no one, except that pathetic little turtle-

 Not being able to contain my emotions any longer, I swing my legs over the bed frame and blindly walk to where I think the door is. I want to scream and run away from my parents who never loved, my heart that never spoke my real emotions. I walk three steps before tripping and falling over something warm but shaped round. A foot,  I think, a few seconds before falling. My thoughts tumble out of my brain as I fall onto the floor, my mind immediately blank.

When I open my eyes, I see something. A stony looking face with straight blonde hair smiles stiffly at me along with a man with sharp blue eyes. They look calm and collected. But I know something is wrong. Something feels out of place.

"Hello Elaina. Remember me?" the woman asks, and laughs a little as if the question was absolutely ridiculous. Her laugh is sharp and almost maniac like, and when the man joins I realize it's the same. I stare up at her,  puzzled.

"What?" I ask the lady. "Who are you?"