It wasn't fair. Serenity felt tears prick her eyes and rubbed her them with the back of her right hand. Eyes that would soon never see again. She sat in the doctor's office lobby, waiting for her mother to pay the bill that she knew they could barely afford. Mechanically, she picked up a magazine and tried to flip through it, to take her mind off of the horrible news. She was going blind.
No more sunsets.
No more rainbows.
The doctor's examination had confirmed her deepest fears. The illness that had plagued her since early childhood would now claim her sight. There had been a chance that she would be lucky enough to avoid this symptom but apparently fate was not on her side.
No more smiling faces.
No more butterflies floating by on brilliant wings.
Her hands trembled as they turned page after page. The words seemed bolder; the pictures, more vivid. Her mind was slowly becoming accustomed to the fact that her time was limited. Soon she would have no reason to pick up a magazine. An ad for local café caught her eye. Every detail leaped out at her. Sunlight trickled over a man sitting at an outdoor table. Nothing escaped Serenity's gaze; the way soft tendrils of steam curled up from his hot cup of coffee, every crease in the man's shirt, even the lettering on the menu tossed onto the table was noticed by her hungry gaze. Her mind raced over all of the other things she would miss seeing. No more blue skies with puffy white clouds or gray skies with wispy rain clouds. She would hear birds singing but not see their graceful flight; smell flowers but not see their vibrant petals. She would feel leaves crunch underfoot but not see the bright fall trees; hear dogs barking but not know why.
No more frost patterned windows.
No more dew covered grass sparkling in the early morning light.
She and her mother drove home in silence. What could be said? She was loosing her sight and no words would ever change that. It began to rain. The drops trickled down windows that looked out onto a dreary, gloomy street lined with gray, drab buildings full of weary, downtrodden people. Serenity felt like the world was grieving with her. A single tear trickled down her cheek, mimicking the path of the raindrops that streaked down the misty pane of glass.
No more summer sunshine.
No more winter snowflakes.
No more shooting stars. What could she wish for now? There was no cure. Surgery was a false hope; her family could never afford it. Even if they could acquire the necessary funds the process was experimental and had no guarantee of success. Dejectedly, Serenity plodded from the car to her room. Sitting down, she flipped through her scrapbooks that lay in a corner of her room. So many pictures, so many memories filled the pages. Would she still remember when she could no longer look at them?
No more fireflies gleaming on sultry summer evenings.
No more flickering campfires sending sparks dancing into the night sky.
Serenity glanced in her mirror that hung over her dresser and scowled at her red-eyed reflection. What use were mirrors to someone who could not see? Filled with sudden anger and despair she hurled the scrapbook at her reflected image. Her image became distorted as the mirror shattered, long cracks spreading from the center of the impact. Just like her hope had been broken.
No more color.
No more light.
No more dreams.
Only darkness.
A/N: Please let me know what you think. I know it was short but I really put a lot of thought into this. Any suggestions/comments etc. would be very appreciated!