I wake up to someone poking my cheeks. “Riiiide. C’mon, Ride, I know you’re okay. Ama shielded you with magic so the worst that happened was that you hit your head and passed out from brief pain.”1001Please respect copyright.PENANA7n56UZfwDh
“Treble, leave me alone,” I say, waving a hand.1001Please respect copyright.PENANAtVebKI1j2E
“She lives!” Klef cheers. “Open your eyes for me, babe, let me see those pretty iridescents.”1001Please respect copyright.PENANAuAXD8QkF59
With some effort, I open my eyes and blink a few times. All I can see if smudges of color. I see the color of Klef’s freckles, and his skin, and a little bit of his eyes, but nothing beyond that. “Treble?” I ask.1001Please respect copyright.PENANApoKsbN0wT4
“Who else would it be?” he laughs, but he’s nervous. “Something wrong?”1001Please respect copyright.PENANAbTy4AICvJ1
“I… I can’t see,” I say, worry building in my throat. “Klef, I can’t see you.”1001Please respect copyright.PENANAaOaHkd6Vsv
Klef pulls me into a sitting position and cups my cheek. “Sweetheart, what do you mean?”1001Please respect copyright.PENANAqNHUMjZ3xf
“It’s all just smudges of color,” I say in a panic. “Klef, I can’t see you!”1001Please respect copyright.PENANAHOw6osvqIW
Klef hugs me as I start to cry, and runs a hand through my hair. “Hey, hey. It’s all right. Hibiscus is going to fly us home, okay? Your mom can sort this out, and if she can’t, then I bet a doctor can, all right?”1001Please respect copyright.PENANAl0j3sktsP7
I nod and Klef helps me stand, and leads me to Hibiscus, who is just a smear of purple. “What happened to everyone else?”1001Please respect copyright.PENANAck4rNJqruY
“Well, that explosion was pretty strong,” Bobbi says. “You literally blew up the machine that was going to destroy the humans. It… decimated everyone. Ama was barely able to shield us with her magic.”1001Please respect copyright.PENANAwBbFy63uox
I nod. “Well, I’m assuming she’s probably out cold, but if I don’t get the chance before you do, thank her for me.”1001Please respect copyright.PENANAYeMoPfQPMy
“Where will you be that we won’t?” Bobbi asks.1001Please respect copyright.PENANAJOajOPrH1j
“Finding why my eyes aren’t working right,” I say, as Klef leads me to sit down on Hibiscus.1001Please respect copyright.PENANASUCEBtKmSD
“What?!” Bobbi asks, but we’re already flying away.1001Please respect copyright.PENANA6fkinD0Odc
~/~1001Please respect copyright.PENANAkWacO4T8jz
“Well, Ms. Rides, it appears that overload of magic altered your physical body some. Your eyes in particular,” the doctor says. “I’m afraid that if I try to rectify the matter with magic, it will only make matters worse.”1001Please respect copyright.PENANAoBSZ9PI0PZ
I swallow. “I was afraid you’d say that,” I whisper, looking down.1001Please respect copyright.PENANACuCeOpEDza
“Never fear, my dear. Be glad you are still alive! I do not know many who could survive that much magic running through their veins,” the doctor says, patting my cheek.1001Please respect copyright.PENANAqvH6bvD4xM
I nod and he leaves the room, and in come 3 shapes that I have learned to memorize these past few weeks. “Nothing,” I sigh. “He can’t do anything.”1001Please respect copyright.PENANAOpusEDUCSp
Klef’s shape turns his head to my parents and bounces. “Never fear, Ride, we have a solution!” he crows.1001Please respect copyright.PENANARNEviSCmvN
I blink skeptically. “Magic could just make this whole thing worse,” I inform him.1001Please respect copyright.PENANAV5dKrmVx4y
“It’s not magic, sweetheart,” Klef says, holding up something in his hand. “Though it certainly acts like it.”1001Please respect copyright.PENANAUv3nvNiUzo
He walks up to me, the thing in both his hands. He lifts them up to my face, and there are 2 small spots of clear in the smudge. Klef pushes them back onto my face and the bridge of my nose, and everything comes into startling focus. “Woah!” I exclaim. “What did you do?!”1001Please respect copyright.PENANAviGIJGgN7E
“Your mom is very good with her hands, Ride,” Klef says. “After she spoke with the first doctor and found out you were legally blind, she worked day and night to get these glasses working! Nobody on Melisma has needed such a thick pair of specs in years, and we had to infuse the glass with magic a little bit so you could see clearly, but--oof!”1001Please respect copyright.PENANAyxcxRGQofV
I tackle him in a hug, tears streaming down my face. “I can see you,” I mumble, blubbering. “I can see you again.”1001Please respect copyright.PENANAFIAzY33vVa
Looking up, Dad and Mom are standing there, misty-eyed, and I grin. “I can see all of you!”1001Please respect copyright.PENANADJgzaTViuz
“Does that mean you’re ready to see everyone else?” Dad asks.1001Please respect copyright.PENANARXJ6IfuUPO
I nod eagerly. “Please! Please, let me see them!”1001Please respect copyright.PENANA8s8kJJ43yz
We walk out of the house, and I run over to Bobbi, Ama, and Hibiscus, who are watching my eye’s every move. I look at Bobbi’s latest choice of hair style, bright purple spikes, and grin. “Oh, you would go punk, Bobbi!”1001Please respect copyright.PENANAo8Yp8aTzGY
They whoop and hug me, and I hug them back. The world is safe, and though it was turned thoroughly upside-down, things are starting to look up again.1001Please respect copyright.PENANAzw9MHhzefh