[ WP ] A blind man takes a new experimental drug that restores his vision and allows him to experience color for the first time .


 
 It tasted like ashes on the tip of his tongue. He swallowed the pill, drank the glass of water someone gave him. 
 
 He opened his eyes. It hurt. Something was pressing against his eyeballs. He could feel it worming into his skull. He shut his eyes. 
 
 `` Daniel, can you open your eyes?'' 
 
 He covered a hand over his face and opened his eyes slowly again, peeking through the gaps in his fingers. He pulled his fingers together after a moment, sighing as his sight cut off again. The pressure in his skull eased slightly, although his pulse was still throbbing in his temple. 
 
 `` It still stings.'' he said. 
 
 `` Did you see anything? Anything at all?'' A sigh. 
 
 `` I saw... I think.'' he said, when he heard the man before him fidget. `` It's different... like, feeling sand for the first time? I do n't know how to describe it.'' 
 
 He heard the edge of the man's chair shift forward. He heard the sharp, eager intake of the man's breath. `` Do you feel this?'' Someone placed a small apple in his hand, followed by a leaf. 
 
 `` Yes. It's an apple and a leaf.'' 
 
 `` Open your eyes again and take a look at them.'' 
 
 He opened his eyes briefly and screwed them shut again. `` I saw.'' The pain spiked in his temple. He tried not to react. 
 
 `` The apple was red. The leaf was green.'' the man told him, `` Did they look the same to you?'' 
 
 `` The apple was... more?'' he said. 
 
 He felt the frown, even if he could n't see it. The man's breathing changed, depressing slightly. `` Hold this. It's a card with two circles on it. Please look at it.'' 
 
 `` My head...'' 
 
 `` Daniel. Please.'' It was not a request. 
 
 He opened his eyes slightly, shutting them immediately, `` I see two circles.'' He flinched as blood pounded behind his eyes. 
 
 `` Did they look the same to you?'' 
 
 `` Yes.'' 
 
 A sigh. More disappointment. He rubbed the side of his head, breathing through his mouth. `` Were they different?'' 
 
 `` Yes. One was red. The other was green.'' A sigh, `` Going from blind to colourblind... that's some improvement at least...'' 
 
 He was n't meant to hear that comment, he knew. The man was speaking very softly, to himself. He pretended he had n't heard. 
 
 `` Try to keep your eyes open.'' the man said, `` Your vision is already restored but... you just need practice adjusting to light.'' 
 
 `` The pills make my head hurt.'' he said. `` Why?'' 
 
 `` It's just your eyes, Daniel. You're just getting used to seeing.'' A lie. The man's breath caught just a little. 
 
 `` I... do n't think so.'' he said. `` It's wrong. It hurts. The apple smells like rot when I see it. The card feels like human skin when I see it. You... when I see you... you sound like a thing wearing a corpse. Are you... human?'' 
 
 A beat. A soft intake of breath. `` Of course I am Daniel.'' the man said, `` These strange ideas of yours'... perhaps your mind is simply adjusting to the idea of sight as a new stimuli.'' 
 
 Another lie. He felt his tongue dry inside his throat. 
 
 `` Daniel, you do want to see, do n't you?'' 
 
 Not anymore. ``... yes.'' he had a feeling that saying no would not be good for him. 
 
 `` Then keep taking your pills. You'll be able to see soon. Then I'll bring you outside to continue the rest of your treatment. Yes... you'll see everything soon...'' A pause. The chair squeaked as the man rose. He heard footsteps heading away and the swinging of a door. `` I'll see you again tomorrow, Daniel.'' 
 
 The door swung slowly shut. He heard the latch click. He opened his eyes quickly, scanning the room in a second before the lights overhead switched off. 
 
 He saw... a stool. A single lamp overhead. A thin, sheetless bunk bed. A barred window with leaves outside. Darkness. His shoulders relaxed a bit and he blinked in the darkness. He walked to where he remembered the barred window was and felt around for the bars. They felt rough... rusty. He fumbled around with his pill bottle, unscrewing the thick metal lid. He held it against the base of the bar where the metal was weakened and corroded. 
 
 Slowly, he began chiselling... 
 

