“When you first see someone, what do you first notice about them? I always used to find their eyes, imagining the explosion of color that was set off within them. I can see my father's eyes, as cool as a winter night in Venice."

-Summer Edwin 

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On June 20th, Summer Edwin was born and just for a second, the entire world lit up. After a few tests, a nurse nervously walked up to the child's mother, Abigail. She quivered, “Su… Summer, I’m afraid, is blind. She’ll never see in her life.” Abigail began to weep. “Lord, my Father, my God, why has this tragedy occurred. My daughter will never see your creation, she will never truly examine the marvels you have laid upon this Earth.” Then the nurse asked Abigail in a hopeful tone, “Perhaps, in the future, a treatment could develop that allows the child to see.” But deep inside, the nurse knew that such a suggestion wasn’t possible. There were no connections from the receptors in the child’s eyes to her brain. It just wasn’t possible. Anxiously, the nurse changed the topic. “Where is Summer’s father?” she questioned. Abigail winced. “Please don’t tell him about Summer’s,” she paused, “Condition.” In an almost offended manner, the nurse exclaimed, “Why on Earth would I not tell a daughter's own father she’s blind?” Abigail sighed, “My husband believes that injury is linked to weakness. I only wonder what he will think of our new daughter.” Outraged, the nurse replied, “She’s blind for Christ’s sake. It’s not like she’s alone. There are thousands of blind people out there who live just fine.” And like that, the nurse left. 

And as Summer’s father walked into the room, her mother shrouded her with her medical robe. “James, our child is blind,” Abigail painfully exclaimed. “No child of mine shall be blind; she cannot be my child,” James rashly remarked with a stance that resembled the very same figure of Hades. That night, deep inside James’ eyes was fear, fear of weakness, fear of losing the little bit of life he had left. And so James left with the taste of blood in his mouth and left the room in a rather bothersome fashion. Once again, Summer and her mother were alone together. The bond so great, between mother and daughter, that life itself seemed to prevail over death. Abigail looked summer in her hazel eyes and smiled. “You're going to do so many great things. I can feel it.” She told her child. Soon enough, Abigail left the hospital and her husband drove them to their home in Westbrook. It wasn’t an exceptionally large house, but it was enough for a small family to live in. The neighborhood was fairly quiet, with a few robberies and crimes on the outskirts of the town. Abigail took care of Summer, but James showed no love for the child. One day, he remarked, “It’s bad enough I have to live with the damn thing, you’re telling me I have to clean it’s shit too? No way in hell I will ever go near this varmint ass! Never!” Angrily, James broke the only mirror in the house, and in this action, James broke himself. Abigail began to fight with James, calling him out on his prejudice against her child. As tensions increased, it seemed like life itself was only held up by one strand: Summer. 

From shadows

Albrecht was only five years old when he was introduced to the harmful lifestyle of the streets. During the middle of August when he was a baby, Al was sent to the Peterson family's doorstep. Unluckily for Al, the Peterson family were drowning in debt and were willing to do anything to get out of it. As a result, they claimed him for tax money and called themselves his parents. Al’s foster father, Jason, was a cruel man who often beat Al if he made the simplest of mistakes. Still, Al never fought back. Al’s mother, Olivia, was an IRS scammer. Leading her operation out of a suburb outside of Boston, she scammed people for thousands of dollars a year. Jason once worked for a paper mill but got kicked out because he was once caught stealing. Because of this, the family wasn’t able to generate enough income to support themselves, not to mention a newborn child. When he was about eight or so, Al realized that he needed to get away from his father. He ran for the next few years, swapping from foster home to foster home in hope of escape. He found none. About a year after Al left, his original foster parents found him. They took him home and didn’t let him eat for the rest of the day. Famished, Al asked his father, “Can I please eat?” His father angrily replied, “Your mother said that about a week after you left. The consequences of your actions left us very hungry. Without you, we could not buy food. Now you will understand what happens to those who hurt others” Although Al was only 9 at the time, these words would leave its mark on his mind for the rest of his life. Al quickly learned that his father had to get a job selling guns to some not-so-friendly people in some not-so-friendly places. He discovered this when a rather large man barged into his house and yelled, “If you don’t bring the goods by to our place tomorrow, I’ll shoot your fucking brains out.” Once again, Albrecht was trapped within the prison that he called family. Except now that his father had a job, he no longer had a crucial role in supporting his family. Because of this, the punishments for error became much more severe and sometimes even life-threatening. Al’s father told him to never ever go into the basement, as it was forbidden. The thing about most children, including Al, is that if you tell them not to do one thing, they will almost definitely do it. Al took the stairs and found a light switch. He flicked it. Hundreds and hundreds of guns were illuminated across the room. Suddenly, Al heard the creak of a door open. His father had just entered his house. Al quickly turned off the lights and hid in the shadows. His father entered the room, followed by another man. He heard them yelling about

something.

“Show me the guns and I'll give you the money,” 

“Here, they’re right down here,” 

The two men walked into the dark room as the hum of the poorly working generator purred in the background.

“Now where’s my money?”

BANG! Suddenly one of the men hit the ground. He had just been shot. The next few seconds were a blur to Albrecht and when he came to his senses, the man left. Al turned on the lights. His father had been killed. There were no guns left in the room. Conflicted with mixed feelings, Al wondered if he should be happy or sad at his foster father’s death. On one hand, it meant that Al wouldn’t be hurt from him anymore. On the other hand, it meant that his family was once again, incredibly poor. So Al decided that this was a bad thing. And once again, Al became vital for his foster mother's survival.

In Frazzies eyes, the woods were haunted with the shadow of Hades himself. Those wretched noises that came out of the abyss terrified her beyond belief. One day, though, Frazzie decided to go explore these woods. She was awestruck with wonder, as she decided that her curiosity was far more important than her fear. And so she decided to go to the forest to see what the noises really were. As she explored further and further, she finally encountered the beast that she had feared for so many years. It was just a baby boar. She reached out her hand and said to the creature, “Come here! I won’t hurt you,” to which the creature responded by lightly brushing against her side. But in the distance, Frazzie heard a roar so powerful, it brushed the woods aside. Emerging from the trees was a great grizzly bear ready to prance. But because Frazzie now knew what had been growling for so long in her life, she was not afraid. So she reached out her hand. The bear could sense her gentleness, and responded with the same gentleness that she had shown to him. And this a bond of trust was formed. An unlikely one, perhaps, but yet a strong one. In her eyes, the bear was the kindest creature she had ever seen. Then her parents came. “Frazzie!” they shouted, “What are you doing!”