Tough Love

Chapter 8

Chapter 8-

My mind swarmed with voices and thoughts. Was this a dream? I don’t know. But it seemed so… real. It was early morning. The sun was high up in the sky. I could almost feel the hot, humid wind blowing against my face. My forehead was dripping perspiration. I could feel my legs burning and aching from the speed I was running at. I was panting as I ran down the road. I made a weird, screeching sound when I gasped for air.

Finally, I stopped. Just stopped. Like my legs had gone stiff, paralyzed. Like my legs refused to take a step, no matter how hard I pushed and no matter how hard I screamed. And then I looked back, and saw I hadn’t outrun the darkness, the shadows. And the darkness was catching up. It was so, so close… I could feel the cold air from the darkness tickling my skin. And then everything went black.

I awoke with a start. I couldn’t see anything, just shadows. Was it a dream? Was it real? Was I seeing the darkness? I clutched the fabric of my sleeping bag that I had to sleep in since my bed still needed to get out of the trucks that held the remaining furniture. And then it hit me: I’ve gone fully blind. I was expecting this though. My heart was beating faster than normal and I was sweating. Sight wasn’t an option, so I used my hands as I felt the area around me.

I pushed myself off the floor and reached out for something, anything to steady myself. Once I felt a hard surface to lean on- probably the wall,-I slowly walked down on what I assumed was a hallway.

The sound of my parent’s voices came from one of the rooms. I tried my best to use my hearing to find them. I turned a corner. Their voices were exceptionally louder and clearer. I took another turn. Their voices became muffled instantly. And then I took another turn, entering some sort of room. Their voices were now a mere whisper. I smelt a mixture of cleaning supplies. A little bit of air freshener, pine soil, and Windex.

I was breathing hard, that’s for sure. My eyes burned. They were threatening to spill tears, but I blinked, trying to prevent the tears from coming. I was helpless without my eyesight. I wouldn’t be able to do normal things anymore. I sank down to my feet and pulled my knees to my chest. I cried silently and my body shook. I won’t be able to see, I thought. Nothing. I might forget how I look like in a matter of time. I might forget how flowers look like. I might forget how everything looks like.

I might forget how to read. I might forget what color my favorite color is. I might even forget what a color is! I will probably even forget how I look like. And I’ll forget how-

“Emily?” my mom’s worried voice echoed throughout the house. I heard her footsteps against the wooden floor.

Thump, thump, thump.

“In here!” I yelled loudly, wiping my face from stray tears.

“Where?” she yelled back. I talked loudly to her some more so she could find out where my voice was coming from. Finally, her footsteps were loud and clear. I could hear my mother’s breathing. I could smell the perfume on her that she always put on. “Honey, what are you doing in here?” I could feel her breath fan across my face.

“Where am I?” I asked.

She stayed silent for a few seconds. “What do you mean, ‘where are you?’ You’re in the supply closet. How’d you get here anyway?” Her voice was utterly confused.

“Mom, I can’t-“ I paused and tried to swallow the big lump in my throat. I started talking again. “I can’t-“ I quickly stopped talking. My voice was getting shaky. I was near bursting into tears now. I had to stay strong. For the both of us. I took in a shaky breath. “I can’t see. Nothing. Just shadows.”