Annie, are you sure you should just be wandering around in the house? You are wasting time you could be using to see the world.

“Why go outside right away? My friends can come later. I want to see the place I live in and do things by myself for once! This house is so well lit! We don’t even need to turn the lights on! I love my new eyes!”

I know, you’ve told me plenty of times. At least you are independent now.

“Not quite,” she said as she tried on another pair of clothes, ”I am still going to carry my cane around to defend myself if I need to. Women can be targets and a lot of people tried to attack me when I was blind so maybe I can get the upper hand and walk by myself.”

Suit yourself. You should probably eat soon; it is almost one.

“Ugh, I don’t like having to take the time to eat. I want to experience the life of color!”

Your blood sugar is below the baseline. Lunch is acceptable right now. A bowl of strawberry oats is something you should consider.

“I like the oats, but how do you know that’s what I should eat? How do you know my blood sugar is low?”

I can detect chemical levels in your body and control them based on their receptors.

“Do you know how you do that?”

No clue. Instinct, I guess. I get the same messages your brain gets from your body. I help your brain and body do their jobs; except I want to optimize the functions to make you feel and perform better. I can even prolong or delay menstruation if you-

“No thank you! That one should be as it is.”

But if you want any offspring past fifty or sixty, I can save all of your-

“No thanks…”

Ok.

Annie decided to eat then get dressed

“I’m ready! How do I look?”

She had put on an array of intensely colored, and very mismatched, clothes. Like a child who dressed themselves.

It’s summer, you don’t need a jacket or a scarf and you should put on different shoes. You may also want to find something that is yours; I don’t think your roommate would be happy you are wearing her pants. Normally, you wear painting paints when you paint.

“But look at all these colors!”

The tie-dye is fine but put on some jeans and normal shoes. Leave your hair down.

“Ok. You sound like a parent, telling me how to dress.”

I only am reflecting on the things I learned from your memories, but I also have my own consciousness.

“I’ll have to go clothes shopping with you then”

She laughed. It felt like she had a best friend that was constantly with her, helping her. She had grown to like the consciousness in the six or seven hours she had known it. Slipping on some better pants and shoes, she grabbed her white cane and waited by the door, preparing herself to finally see the cityscape of Seattle.

I’m so nervous! Are you ready?

Of course.

Let’s go!

She opened her door to be greeted by a light breeze and a warm sun.

The light was much brighter outside than it was inside, so she had to squint in order to take in the view of her apartment street. She breathed deeply, refreshed.

“Everything looks so strong! Is it normally like this?”

I wouldn’t know. I believe the word you are looking for is bright.

“Oh. I forgot what that meant.”

If it looks strong like that it means there is a lot of light. It is bright with a lot of light and dark when there is no light.

“Wow! Then the world has must constantly be bright!”

I think we should wait until night to make that decision.

Annie walked to the sidewalk, instinctually feeling her way with the stick, tapping the walls and curb. She decided to take her usual stroll around the block to the supermarket.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“There’s the stoplight! They put a blind person sign on the corner for me. I can feel for a button that makes the lights stop for a few seconds. Then the drivers honk twice so I know I can pass. If there are no cars it will make a sound after a few seconds.”

Annie felt the landmark post, taking in details with her eyes and fingers working together, piecing the sensory puzzle together. She pressed the button again and watched the lights switch colors, hitting all three spots over a few seconds.

“Those must be red lights, so the middle one should be yellow and the last one green!”

The crossing beep went off and she giggled, waiting for the lights to turn so she could see the different colors again, ingraining them into memory. In the distance, she saw the famous Space Needle, taller than she expected. Its windows at the top were hardly visible as it towered over the other buildings.

After a little while, Annie noticed the lack of traffic.

“Normally, there are always cars driving down the street. It isn’t Sunday and even then, I get a honk every so often.”

I don’t know what is going on either. It’s seeming kind of dim lately.

“It might be your eyes adjusting like mine, except a little later.”

I think that’s how eyes work.

Annie continued tapping her stick and looking around without watching the path in front of her, but rather the small shops and apartments around her. In the distance, she heard a car alarm going off.

There must be a wreck somewhere.

I guess so. Check it out!

She came to the second crosswalk on her block and saw the massive crash. There was a small car with its front end wrapped around the light post. Annie looked around, but no one was there to help. The car alarm kept going off, but it seemed to be getting quieter as it stayed on.

