The Writers' Circle

The man who lost his eyes
By: Wali Yawari__Sep 07

He opened his eyes but saw nothing, everywhere was dark, so dark that he didn't believed his eyes were open. At once his heart fell, so hurriedly and blindly he moved around the room and tried to touch things to find the way out. As he was moving he could just hear the sound of things falling down on the floor. Minutes later he got tired and was almost getting crazy from exhaustion and the solid darkness in his eyes, while he suddenly felt the arms of a chair under his fingertips, he sat on it and tried to take everything easy; he took a deep breath and tried to relax.

 He said to himself "it's something momentary and everything will be ok" Instantly he remembered and felt again the extremely black, solid darkness pressing on his eyes. It really troubled him. He cried loud out of pain; closed his eyes and opened them again, stared at an unknown point in the darkness. But there was still darkness and darkness. Suddenly he felt that he had lost his eyes. His heartbeat grew faster, so he moved his hand towards his face in fear to touch his eyes. Slowly with his fingertips he touched them, they were there and nothing was wrong with them, he could even move them around. But down his face he felt some sort of liquid thing getting almost dry. So helplessly he murmured to himself 'Oh my God,' he repeated these phrases several times, and remembered the time he had lost his computer and all the important documents on it.

In the darkness in his eyes he stood up, touched the wall and searched around. A few minutes later he heard the sound of the glass of the window made by the touch of his hand. He came close to it and felt the warmth on his face; he understood that it was the sunshine. Finding the handle he opened the window. And breeze of fresh air touched his face and arms. He felt the half dried tears on his face as if freezing in the fresh air. So calm and relaxed he cleaned them off his face and leaned against the edge of the wall and stood by the window.

He gazed to the sky, and for the first time he thought about it and said to himself "how young and fresh the sky is; it's blue", he searched his mind to remember when exactly he had watched the sky and noticed its color, but he remembered nothing; look the sky and the air blowing is so indifferent to me. I am in pain but the sky is so calm, watching me as if he thinks that none of these are new to him and that everything passes and ends. And my blindness will also have a conclusion, though it cares about nothing but it is kind and gentle. See the air it blows to me is so soft and alive.' He took his head out of the window and felt the cold fresh air. Suddenly he noticed that it was blowing from below as well. At once he imagined himself on the last floors of an extremely high skyscraper. He immediately pulled himself back and harshly slammed the window. Shouted loud: "Anybody there? Anybody there?" But he heard no answer. He crazily touched around the wall to find the door, but he found it locked. "Damn it." He said angrily to himself.

 "Is there anyone?" he repeated madly. He hit the door with his hands, feet and head until he got tired and walked blindly in his darkness towards the window. Getting nearer to the window he hit his head against the open window, he felt the warm liquid running down his face. He didn't care, as if he had not felt it. He stood there so still for a while, listening to the silence around him, he talked to himself, "Where am I. who brought me here?" 
So tired and exhausted he bent down, his weak feet could hardly hold him in that position; he sat there in front of the window. For a moment he seemed to be lost in deep thoughts, but finally, he could weakly remember that last night he had stayed so late at a party drinking so wildly; tried to remember more but his mind didn't help him. 

He could forget everything he didn't like, but he was never able to forget the darkness in his eyes. He was suffering so painfully. He didn't know where he was. And what was the time. But the only thing he knew was that the he didn't feel the warmth on his back any more, which meant that the sun had probably set. The pain in his eyes had decreased. But his worries and fears of blindness never left him. He pulled himself down, lay on the floor where he was sitting; he felt pain in his feet, arms and hands; he felt a strange sort of heaviness in his body as if the floor had caught him tightly. But his mind was so active, he was constantly thinking, to find answers to loads of questions in his mind, but everything seemed impossible to him. Still and silent he had been lying there in despair. There was silence, and it could make one think that everything around had sunk into deep thought.

  He experienced the silence, he listened to it. Listening to the sound of silence he heard his heart beat, lop dop. lop dop... it didn't seem new to him, he had heard this sound before, but this time he felt joy listening to it. He concentrated on it and listened to it very carefully. Slowly, he started to talk to himself. Calmly and clearly he spoke short words. It seemed as if there was someone inside him, and he spoke to him as if he was also hearing from him. He seemed to be dreaming, he didn't even seem to be dreaming. 

He felt that it was dawn now, as if he was experiencing a sort of light and brightness, but no; it was the darkest moment of the night, certainly an hour before dawn. He woke up. There was pain in his eyes but he could tolerate it. In the black darkness he whispered to himself the day had come, it's brighter now. Oh God, you are so kind; you have enlightened the day, and it is so good. He slowly moved and sat in a straight position for a while, and then stood up by the window. Got close to the glass; touched it as if he was touching a very precious thing. Looking far away in the sky he was inspired that the sun will come out and the weather will get warm again.