Discovering Sight

Discovering Sight

By: Krissie Gault

Chapter 1:

He sat in his favorite spot. The tree leaves rustled with the wind. He leaned back on the sturdy tree branch. The park was full of life despite the summer heat. From above in his tree, he could watch everyone move about. That was one of his favorite things to do, just lazily sit back in his tree and people watch. It was quite fun. He learned a lot of things from watching the people that came to the park.

He turned his face upward to stare at the sky he could see through the green leaves. There weren’t as many clouds as there usually were in the sky. He took notice of how the sky was such a vibrant blue. It seemed very warm even under the shade. He felt so comfortable and sleepy in the tree. He figured a nap wouldn’t hurt.

He woke to a shook as he was grasping for breath. His face was soaked from the sudden splash of water. But this wasn’t water. Water was generally cold but soft. This liquid was causing him to experience a burning sensation where it touched. His eyes sprung opened only to be blurred and introduce the burning liquid to them. He screamed at first but then shifted, wanting to splash water to rinse his eyes as he blinked wildly as he tried to get his baring through the blurry glimpses of blue and green that he was getting. He soon heard air rushing passed his ears as he felt gravities pull.

His brain suddenly kicking on, going, ‘tree, me, nap,” shortly before he felt a sharp pain in his right arm. He hissed from the pain as it slowly began to go numb. He must’ve broken his arm, he thought. The grass hadn’t help. He began to scramble to his feet as he continued trying to blink the burning liquid away. He could hear several buzzing noises around him but couldn’t make them out. He began to stumble about the green grass. He needed to get to the water fountain or restrooms so he could wash the offensive liquid from his hurting eyes.

He managed a few labored, swayed steps until someone had grabbed his shoulder. He jolted in shock at first as he tried to make out the blurred figured who was now looming over him.

“Are you okay, sonny?” An old raspy voice was muffled, but he could hear the concern.

The boy shook his head. This must be the nice old man who came to the park every Sunday to sit on one of the benches as do a crossword puzzle. Before he could open his mouth to speak, the man beat him to it.

“I saw those lads throwing water balloons about when one hit you. You poor thing. Your arm looks pretty banged up. Let him help you to the hospital. It’s not too far from here.” He began to softly usher him to the side walk. He was right, the hospital wasn’t far. It was actually across the street from the park. It was a good move considering how often a kid would break their leg or arm by doing something silly.

He allowed himself to be ushered by the nice old man. He had seen him on several occasions from sitting on the branch in his tree. The man never really bothered people and stuck to himself.

The man took a few sniff of the air and tightened his grip on the young boy’s shoulder. “Sonny, do you usually soak your clothes in just bleach?” He asked in a low, rough voice.

“No.” The boy shook his head as he continued blinking. Most of the stinging and burning sensation was leaving, which gave him some relief. “I don’t use bleach. Mom’s allergic to it. Why?”

“What do you mean by he has eye damage?!” The boy’s father roared. The nurse shrunk back form the well-tailored man. His hair was a mess from worry, but his eyes were filled with sadness and furry.

“Sir, please come down.” The doctor pleaded in a soft voice that almost sounded like a whispered when compared to the man’s screaming. 

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Krissie: I've decided to re-write this whole story.