“Are you ok?! Is there anyone here? Somebody call the police!”

Annie rushed to the car to try and help whoever was in there. As she walked around the bent light post, she tripped on something. Years of stumbling around and falling kicked in and she twirled to the side. Her hands always had contact with something solid if she could help it and the light post was the perfect object. She looked down and saw a man with his legs caught under the car.

“OH MY… Are you ok?”

She shook his shoulder and his head rolled limply to the side, revealing his face. Annie covered her open mouth and shuddered. The man had scratch marks around his eyes with dried blood surrounding them. His face was a mask of fear, etched into it by death. Then she saw his eyes. They were not like hers. Instead of white, the outer part was filled with what she thought to be black, a strong dark color. Where the iris would be was yellow. The pupil had the same light pink color as hers, but it was much larger. Death or fear made them that way.

“Wh- How long has he been here? Why is no one helping?”

I know just as much as you. See if the driver is ok.

Annie walked around the body in a wide circle. Peeking inside the car window, she could see car parts pushed into where the seat should have been. After moving to the back windows, she immediately turned away, vomiting on the ground behind her. The driver had been smashed into the back seat. Her face was disfigured and her mouth filled with a degrading substance, likely blood, vomit, or intestines. One eye was visible but with difficulty due to swelling. She could make out the same black, yellow, and pink that the man had. Annie began to cry between gags.

I am turning off your gag, you need to stop vomiting.

There are two dead people here. They look like they have been here for hours and no one is here to help.

Why did you vomit?

Why do you care about that? We need to call the police!

I agree. Please tell me why you vomited.

Because they look awful! I NEVER want to use my eyes again if I have to see that every time I close them.

Oh. It is surprising?

More than that! It’s disgusting and I can’t handle it.

Should I leave your gag then?

Annie felt the nauseous feeling coming back.

No, take it for now. Should we go home?

I think it may be better to finish the lap. There should be more people out in such a large city. Maybe we could find more.

I agree.

Closing her eyes, she kept walking down the road.

Open your eyes, Annie.

I don’t need to. I know the way without them. I don’t want to see anything like that again.

Other people probably see much worse, don’t forsake your new gift. Instead, use it to find more people to help and figure out what is going on.

Fine.

Annie made it around the next corner to find yet another empty street. The supermarket was down the road. As she walked, a door to a building on her left opened, catching her attention.

“Hello?” said a voice from inside.

“Hi!”

“Are you from the hospital? I called an hour ago, but no one answered.”

“No, I’m from around the block. Why did no one answer?”

The door opened the rest of the way to reveal a dark-skinned man standing in the doorway. She could see some other doors open in the back. His skin glistened in the sun. Annie knew that skin could be different colors too.

“I don’t know, but our whole building may be contaminated. I heard you coming so I thought you may be from the hospital or maybe you were the owner of our building.”

“What is it contaminated with?”

The man slowly crept out of the door, almost tumbling down the few stairs. He held onto the guardrail like he needed it to survive.

“Some kind of chemical maybe. No one can see and we are all hearing voices.”

“That’s funny I-“

Annie stop. Something tells me this man isn’t right

You don’t know people too much, Seattle is a pretty happy place.

You were technically disabled for a long time Annie; you don’t know that. Sight is a very important sense that you missed out on until recently.

Don’t be ridiculous, I have had to tell good and bad people from their voice, this man just seems scared.

Just be careful what you say to him.

Annie ignored the voice and proceeded.

“I haven’t lost my sight. I can go down to the station and figure out what is going on. You should probably go back inside if it is a containment breach.”

The man halted his progress towards her.

“Can you still see? No one in my building can.”

“Yeah. I can see. I-“

Only tell your friends about your sight, I don’t think anyone would enjoy you getting sight while he is blind.

You’re right here.

“I was headed there anyway,” she continued.

The man smiled at her with that off-center blind smile she recognized from herself. He really was blind.

“Thank you. I’ll make sure to stay inside and keep everyone calm. The people here are all students from Seattle’s technical school. Tell the chief that Louis needs some help and explain the situation.”

“Are you Louis?”

“Yep.”

“Awesome then. I’m Annie and will try to be back as soon as I can.”

“Good luck!”

Louis turned and felt his way back to the door. He heard the girl whispering to herself, but he couldn’t judge her. His voice was much louder.