By Sharmila Bhattacharjee
With a nervous smile, I acknowledged all the people who had made a great difference in my life. I recounted the horrific incident which had reshaped my life completely. One day while on a walk, a speeding car had hit me. It was not because I was careless but because the man driving had lost control of the brakes. Within a few seconds, I felt a warm liquid gushing out of my body and an immense searing pain ripping me apart. I could faintly feel Sparkles licking my hand and his warm breath on my face. He kept nudging me and although I tried hard to get up, my body refused to comply. I tried to speak but no words were formed. My eyelids grew heavy as I felt sucked into an enticing darkness where pain would cease to exist.
When I woke up next, the smell hit me instantly. It was like an anti-septic, a little bitter, with undertones of the artificial fragrance of phenyl trying to mask it. A reassuring voice as if hearing my thoughts, said that I was in the hospital and in safe hands. I could hear my parents speaking to one another softly. The doctor gave me a glass and asked me to gulp the contents down fast. It was the most terrible liquid I had ever tasted. He then proceeded to gently take off my bandages and I grimaced as he did so. I deliberately opened my eyes as slowly as I could. What I saw, in fact what I did not, shocked me. There was darkness all around - not even a speck of light. I felt my eyes, rubbing them waiting for the darkness to fade and light to appear. I screamed and howled. My eyes seem to burn intensely. I frantically reached out, wanting to see my surroundings so desperately. My mother rushed to me and hugged me as tears streamed down my cheeks. I refused to let go as I buried my face in her chest.
The world of myriad colours was wrongfully snatched away from me. I yearned to see - the bright orange sun rays which lit up the sky, the lush green fields thronging with both various birds and insects, the clear blue sky with lazy, white cotton clouds floating in it, the dark blue starry night, the red ripe apples I ate, Sparkle’s soft, golden yellow fur, the grey roads and so much more. For someone whose leisure time was dedicated to reading, being unable to see made me terribly helpless. Every step I took was guided by someone. I grappled with fear as I slid into an unwelcoming darkness and doom. The void in my heart seemed to grow every passing day. I held my books, feeling the pages, inhaling the bibliosmia and trying to comprehend the invisible words which filled the pages. A world without colours was my reality, no longer the frightening nightmare I had once seen. I tried hard to remember all the colours I had ever seen, adding substance to their existence while cursing the whole core of my existence.
One day, my parents took me to my teacher. She taught me how to read and write. Albeit learning Braille was a challenge and I was slow, but I did not give up. Braille was my solace and I started depending on it completely. Soon from a shy, timid teenager who believed that she was only meant to be hidden behind closed doors, I rose like a phoenix from the ashes and metamorphosed into a strong, confident, young lady.
The thunderous applause which followed after I finished my speech overwhelmed me. I had come a long way and was presently the director of the company I worked in. As I smiled and bowed my head graciously, I knew I wanted to make a difference. I would no longer see the colours that I loved but now I felt them more than any ordinary person ever could. My inability to see helped me experience colours and all objects in a way no one could. I had lost my sight but not my vision!
By Sharmila Bhattacharjee
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