Chapter 1
I grew up in a small village in the Japan where the environment still remains untouched by the growing expansion of urbanization. My mother, with the help of a local midwife, gave birth to me right in our home, a modest two-story house with cracking yellow paint. After five and a half hours of painstaking labor, my mother had borne a baby girl into a world of noisy street vendors, windswept trees, and the sounds of the mighty and beautiful sea.
I was born with the gift (or curse) of the Sight, and I've always been able to see our world along with the overlaying semi-transparent world of the Other Side. As a child, I would look out into the street and see other kids playing hackeysack, but I would also see the lucent outline of carriages streaming through their bodies like a breeze. The world had always been like that for me; I could see the sharp, bold colors and concrete features of our world, yet I could also see the hazy, translucent, and intangible outlines of another world.
Growing up was very difficult for me because everything that I perceived of the world confused me. I had no way to tell what was wrong with me, or if anything was even wrong with me. I was always questioning what was "real" and what was not, and I was always doubting my existence. There was no one around to guide me, or to help me, and I had no idea how to even begin translating my abnormality into words which I could confide with someone. I was very alone.
I did not utter a single word until I was five, and I was very withdrawing. There were many kids in my neighborhood, but I never played with any of them. I remember that sometimes my mother would bring me to her friend's house where she said I could play with her friend's little baby, but I would just sit in a corner and stare off into space, trying to ignore the Other People who were harvesting the fruits of their fields. There was a kind of unexplainable fear that came with my waking in the morning, for I was always afraid to open my eyes.
My parents were always trying to talk to me, but it was very hard for me to focus my hearing when so many other things distracted me. Processing what I could see through my eyes took up so much of my mind that it didn't leave much room for listening. My condition led my parents to believe that I was autistic, and they brought me to a doctor in the city for checkups whenever they could come up with the money; but even then, there was little improvement.
I was my parents' only child, and they loved me very dearly. They took the best care of me and provided me with everything I needed even though I wasn't exactly the golden sunshine that happy couples dream of having in their lives. My beautiful mother would always look at me with such sadness in her eyes when she tried to smile as she said, "I love you," and her eyes often welled up with tears each time my eyes strayed away from her face when she tried to talk to me. How I wish I could've been the beautiful and loving daughter which my parents well deserved, just to pay them back for their kindness and love. Sometimes I wonder how I survived my childhood, for every time I saw my mother's tears, I was sure that my heart would stop beating.
The fact that not even my own parents can help me carry my burden made me realize that if no one can help me, then I would have to learn how to help myself. As I came to this realization, I began to open my eyes-- and really open them wide-- instead of shutting them in fear. I began to really See the world for the first time, and I also began to pay close attention to every little detail. By paying such close attention, I was able to perceive this much about the Earth:
Everything around me which I could see clearly and sharply with concrete features which I could touch with my hands was my world, the reality in which I live and exist in. Everything else that I saw, the translucent mirage of Other people, buildings, and trees, which overlap my world, was another reality, which I call the Other Side. No one from that Other Side could see anything of my world (they could only see their world), and no one from Our World beside myself could see the Other Side.
In time and with much practice, I slowly came to have power over my Sight. If I tried hard enough, I could focus my mind into dimming out the Other Side and I would be able see Our World more clearly. After acquiring this skill, I knew that there was now no limit to what I can do. I practiced even more, and soon, I could also focus my mind into dimming Our World and I would be able to see the Other Side more clearly as well (although I could never see the Other Side quite as clearly and sharply as Our World). This was very exciting for me because it felt as though the whole world was nothing but my television, and I could flip in and out of two different channels. It became a sort of hobby to watch people's lives as if they were soap operas. I soon became quicker in learning things, and I was able to converse with people as well. My parents finally figured that I wasn't autistic after all, and I stopped having sessions with my doctor.
I often pondered about why I was given the Sight, and not being able to come up with any reason at all really bothered me. Well, at least I was finally convinced that I wasn't crazy after all. I just happened to be a flaw in Earth's design.
NOTE: Thank you for your reviews, and I grantee that there will be more romance in the following chapters. Please withstand the boring parts for now, I promise it will get more interesting!!! Pls. Remember to REVIEW!!! Thanks J
