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To my surprise, Dad began to show up for me. Not only did he show up to pick me up from school, but he also took me to my appointments the following two weeks. He’d sit in with me and ask the doctors questions whenever I didn’t know what to ask.
For the first time in a while, I felt as if I had a parent again. I had a glimpse of hope for a future between us. Sure, it wouldn’t be like before, but we could have a new normal. Like Starlet and her father had.
At least, that was what I thought before the night of my group therapy session.
My doctor recommended I get a therapist and consider group therapy with other individuals who were legally blind or in the process of losing their vision. The idea of it sounded awful to me, but I agreed to it. I knew if I didn’t, I’d fall deeper into my depression, and that didn’t seem like the smartest thing to do. Plus, the curiosity of it all was there. I’d never met a blind person, and I selfishly wanted to see their life.
The group session happened in a conference room of a warehouse that was used for different businesses. The space was lit up with lights, which made a major difference in my vision. I noticed the brighter the lights, the better I could see a lot of the time.
Eleven chairs were set up in a big circle, and I was one of the first people to arrive. I picked a seat, and it didn’t take long for people to fill up the seats beside me. To my left was an older guy, probably in his late sixties. His name was Henry, and he lost his sight due to health issues. To my right was a kid about ten years old named Bobby. Bobby was born blind. Seeing someone that young without his vision made me feel a bit more guilty about complaining about my vision issues.
“Who’s to my left?” Bobby asked, nudging his shoulder toward me and bumping it.
I cleared my throat and turned to him. “I’m Milo,” I loudly stated.
Bobby snickered. “Not so loud. I’m blind, not deaf,” he joked. I felt like a complete idiot, but Bobby rolled on with the conversation. “Are you new here?”
“Yeah, first time.”
“What’s with your eyes?”
I arched my brow. “I’m sorry?”
“What’s special about your eyes?”
Special?
I hesitated before replying with what I thought he was asking me. “Uh, I have retinitis pigmentosa.”
“Oh, sweet!” Bobby exclaimed. “My friend Cate has that.”
“I don’t see what’s so sweet about it.” I grimaced.
“Yeah, well, you don’t see it cuz you’re blind, dude,” he replied with a snicker.
What was wrong with this kid?
He shook his head slightly. “Lighten up a little. It’s not like the world around you is going to do it for you. Everything around us might be dark, but your personality doesn’t have to be.”
“Okay, baby Yoda,” I muttered, not wanting to engage anymore with the burst of optimism sitting beside me. I wanted to wallow a bit more—not make inappropriate jokes about losing my sight with a blind kid.
Bobby didn’t care about my desire not to engage with him. He kept on chatting. “I was born without sight. Some people call it a congenital disability, but my mom calls it my superpower. Kind of like Matt Murdock.”
I arched my eyebrow. “Who the hell is Matt Murdock?”
“Dude! Are you kidding me? Matt Murdock, also known as Daredevil. Also, also known as the best superhero in all the Marvel worlds. He’s a blind superhero. He’s amazing.”
“Don’t listen to the kid,” the guy on my left grumbled. “He just talks a lot about anything. I hate the idea of people referencing superheroes when they talk about us being blind. It’s like them trying to give us a pity gift or some shit.”
I liked his attitude. It was much more in tune with my own.
Bobby sighed. “Don’t listen to the old grump, Henry, over there. He hasn’t been happy since 1845.”
I smirked slightly.
This kid was annoying but funny.
“You’ll learn fast that our little group here has a lot of different personalities,” a woman said, walking up to me. She held her hand out toward me. “You must be Milo. I’m Tracy, the group leader.”
I shook her hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“You too, Milo. I’m glad you joined us. I think you’ll find out how unique and wonderful this group is. I think it’s funny that you somehow were seated between the two most vibrant individuals in our group. We like to call them The Odd Couple.”
Henry grumbled, “It’s a stupid name.”
Tracy smiled and whispered toward me, “I’ll let you guess which one is Oscar and which one is Felix.” She began to navigate herself over to her chair. “Hey, everyone, it’s good to have you all back for another weekly session. We have a new individual joining us, so let’s try our best not to scare him off. Everyone, welcome Milo today.”
