A Whole New World

Chapter Two

It had been a while since I walked home alone. Usually I had Lotus or Colby give me a ride but they were both busy today. I knew Callie knew the way, but I still felt myself tense up a bit like I always do when I'm out on my own. Nevertheless, I was actually enjoying the walk. It seemed brighter than usual and it was still early enough in September to get that warm breeze combination. It felt nice. I heard a lot of laughter. There was also a lot of chirping going on in the magnolia trees that lined the sidewalks. It seemed in general everyone was happy and everything was going great... that was until I bumped right into someone, landing me straight on my butt.

"Callie! No!" I reprimanded her. I heard her whine softly, and I put a hand on her head to let her know it was fine. I grabbed unto her handle to stand up, but before I really could, someone grabbed my arm and pulled me upright. I assumed it was the person that I had bumped into.

"Thanks, I'm sor--" I started to say, but the person cut me off.

"Next time watch where you are going." He said, not particularly nicely.

I scoffed. "Yeah, I can't exactly do that... hence the guide dog." 

"You know he's not wearing a vest right?"

I rolled my eyes. "I know she's not. She's a guide dog. Guide dogs wear harnesses not vests."

"Maybe you should wear the vest then." He said defiantly.

I shook my head. People sometimes.

"Callie, go around." I told her, deeming the conversation over.

She moved around and led me past him. So much for a pleasant day.

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I got home a few minutes after the little incident on the way. It was a ten minute walk from Hammonds High to the Montgomery House so it wasn't that bad. I still felt beat by the time I got home. I took Callie's harness off and let her go. She walked towards her bed and just plopped herself on it. I guess she was just as tired as me. It had been a long day.

"Mom, I'm home." I alerted my mother, who was always somewhere downstairs waiting for me to come home.

"I'm in the living room!" She called back.

I took off my shoes at the door and then made my way towards the living room. I was just about to throw myself onto one of the couches when I heard a foreign voice.

"Hi Jessie." The feminine voice said.

"Hi...." I responded "Mom?" My mom stood up and came to me, leading me towards a spot on one of the couches to sit on. 

"Jessie," she said as she sat down beside me. "This is Dr. Hepburn. She has something to talk to you about."

I turned back towards where the foreign voice had originally come from. "So Jessie, like your mom said, I'm Dr Ashley Hepburn. I'm the eye specialist at Barson's Hospital in Toronto."

I turned towards my mom in a way I hope said 'what was a lady from Canada doing in our living room'.

Dr. Hepburn continued. "You're probably wondering why I'm here and the simple truth is... I want to cure your blindness."

I just flat out burst into laughter after hearing that. She couldn't have been serious.

"I'm sorry, it's just that, we've been to so many doctors. There's no curing what I have. The damage done to my optic nerves... it's just irreversible." I informed the doctor.

"I'm aware of your history Jessie." She got up and walked to me. "We're not talking about repairing your optic nerves. We're talking about replacing them."

"Is that even possible?" I asked.

"Well yes... with our test subjects so far." She responded in the same calm and reserved voice she had been speaking to me with.

"Why me?" I put my hands up in question. "Aren't there blind kids in Canada?"

"Well, you see our technology is still in its early stages. We need willing volunteers for our trials. We have some from Canada obviously, but since your Mom reached out to us, we decided to see if you were willing to participate as well." She took my hand, something I didn't quite like people doing. "This surgery could be life changing Jessie."

I turned to my mom again. She had... reached out?

"Jessie, honey, do you understand what Dr. Hepburn is saying." She asked sweetly, "You could see again." 

I heard her choke up a bit. I knew she felt like crying but she wouldn't because she hated crying in front of me. I turned back to the doctor.

"That's all very nice... but I don't think I can help you." I stood up and left the room.  I reached out and put my fingers along the wall until I found the staircase railing. I marched up the stairs, straight to my room and flopped down on the bed.

I didn't know when exactly the tears started flowing from my eyes.