Three Days to See

Three days won’t be enough to realize the genius of God’s creation. But, as I picture myself stricken blind, three days would be so much to witness the beauty of the sky painted with clouds and the blaring light of the sun in the morning and the moon with the stars at night. I could imagine myself being caged in darkness for several years; not seeing the slightest ray of light and not tasting the tiniest bit of happiness. And I just figured that maybe, it’d be a blessing if everyone would lose their sight even just for one day. It is so that we would appreciate our God-given faculties and not take things, even the smallest ones, for granted.

Three days to see, three days to reflect and three days to discover… three days of wonder, three days of admiration and three days of happiness. How can I make these three days the best three days of my finite existence? I am not so much of a planner. But this time, I will make sure that everything’s set for me to savor to the fullest these momentous three days. For a long time, I have been dreaming big dreams such as to see how people look like or how beautiful flowers are.

To you who have been blessed with the gift of sight, it’s no big deal to see mountains and bridges and birds and fishes. But to me who has been living in obscurity, it meant a lot.

I would like to spend the first day traveling. I want to taste a glimpse of Europe; visit Paris and the Eiffel Tower so I could feel the love and romance that people do when they get there. I want a tang of England and kiss the precious hands of their kings and queens and princes and princesses so I could feel like it’s royal blood that runs through my veins, that just visiting their palace and touring their kingdom would mean the universe for me. Then, I ‘d like to trek across the beaches of Los Angeles and see and feel the heat of the sun, to finally lay my eyes to that spherical ball of fire that lights the whole world at daytime. I want to walk through the streets of Manhattan and see how elite people live their lives. I’ll go straight to New York and paint the picture of the Statue of Liberty in my memory. I’ll fly to Africa and shake hands with the black people. Finally, I’ll go back to Asia where I truly belong. Then, I’ll finish the day visiting churches and my last stop would be in Rome. I’ll meet the Pope and kiss his forehead and let his hands slide through my skin. I will pray and I will thank God for all the things He has given me. I know that thank you’s and kind words cannot equalize the greatness of our Father but in my own little way, I will praise Him with all of my being.

I won’t sleep; I will consume the whole of 24 hours of those three days.

Subsequently, I want to take a cruise along the oceans and see dolphins play with each other. I want to witness how sea creatures thrive along the trenches underneath. I want to dive down under and see colorful coral reefs and billions of species that look like a vibrant ball when grouped and seem like a broken glass shattered into lively and multihued pieces when dispersed. I long to escape from the labyrinths of underwater world and perceive the view of pearls, sea urchins or even touch a mermaid if possible. Then I’ll rise and ride an airplane and when I finally reach the highest altitude it could get, I’ll let myself fall through a parachute. I would love to see birds fly and fly and I imagine myself being one with them. And as I land onto the ground, I will take a stroll to the world’s most wonderful gardens and see different flowers of various shapes and sizes and smell their sweet fragrances with all those vivid butterflies flying around them. I want to catch one and place it on my finger, stare at it and realize how great and genius God is to think of all these creatures.

I will walk through mountains and touch the clouds and see the rest of the world. I’ll cry and shout until my vocal chords will break, “I’m in love with the world!”

It’s my last night of sight and just the same, I won’t go to bed. I will stare at the moon and memorize how it looks like so when the day that all of my days would be dark again, at least, I know that everyday holds a potential for beauty. I will exert effort to put into the right side of my hypothalamus the view of the constellations and the picture of those billions of stars so that when I’d be stricken blind again, I’ll be reminded that it is in the darkest hours where stars shine the brightest, so that even in the most pressing moments in my earthly sojourn, I will never lose hope but continue living and loving life more and more each day. When dawn strikes and it’s the last day for me to see, I want to look at the faces of my family and friends; those who made my obscure life bright every morning and gleeful at night. I want to thank them for not abandoning me despite the fact that I am physically handicapped. I will express and tell them that I am so lucky to become part of their lives; that unlike others who were left out and left behind by their families, they never were to me. They were beside me through thick and thin and they never got tired of offering sacrifices for my sake. Thanks to my friends, for the love and the undying friendship. They say love is friendship set on fire and I say now that I’ve seen them face to face how much I value them and that I will never take anything in exchange of our relationship. I will give them the tightest hug and the sweetest words my lips could utter. On my last day of seeing, I would like to learn how to draw so I could sketch their faces and put them all in a memory box so that it will never spoil and it is protected from the raging heat and unwavering storms. I would like to learn how to draw so I could put all their faces in my mind and all their smiles in my heart.

Then at night, I will lie down to my bed and squeeze my pillow tight; not because I’m not contented but because I was so overwhelmed. I’ll reminisce the last three days I was able to see the splendor and loveliness of everything.

Then, I’ll gently close my eyes and get myself used to darkness once again for tomorrow, these lovely eyes of mine will remain body parts alone and I will never be able to see once more. But this time, with happiness and contentment within my heart.

My three days are over but my life goes on and on…