[ WP ] An entire species on a planet is born blind , and only gains the ability to see with their eyes once they fall in love with another person .

Harold wrapped the cloak of blackness around him like a familiar coat. He could feel the rope tighten like a firm hand around his throat. He had not lived a good or happy life. 
 
 
 His mother Margaret had just been the product of a sad cycle, he couldn ’ t blame her without also blaming himself. She hadn ’ t chosen to be the victim of child abuse or the domino effect it would have on the rest of her life. Maybe she could have overcome it, been stronger and not passed that abuse down another generation, but maybe she couldn ’ t have. 
 
 
 Harold knew what he was, always would be. He could feel his mother ’ s weakness inside him. He had never considered himself very brave, very strong or very smart. In his optimistic moments he thought it was just the abuse talking, but Harold had always been more of a pessimist. 
 
 
 He knew he was just like her, he was so full of hate and anger, with a temper that was as violent as it was unpredictable. There was only one real way to break the cycle. 
 
 
 
 School had been a place of misery, he couldn ’ t help but get into fights. He did n't fit in, and was always on the outside, his rage would leak out on the few unfortunate children who had taken the bullying too far. Suspension and expulsion, had become a revolving door of punishment, but had done nothing to help Harold. Each one only leading to a new and more brutal beating at home. 
 
 
 The blows would come from the darkness, her foot steps silent on the thick carpet, the pain always coming from a new direction. She had been blind long enough to know exactly how to make sight an undefeatable advantage. So all he could do was wait for it to end, and then clean up the mess. 
 
 
 It didn ’ t get easier as he got older, as others his age started to see. 
 
 
 His highschool had advanced sight courses, you ’ d learned how important it was to see at an early age. They ’ d quote statistics that strongly correlated “ age at sight development ” with all sorts of positive life developments, they didn ’ t mention the statistics for the late bloomers, but the worst was always implied. 
 
 
 And of course the first thing you ’ d hear from a kid once they could see was the long list of things blind people had never done. There had never been a blind, president or Senator. None of the famous sport stars were blind, and none of truly famous and loved Actors had ever been blind. There had of course been a few successful scientist that has made it through the various blind purges in history, and others that had made their mark, but there had always been an unspoken ugliness that followed these people, a scar on their legacy unfaded by the generations. 
 
 
 As more kids transitioned into the world of the sighted, Harold could feel himself gradually transitioning from the majority into the minority. Life would never get to be easy for him. 
 
 
 In highschool he was at least one of many, in college he was one of few. As an adult being blind was something to stay away from, a sign of human malfunction. Nobody ever asked if it had been a choice, a fear that kept him blind, everyone just assumed it wasn ’ t. 
 
 Looking back now, the feeling disappearing from his limbs as the blood makes one final push to protect his vital organs, a gentle coldness creeping in from the darkness, he ca n't help but feel a sharp twist of regret as he remembered the one girl who he had given sight to. 
 

