The blind world we live in

Chapter one

A butterfly flew through the air, its wings fluttering while it did flips and loops. I watched it through my home's window with awe. As it passed, I looked at the homes all filed in a row, along with the sun that sat low in the soft pastel sky. I don't think I had ever seen such a beautiful sight. I know when I was younger, still learning to read and was being taught to see, we had been shown pictures of many things, but nothing like this. The pictures I had seen once a week were bland, almost colorless, lifeless even, but this. This was amazing. Why would we keep ourselves locked away from this beauty? I caught another glimpse of the butterfly wing. Butterflies haven't been seen by any of the soldiers in five years, well ever since the war started at least. You see, once the war started in my homeland, butterflies seemed to vanish. We had been taught from a young age that butterflies brought peace though. There was no way for our side to win, the foreign troops had the upper hand, they had more people, more space, more firepower. More everything. Is there a turning point? Are we finally going to have our home back? I shook the silly thoughts out of my head as my mother called from the kitchen.

"Ana! Get down here and help set the table!" She called.

"Yes, mother!" I called back. I sighed as I put my blindfold back on as it wasn't meant to come off. Only soldiers were allowed to see the world. I wonder how we knew that butterflies weren't around anymore if only soldiers could see the world. I quickly walked down the stairs, it being muscle memory by now. I walked to the cabinet, my shoes clicking loudly as they should and always have. I reached up, grabbing four plates. I set them at their respective places. I then grabbed the silverware, setting them beside the plates and getting cups and placing them as well. My mother set dinner down, it smelled absurdly spectacular. I smiled at the smell.

"Go get your brothers now," Mother said. I hummed, going to the shared room my brothers had. I knocked loudly.

"It's time for dinner boys," I said lightly. The door creaked open, the boys presumably coming to join me for dinner. I sighed as I sat down, smoothing my skirt down. Mother made our plates, as we weren't the correct ages to be trusted with such a task. I can only imagine how difficult it must be for her, being blindfolded and making even plates. I listened as she set my plate down. I thanked her, as did my brothers.

"Momma? When's daddy coming home?" My little brother, Matthew asked. He was named after our father. My mother scoffed.

"You shouldn't be asking such silly questions," she said harshly. "He'll come home once this wars ended." She said picking up her fork and knife. Matthew sighed lightly, going back to his food.

"If this ends" John muttered. John was slightly older than Matthew, but younger than me by two years. I was fifteen, almost old enough to learn to make and serve food.

"Don't speak like that Johnathan." My mother scolded. I shook my head, finding my brothers stupid almost for speaking of such a sensitive topic. We all knew how mother was when we spoke of the war. The rest of dinner was eaten in silence. You could almost hear the gunshots and grenades from outside the wall if you listened closely. None of us said a thing. The house shook lightly as the sounds became louder, before they slowly retreated once more, and we were plunged into silence.

I helped mother clean down the table while my brothers went back to their room. Presumably to go to bed. I had never understood why the boys got to go to bed earlier than the girls. It made no sense. We're all equals and we should act as though as well. We're only separated by some different body parts. I sighed as I put the dishes back after my mother had cleaned them. We both moved to the parlor, my mother turning the tv to the news. I listened in horror to what they were saying.

"The war is taking a turn," the announcer said loudly. "We're losing more and more troops to our enemies from the south" I gasped lightly.

"Go to your room, Ana," My mother said harshly. I quickly left and climbed the stairs.  As I fell onto my bed. I wondered what the butterfly actually meant. If it was, actually for peace, whose peace was it for? Was dad one of the ones lost? I rubbed at the cloth covering my eyes, wishing to take it off. The perpetual darkness I was suspect to was starting to piss me off. I sighed, getting up and moving to my desk. I fumbled around, looking for the new blindfold I was working on. The one I wore currently was starting to become too small. Maybe I could give this one to one of my brothers. I poked myself with the needle once more and I wished to take off my blindfold, how did my mother do this? I knew that everyone, even as early as a child's birth was given a blindfold, and was only allowed to take them off to learn to read, which was only permitted during school hours if you were lucky enough to go. I was the only one in my family who's ever gone. But, everyone had a blindfold, I'm sure nobody has ever thought to take the blindfolds off. Everyone knew it was against the law. No matter your age, you knew to keep it on. But, from what I had already seen from the world, it looked wonderful, why do we hide from it? If only soldiers take the blindfolds off, who would know if I did? I hummed in thought. What if I were to take off the blindfold? Would anyone find out? I'm sure someone would. I sighed, realizing I would be in trouble if I did. I slouched back in my chair, thinking of how to figure this out. I smiled as an idea came to mind. I could make a see-through one. I hesitated before slowly removing my current blindfold, blinking to adjust to the light that seeped through my window. It was dark outside, only the rays of the sunset breaking through the glass pane. I turned back to my blindfold, quickly seam ripping the edge and cutting half of it off. It now looked like a simple blindfold. I put it on, being able to see a blurry world. It was possible to see through. I had done it. As I heard my mother's footsteps come up the stairs towards my room, I put on my old blindfold. What if mother didn't wear a blindfold? What would she say? I shook the thoughts from my head, quickly hiding the newer blindfold. A knock on my door rang through my empty room.

"Yes?" I called. I heard my door open, my mother stepping inside.

"You may come knit with me in the parlor now, the news is over." She said somberly.

"Okay," I said, following her out and to the parlor downstairs.

As I sat down in the small rocking chair off to the side of the fireplace, my mother gave me my knitting needles and yarn. I thanked her and started to knit the blanket I had been working on. You see, my brothers had complained that their blankets were old and worn, no longer providing warmth. So it was mother and I's job to make new ones. I found it strange that women were seen as adults, much faster than boys. At the age of fifteen, I was almost to be considered an adult and was soon to be married off to a rich boy who I would never learn to love. Where my brothers would wait much longer to be considered an adult.  Why was it that girls held so much responsibility, but men held all the power?

"Momma?" I heard Matthew whisper, it was such a childish name for a nine-year-old to call their mother. Mother hadn't taught him not to yet however.

"Yes?" My mother soon replied, her voice softer than when she talks with me.

"I- I had a nightmare" He whimpered.

"That's alright," Mother cooed, she treated the boys as if they were much younger all the time, I had to wonder if it was because they were boys. "Come sit with me and your sister." Matthew padded over to my mother, making a soft thump as he sat down next to her. "You'll be okay" I turned my attention to knitting once more.

I sighed once I laid down in my older bed. My father had made the frame, before the war that is. I was starting to grow out of it, I would never say anything to my mother about it however. I sighed in realization that I had schooling tomorrow. I wasn't looking forward to it. I was in my second to last year there, which was once, but the people I interacted with were less than pleasurable. The other schoolchildren were rich and liked to boast about it. However, I saw no point, we were all going to die one day, no matter if you were rich or not. I drifted to sleep with the thoughts swirling in my mind.