"Huh… is this how I die? Just like this? After spending my whole childhood and teenage years buried in books… I die without reaping a single benefit?
Life really does suck.
I don't even care about myself anymore, but… what about my family? Family? Do I even have one? Do I even care? I don't know anymore. Maybe it's better if this is how it ends…
Wait… why can I still think? Why is my mind so clear? Am I a ghost? Is this just my subconscious clinging on to existence?
Everything is dark. Heavy. Something's covering my eyes, keeping them shut. What… what is this?
Then came voices. Sharp, panicked, urgent.
"Ma'am… your child has been born, but—"
"But what?!" another voice shouted, trembling with fear.
A calmer, serious voice spoke. "Doctor… what is it?"
The first voice hesitated. "His… his eyes… they're blurry. He might never see properly."
What…? Voices? Where am I?
I tried to move, tried to see, but my body didn't respond. My mind spun in chaos. Hospital? Whose child? What am I doing here?
Everything felt… wrong. Darkness pressed against my eyes, heavy and unyielding. I couldn't open them. I couldn't feel my body. And yet… I could think.
If this is a dream, it's the worst nightmare imaginable.
---
A cold, sharp voice cut through the panic. "My poor child…"
Another, harder voice followed. "We don't need a child who can't even see. How will he ever handle our legacy? Take him away."
What…? What are they talking about? Who could be this cruel to their own child?
Darkness shifted around me. Shapes flickered at the edges of my closed eyes — no, not shapes… outlines. It was like watching moving x-rays, shadows against a deeper shadow.
Ahhhh… what are these figures? Are these even humans? And how… how is this happening?
A cold shiver ran through my mind. Somehow, even though my eyes were sealed shut, something else was letting me "see." Not with sight, but with something deeper. Something alien.
How does this work? What… am I?