(Short Story)

'No... I can't be... I-I...' I murmur in disbelief. 'It-it must be... only temporary, right?' I ask, facing where I think the doctor is.

'I'm afraid there's a low possibility of that, dear,' the doctor says slowly and evenly. 'So I'm stuck like this- permanently?' My knees give out, and I fall to them. It's terrifying as I can't tell the distance to the ground, I feel like I'm falling into a pit. And I am, in a way. A dark, neverending abyss with no end, no opening.

I fall, but I don't cry. I'm too busy gasping for air, trying to find my way out of this hole. I feel boxed in, running out of air. Somewhere close to me, I hear mom sobbing, 'Please, God, no... not my baby...'

'I'm terribly sorry,' the doctor sounds grim, and I think I hear her shuffle awkwardly. Their little noises, though somber, bring comfort that there's still a world around me, though I feel separated from it. I could be dead and not know. If death is as dark as this. I press my palms to my open eyes, feeling gathering tears, willing an image, but my brain receives nothing.

I feel strong hands lift me to my feet. Dad, I think, from the way I can hear him sigh sadly. I sense us leaving the room, and through my melancholic mist, I give a sharp intake of breath at each step, believing that any one of them could cause me to fall into a pitfall or something of the like.

My suspenseful journey ends when I hear a car door opening- our car- and mom or dad helps me into the backseat and straps on the belt for me. I hear the car start, and I hear both mom and dad weeping and softly conspiring. The engine revvs, and I feel movement.

Instinctively, I turn my head to my left, where I feel a window, where I expect to see the hospital, or trees, or roads, or other cars, covered by a glassy sheen, but there's nothing.. I press my hand to the pane. Pane. Pain. I realize there's no more outside pain, but I feel my heart sinking down to my stomach. It finally strikes me like a dagger that I will never again see anything- no more trees, roads, cars, parents, friends- nothing.

Because I am blind.

Tags: Short Story Blind Darkness

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