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

“Why go outside right away?” Annie asked. “My friends can come later. I want to see the place I live in and do some chores by myself for once! The 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 stick 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. I also need to learn how to read and have hand-eye coordination.”

Suit yourself. You should probably eat soon; it’s almost midday.

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

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

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

Well, I can detect chemical levels in your body and control them. 

“Do you know how you do that?” Annie questioned curiously.

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

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

But if you want any offspring past fifty or sixty-

“No thanks…”

Ok.

Annie decided to get the cereal then get dressed. 

“I’m ready! How do I look?” She had put on an array of clothing items, all intensely colored, and very mismatched. Like a child who dressed themself.

It’s summer, you don’t need the jacket or the scarf and you should put on different shoes. The voice took on a parental tone. 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!” Annie said, twisting side to side.

The colorful shirt is fine, but put on some jeans and normal shoes. Leave your hair down though, you might look weird. We don’t know the styles of hair that well.

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

I am only reflecting the things I heard from your memories, and a little logical thinking. 

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

It felt as if she had a best friend that was constantly with her, helping her. Annie had grown to like this consciousness in the six or seven hours that 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 all the cityscape in her beautiful Seattle. 

I’m so nervous! Are you ready?

Of course. 

Let’s go!

She opened her door wide to be greeted by a light breeze and a warm sun. The light was much brighter to her than it was inside, so she had to squint for almost a minute before being able to take in the view of her apartment street. She breathed in and shook off her headache, refreshed. 

“Everything looks so strong! Is it normally like this?” She asked the voice.

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

“Oh. I forgot what that means.”

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. The voice responded matter-of-factly.

“Wow! Then the world has to be constantly 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.

“There’s the stop light!” She exclaimed, “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 in a few more seconds.” 

Annie felt the landmark post, taking in the details with her eyes and fingers, working to piece 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!” Annie stated excitedly.

The crossing beep would go off and she would giggle, waiting for the lights to go back to normal to see the different colors, ingraining them into her memory. In the distance she saw lots of tall buildings, the windows at the top almost too high to see.

 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. The voice guessed.

Annie continued tapping her stick and looking around, not watching where she was going, but rather studying the small shops and apartments around her. In the distance, she heard a car alarm going off. As she focused, she could hear more in the distance.

There must be a wreck somewhere. The voice stated. 

I guess so. Let’s check it out! There are a couple of car alarms; there could be some kind of festival going on. Maybe we can see the cop colors on musicians!

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. She looked around, but no one was there to help. The car alarm kept going off, but it was getting quieter the longer it stayed on. The battery was dying.

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

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

“OH MY…” she exclaimed in horror, “Are you ok?”

Annie shook his shoulder and his head rolled limply to the side to reveal his face. Annie covered her mouth and shuddered. The man had scratch marks around his eyes with dried blood all around them. His face had a mask of fear etched into it by death; he must have known he was dying. Then she saw his eyes. They were not like hers. Instead of white, the outer part was filled with a strong dark color. Where the iris would be was a strange yellow. The pupil was the same light pink as hers, but it was much larger. She knew it was either death or fear that left them that way.

“How long has he been here? Why is no one helping?” Annie panicked, backing up.

I know as much as you. See if the driver is ok. The voice told her in a calm attitude.

She walked around the body, avoiding it in a wide circle. Peeking inside the car window, she could only see car parts pushed into where the seat would have been. She moved to the back windows and had to turn away, vomiting on the ground behind her. The driver had been smushed into the back by the seat and other car parts. Her face was disfigured and her mouth filled with a degrading substance, likely some part of the body that usually stayed inside of someone. One eye was visible, but only through thick swelling. She could make out the same dark and yellow colors the man had. Annie began to cry between gagging.

I am turning off your gag, you need to stop vomiting. the voice said in another stately tone.

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

Why did you vomit?

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

I agree there. Please tell me why you vomited, it isn’t good for you. 

Annie was surprised by the voice’s misplaced curiosity. Because they look awful! I NEVER want to use my eyes again if I have to see that every time I close them. 

Oh. The voice grew interested. Is it 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 can find help. 

I agree.

Closing her eyes, she kept walking down the road. 

Open your eyes, Annie. 

I don’t need to. I know the way. I don’t want to see anything like that again.

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

Fine. she relented.

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 the building.

“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?” Annie questioned.

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 colored skin glistened in the sun as he stumbled forth. He must be black! She had heard that skin was different colors too.

“I don’t know,” the man started, “but our whole building may be contaminated. I heard you coming so I thought you may be from the hospital or at least the building owner.”

“What is it contaminated with?” Annie asked.

The man slowly crept out of the door, almost falling down the few stairs he had. 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 a lot of people, Seattle is a pretty happy place. Annie refuted.

You were technically disabled for a long time, Annie; you probably have as much experience as I do when it comes to people. Sight is a very important sense that you missed out on until now.

Don’t be ridiculous, Annie responded, 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 try to go down to the station and figure out what is going on. You should probably go back inside if it is a chemical 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, the voice interrupted. I don’t think he will enjoy you getting your sight while he is blind.

You’re right.

“I was headed there anyways,” she lied.

The man smiled at her with an 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?” asked Annie.

“Yep.”

“Awesome! I’m Annie and will be back as soon as I can.”

“Good luck!” Louis exclaimed.

Louis turned and felt his way back to the door. He heard the girl whispering to herself as she walked away, but he couldn’t say much about that. His voice was much louder.