Lappy:: Describe a sunny day to a person who is born blind.

This was actually an assignement for my Creative Writing class a few years ago. I really want to keep this forever, which is why it is here. 

                I have a beautiful friend named Sal. She has beautiful brunette hair, fair skin and a pair of mesmerizing honey brown eyes. Every time I look at her I feel happy and sad at the same time. She always looks so cheerful and she always has this positive aura that whoever approaches her, will feel as happy as her. But it saddens me to know that despite having the beauty that she possesses naturally, she couldn’t see it for herself. She always asks me about the view from the top of our valley or what the park looks like during fall and winter. I know that it kills her little by little on the inside every time she hears people say “Oh it’s beautiful!!” when she couldn’t see a thing and  it kills me a little too every time she says “Oh I bet it’s very beautiful.”

One fine afternoon, she asked me to take her to the park. We always go there for walks or play on the swings or even just to sit quietly and enjoy each other’s silences. Suddenly, when we were walking over a bridge, she asked me,

“Billy, how is the weather today?” with a soft smile of her lips and her right little hand holding on to my arm.

“Well, it is sunny, Sal. Not the ‘oh, it’s very hot’ kinda sunny, but a picnic day kind of sunny.” I tried by best to explain to her simply. I didn’t want to make her all worked up thinking about what sunny days look like. But, the question didn’t stop there,

“Billy, I can’t see sunny day, I can’t feel the sunny day. I want to see, Billy. I’m tired of living in the darkness.” She said while holding her left hand out in motion of searching for something to be held or felt- in this case the sunny day. Her voice was really sad and I heard a little crack in it that I knew she was holding back tears.

“Sal, honey…” I took a deep breath and hugged her. She had been holding on for so long and this was the time for her loosen up her reigns.

“Sal, you don’t need eyes to enjoy a sunny day. You don’t have to have eyes to see beauty. It’s not your eyes that tell you about beauty, it’s your heart.” As I said that, her tears slowly fell and rolling down her cheeks.

“For example, a snowy day could just mean a white cold thing covering every inch of the surface- what’s the beauty in that? This is for someone that can see but doesn’t put in any meaning to what they see. They didn’t find beauty because they can’t see it with their heart. They only see it with their physical sight. ” I saw her nod as a sign that she had understood and wanted me to keep going.

“Sal, all you need to do is see things with your heart, feel. I can help you. Here.” I took her right hand and lead her to the side of the bridge. I put her hand on the bridge’s handle.

“You feel that? That’s the warmth of the sun.” I then pulled her to the field nearby the bridge.

“Come Sal, lie down next to me. Just relax.” She lied down next to me with her hands behind her head- she did looked relax.

“Do you feel the warmth of the sun on your skin?” I asked and she said,

“Yeah, it’s very relaxing. And the grass is so soft and warm, I feel like sleeping on a warm comfortable bed.” I said while smiling.

“Yeah, I agree. Now, do you smell that? It’s food- delicious food.” I said while doing a sniffing sound and she did the same too.

“Now can you hear that? Children are laughing and screaming playing with each other-”

“I bet they are on a picnic!” she said just before I could finish.

“Yes, you’re absolutely right. Now, can you feel their happiness?” I try to say that as softly as possible because I’m afraid that it would upset her thinking that she can’t see them being happy. But instead she said,

“Yes, I do. And it’s very contagious! I feel like running and playing with them too! ” She said with an upbeat voice. “Oh! I can hear birds chirping! How nice! ” She suddenly got up and run towards the middle of the field with her arms stretched out to her sides. When she ran, her hair flew hard like she was waving a brown flag tied on her head.

“Billy!!” I ran to her side and her hand caught my arm again.

“Sal…”

“I can see it Billy. And it’s beautiful!” She said with tears of happiness in her eyes.