Sunglasses

Sunglasses

There was once a boy, who was born blind. After researching the blindness, the doctors told his mother that he would be able to see after a relatively small operation. This operation however, could only take place after his tenth birthday, because then the risk of making a mistake, that would make him blind permanently, would be next to zero. The mother agreed with this, crying tears of joy, because her little boy would be able to see. And so, the ten years passed and the operation was a big success. The boy could see everything again. The mother hugged him, ecstatic from happiness. Together they walked to the car, wanting to go home.

First, in the hospital, they passed a lot of ill people. The son asked his mother: “Mother, who are those people?” The mother thought for a while and then answered: “Those are ill people, my son. They come here to heal, just like you, but sometimes this isn’t possible and then the people will be ill till they die or die because of it.” The mother smiled and continued: “But most of these people will get better and can continue with living happily.” The son nodded and they continued with walking.

Then, they came outside, and the son saw a few beggars. “Who are those people, mother?” Was his next question. His mother thought again for a short while and then answered. “Those are beggars, my son. They don’t have a home because they got bankrupt and have to live on the street. But there are a lot of people who want to help them and they make homes for them to live in.” The son nodded and they continued with walking untill they got in the car.

After riding for a while, they passed a dump. “Mom, what’s that?” Was the third question of the son. His mother looked at the dump and answered. “That’s a dump, my son. It’s a place where people leave their broken or unwanted things. Sometimes we can re-use things lying there.” The son nodded and looked around some more.

Later, they passed a forest and the boy saw a dog, lying on the ground, dead while his neck was tied to a tree. “Mother, what is that?” His mother saw the dog lying there and shook her head with distaste. “That’s a dead dog my son, sometimes people keep animals for company. But when they leave, for vacation or something like that, they leave their pets in the forest, to get rid of them. It’s a very cruel method, so there are shelters, especially for animals without an owner.” The son nodded and looked around some more.

They got home after a while and when they were inside the son spoke again. “Mother, I want to be blind again.” His mother was so surprised about what he said that she shook her head in disbelieve. Her son continued his plea: “When I was blind, I imagined a world, beautiful and nice to live in. But the reality is so different, so far I’ve only seen hunger, illnesses and cruelty... It’s enough for me, I don’t want to see this world any more.” His mother understood why he said that, she didn’t agree, because there was so much more in this world then the things he had seen, but gave him a pair of extremely dark sunglasses anyway. “Here,” she said, “wear these, this way you can see but a few things, and put them off when you want to see the world again.”

The son always wore those sunglasses, day and night, not wanting to see the hunger, illnesses and cruelty of this world again. When people asked him about it, he simply remained silent and they would go away after a while.

But then there appeared a girl, the girl asked the boy: “Can I see your pretty eyes?” The boy remained silent, so the girl left. The next day, they met again and the girl asked again: “Can I see your pretty eyes?” Still the boy remained silent, so the girl left.

This continued for a month or so, till the boy got tired of the same question every single day. So when she asked him again, he shook his head and asked her something in return. “Why do you want to see them?” The girl was amazed, he actually said something, so she thought about his question and then answered: “Because they probably are very pretty and I like pretty things.” The boy frowned, though it could not be noticed under the sunglasses. “Pretty things don't exist in this world.” And the boy turned around, not wanting to talk with this naive person any more. Before he could actually walk away, he felt her hand on his shoulder making him stop. “Yes there are, you just have to look closely for them.” Was her only reply before she left him, standing there.

The boy thought about it for weeks. He looked everywhere he walked, but because of the sunglasses he couldn't see much at all. So one day, on a sunny Saturday afternoon, when he was sitting on a bench in the park he put off his sunglasses. The sun was so bright that day that it was blinding him. He looked around in the park and saw a couple, sitting on the grass, kissing. He continued with looking and saw an innocent child playing with a dog, then, he saw a very old man, feeding the ducks in the pond. After having seen all of this he walked on the streets and paid close attention to all sorts of little details, like a little dandelion between the tiles of the street. A cat feeding her little ones on the window-sill and little children playing, while their parents look from a distance.

Then he saw the girl again and he saw her hair, her eyes and her smile and when he came close to her he put his sunglasses on again and said before she could even ask him her usual question: “You can only see them if you love me.” The girl blushed. “Your eyes first.” He put off his sunglasses again and the girl looked deep into his eyes: “See? I told you they would be pretty!” And she kissed him on the cheek.

After this, they married, got children and stayed together, forever.