By: Rachel D. Knepp

Genre: Science Fiction

Plot: A person gets an eye transplant and can now see the future.

Words to use: Sight, cornea, gift, donor, witchcraft, horoscope, sky, stars, sense, awaken, recovery, consequence, blind, psychic, mystic.

Everything was dark when he woke up suddenly, shivering and his nerves danced just beneath his skin. The last thing he remembered was the bright blue sky behind the fuel tank. He was just doing his job. A vast nothingness behind the bandages that pushed down tightly on his sinuses. Allen inhaled deeply, the smell of medical apparatus’ filled his senses. He remembered loosing his sight one other time, long ago, when he rubbed the oil of the jalapeño in his eyes on accident. That hurt.  

“Thank goodness, he is awake,” he heard next to him. It was a familiar voice. “Allen?” The female voice was pleading.

“Yes, Vera, I am awake,” he grumbled. That was Allen.

“It is such a relief,” said the voice. The darkness remained despite the strain he made looking toward the voice.

“You will be on the road to recovery now. We can get back home and get you settled back into your life again.” Allen’s hand and fingers was pressed against the bandages that covered his eyes.

“Can you tell me what me what happened?” His voice cracked. There was no memory coming to him and it made him feel uneasy. His breathing started to quicken.

“Don’t overwork yourself. You had a little accident, that’s all. Sprayed in the face with chemicals at work,” Her voice was lighter than he thought it should be for the event she was explaining. Why was she making no big deal of it? 

“What did the doctors say?” He asked her, trying to remain calm, the numbers on the screen next to him were inching higher as he tried to control his breath. He now had to deal with consequence of an accident that was beyond his control. Why were the stars against him? He felt like he was choking on his words. “Very, am I blind now?”

“No, no, my love. No you’re not going to blind. They repaired the damage. They had to give you a new cornea from a donor, but that will be fine. You will make a full recovery; don’t worry.” She was holding his arm and stroking his hair. He was holding on to the stiff white sheet close to his chest, turning away from her breath on his face. “You received a gift.”

He closed his eyes underneath the bandages. Fighting back tears, but relieved that at least he wasn’t going to be blind. He will see again. Vera said so. He shuttered and gasped.

“What’s wrong my love,” she said, grabbing his arm. 

“I…I just saw something, a flash of light, a bus coming straight for you. I was behind you, your red hair in his usual style, and you stepped right in front of the bus.” He had her hands in his grips, pulling them closer to her, trying to get up off the bed.

“Sh, sh, sh, shhh. It is just your imagination. Don’t get yourself all worked up.”

“But I saw it as clear as day. Like I was a psychic or some mystic, seeing a premonition.” 

“You don’t believe in all that nonsense, Allen, and neither do I. You now we don’t do horoscopes or dabble in witchcraft. We are sensible people. You need to just lay back and get some rest. You will be out of here in no time.” She had pushed him back, her words calmed him momentarily. He remained shaken and trembled beneath the harsh bed clothes of the hospital bed, alarms going off. A nurse squeaked in with her rubber sole shoes. 

“Aren’t you getting worked up. Is everything okay?” The chastisement in her voice silenced them both. 

“He doesn’t like to confined to bed. He will calm down now. I reassured him that he will be getting better and will be coming home sooner than he thinks.”

“Good to hear. Now Mr. Morris, you need to get some rest. You need to heal.” The nurse turned to his wife. “Maybe you want some food now. He will be fine in my care.”

“Okay, nurse Chapel, I think I will. I am relieved he has you to take care of my husband.”

“Of course, I will. You need to take care of yourself now.” Allen felt her presence and heard her soft breathing as she adjusted wires and tubes that came out of him. Vera left slowly. Unsure and looked back at the image of her husband with bandages on his eyes. She grimaced and left the room finally.

“Mr. Morris it is so nice to see that you have awaken from your slumber.” She said in a sing song sort of voice. “Did you get any sense of sight even though your eyes are covered?”

“I could see something, but it wasn’t with my eyes. It was a strange experience, but I am sure it was my imagination.” The nurse patted his hand.

“Of course. Get some rest.” He listened to her steps disappear and his focus was on distance indistinguishable voices. Probably gossiping to each other, he thought. He slept, twitching, he could smell the exhaust from a bus. The screams made him jump. The sweat beaded on his forehead, the bandages were soaked through. His imagination again.

He heard the soft soled shoes of someone entering the room. “Who’s there?” He said.

“I am your doctor Mr. Morris,” he could tell the doctor was alone. “I am afraid I have some bad news about your wife.” 

Thanks for reading.

You can find both of my children’s book online on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.