The room was dark. It felt empty, though he well knew the myriad of objects on the walls and floor. The darkness hid everything, even the claustraphobia that usually sets in on a morning like this. He laid in bed, alternately opening and closing his eyes, searching for a hint of light to contrast the dark shroud of his eyelids. He found one. A sliver of pale, more gray than blue, light slipped through an opening on one of the walls. “I’ll have to tape that window up better,’ he thought to himself. “Now that I have seen that spot, it will never be dark in here again.’ He got his body out of bed and set his feet on the hard floor. His shoes were on. He always slept with his shoes on, just in case he had to run. He lifted his body up and traced a path around the room. This is a path that was found not by eyes, but by touch. He had never seen anything in this room, it has always been as dark as possible. Reaching in the closet his hand touched nothing but exactly the shirt he wanted. After putting it on he ran a comb through his short hair. He had never seen the color of his hair, but he’s sure it must be very gray by now. Shadows of the original color may exist near his ears and on the back of his neck, but there was no way to be sure. He reached and brought a pair of glasses to his face. There was no way to tell in this room, but he knew that the glass was solid black, and would let no light reach his pupils. He turned and walked to the door. He placed his hand on the knob without searching for it. He unlocked the three deadbolts, that let him sleep, and slowly opened the door. He felt the warmth of the rising sun, but saw no light. He took a breath and thought to himself, ‘Out of sight - out of mind.’ He stepped outside… Out of mind, out of sight.
Some people can’t deal with great losses. their minds will fabricate an alternate reality, in which their misfortune is by choice, not by chance. The crippled may decide not to walk, and the deaf not to hear the horrible things in the world. And the blind choose not to see what they have lost.
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