BLIND(Melody Kuku) The sun was as hot as hell. She wiped the perspiration off her brows with the sleeve of her blue school uniform as she sat still in her seat, waiting for the WAEC examiner to declare the examination open. Her eyes ached and she squinted at the paper before her.

"Mary, Mary, don't forget o!" Bisi, her best friend who sat behind her whispered.

The hall was long and narrow with few fans circling from up on the ceiling. The open windows didn't make the room cool, it only allowed the sizzling sun to cast hot rays over the faces and heads of the students.

Mary closed her eyes. It hurt so much. She tried to concentrate on what she had read. She didn't realise how long she had sat with her eyes closed till the examiner stood beside her.

"It doesn't matter how long you pray, if you don't read you are wasting your time praying", he said.

Mary's eyes flew open. She looked at him. He frowned and moved away.

"Your paper starts at 2:00pm and ends 3:30pm. No cheating, no turning back, no..."

Mary picked up her pen. She could hear Bisi call out to her. She peered at the questions booklet. They were ORT styled. The words seemed to dance on the paper, skipping a line and another line. Then they seemed joined into each other. The eye ache was worse now than ever. She dropped her pen and sat straight in her chair. Bisi's whispers were fainter now. She closed her eyes again.

The black, red and white lights merged into each other. She could see the rays of sun, a blinding red light. She opened her eyes. Darkness. She blinked, her hands over her eyes. She closed them again, shutting them tight. Open; darkness.

Mary tried to glance at the paper in the direction before her. Nothing, still nothing. Could it be? No, it couldn't be. The tears trickled down her cheeks as she stood up.

"Excuse me Sir, something is wrong with my eyes", she said.

"What could be wrong with your eyes? Try to open them and fan them with your booklet. It could be dust or..."

"No, no. I can't see! I CAN'T SEE!" She shouted, cutting him off.

The examiner walked to her with one of the teachers that had stood quiet since the exam began. He held her by the hand.

"Look at me, can you see me?" Mr. Falade asked.

"Of course she can see you. It's just a temporary irritation or something. In-case you are not aware, an exam is going on and I wouldn't want to give these students an excuse to cheat", the examiner said with a frown.

"Sir, Mary is a student I know well. If she says something is wrong with her eyes then, it is true. Please let her be excused till we are able to find out what is wrong".


* * * *

The seconds stretched to hours as they stood outside the hall. It was confirmed that Mary couldn't see. She was taken to the hospital and certified blind. For years, blames were passed to witches and enemies who hated progress till it was discovered that she had had glaucoma. It had eaten her eyes till the tissues caved in.

All that had happened in the year 2004 - she was sixteen.
Today, it is September 28, 2015 and Mary is my roommate at the University of Lagos. She is much older and more mature but not for once has her love for knowledge ceased. She records notes and plays them to study for exams. She still washes her clothes, dresses herself accurately, shops and cooks her food. She is her own woman but doesn’t mind asking for help when she has to cross the road or navigate through crowded walkways.

She doesn't regret much except not getting pregnant in secondary school like some of her classmates in the past. Then, she would have had a teenage child by now and she wouldn't be worried about getting a husband. There are times she would wish out loud that she could see our faces and not just the beautiful voices she has created images for, but if that miracle never happens, she says she would be contented with hearing our voices. Mary is still blind but out of the darkness comes a light from her soul.

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