When I close my eyes, it is almost as though I could never see. Sometimes when all the newness frightens me, I lie down on my bed and I close my eyes, and I pretend that nothing has changed and that I can wallow in my darkness all I want to.

But usually I am so full of wonder and curiosity. Everywhere I go, there is a newness, a new way of sensing my world. I learned first to sense empty space, and to know that when I saw empty space, there would be nothing for me to touch. I still rely so much on touching to tell me things, and I did when I was in darkness.

I am learning colors, too. The bright, piercing, rich and solid, dark, and strong, but bright enough to fix my gaze on, that is red. Red jumps out at me; catches my attention; invites me to hold it to me. Red is the color of synthetic. It is pain and triumph and loud, loud, loud.

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