I See Through You

Introductions

Valentina F. Lopes is a Brazilian girl who lives in New York City. She's 18, and can be considered as a normal teenage girl.

She goes to school, lives with her parents, and she loves her family more than anything.

Her appearance can be considered as normal too. She's pretty tall for a teenage girl - 5'75" to be precise - has long dark brown hair and light brown skin.

Now there's one thing that makes her different. Her eyes.

Believe it or not, she's blind and had been since she was 9 years old after an accident.

Her family had been saving up so she could have a normal life, so when her father got escalated to work in the Big Apple, they didn't think twice.

Ever since then, Valentina has been living her dream. Well sort of.

But the truth is, she hates her life. She misses her home in Brazil, her family and friends, her old life. The life she had before she got blind.

But, there was nothing that could be done. Her parents searched for years and never found a cure. Mainly after a surgery that went wrong.

Before the surgery, she only had 50% of her vision. Now, after it, she only has about 10%.

She hates it. The way it feels when people look at her, judging her, pitying her. That's what she hates the most. Others' pity for her 'condition'.

But she doesn't complain. The accident was supposed to take away her life, yet it took away her vision.

Still, she wondered. Couldn't there be someone different? Someone who didn't feel sorry for her? Who didn't become her friend only to avoid her getting more depressed than she already was?

She believed there was on the beginning. But as the years went by, she gave up hope.

Now all she wants is to run away from her life. Whatever it takes.

It kills her to hear her relatives and barely remember their faces. It kills her to know that she is an aunt, but will never be able to see her nephew playing and how he looks like when he calls her 'Auntie Val'.

It kills her, little by little. But she knows she can't run away. The only thing she can do is carry on with her life the best way she can, trying to keep a smile on her face even when she's so hurt.

So she tries. Every single day, and every single night. But she's worried.

For how long will she be able to keep this up? She didn't know.

But deep inside, she had a tiny hope. The hope that one day, someone will see her for who she is. Not just a blind girl. But a girl who is yearning to have a bit of her old life back, to feel like herself again.

So she often wonders as she hears the sounds of the city below her window.

Will I ever meet that person?