Round 11: Tala

1/22/2020

You lose your sight along with everyone else on Earth. Two years later your sight returns out of nowhere.
As you look around, you realize that every surface around you is painted with the same message, DON’T TELL THEM YOU CAN SEE!

Word Limit:
110-300 words (no more, no less)

Expectations:
-Remember that you are writing for the King's Academy community. Please be respectful of that community.
-Respect the word count
-Your work should have a title--this is not part of your word count.
-Include your full name and word count at the end of your submission.
-Have fun with this challenge.

Deadline:
22:00 Tuesday, January 28th

Photo Credit: Ryoji Iwata

9 Comments

Kenzy Aldaher

1/25/2020 11:56:13 am

Kenzy Aldaher - Im sorry I know this is very long but I kind of got carried away.

I remember a time when I could see the light. Floating across the dark starry night in the form of red lanterns launched on Chinese New Year. Floating aimlessly, wavering high up into the sky until they were out of sight. Until the little specks of light were hard to make out amidst the ocean of black ink that was the night’s sky. A vivid memory of the darkness that drowned out the light. The darkness that drowned me.
It’s been two years since everything went dark. It’s funny to think that despite everything, the image of light lingered in my mind, as ironic as it sounds, it was as though light left an invisible trace imprinted in my mind. Oh, how I long to open my eyes one day and to be flooded with the lively light that inhabited everything around me. And for the longest time possible, I held onto that yearning desire. I embraced it so tightly as if it was the only thing there was to life because truly- it was. But every day, I wake up not knowing that I am awake because there is no difference between that and sleep, everything is still dark. At least when I sleep, I get to dream. Dream about light. And when I wake up, I think about light. For the past two years, I have spent every waking and sleeping second thinking about light. I’m submerged in darkness and my eyes are burning.
But one day, I woke up. And I was aware that I was awake because the darkness of sleep felt lifted and then it hit me- I could see the light. And it wasn’t the beautiful image of red Chinese lanterns floating across the sky. Instead it was the word:” DON’T TELL THEM YOU CAN SEE”

Lina Obeidat

1/28/2020 08:02:58 am

Some Other Reality
One two three…the darkness has been lifted. A light has been shined on me. My eyelids begin to flutter. This is some other reality…four, five…this new truth feels like a lie. This new scene where nothing thrives. I recall a memory, a reminiscence of what this world once used to be. A wondrous splendor, adorned with the most radiant of colors. From the golden sun, amidst its sunset—a gradient of vermillion, to the scarlet red roses, fiery and flamboyant in all their light, and to the deep blue ocean, its colors changing with the rapid movement of its waves—emerald, then teal, then ultramarine, then…six…my eyes must be playing tricks…seven, eight…then this beastly place, grotesque in all its “glory”. As I scan my surroundings, I now can see the sky, a pasting of a drab and dreary wallpaper. The lifeless streaks of sunlight, pale and faded. The courtyards, a vast extension of bland and barren. The people, their souls once filled with hope and purpose, now muted, restrained, and patternless in every way…nine…my gaze falls to the ground, and what’s more, I learn that it is only me…ten…DON’T TELL THEM YOU CAN SEE.
Word count: 194

Nermeen Al Omari

1/28/2020 10:35:58 am

Alone
For two years, I couldn’t see anything. All the colors that were once swimming in my eyes were gone. I even started to forget what things looked like. However, we never appreciate what we have until it’s gone. I remember the view of the blue sea reflecting the sky from my window. At this moment, we all lost our sight, and I felt alone. After a while, I got used to it. I got used to not seeing the moon glowing next to the stars at night. But today, I woke up able to see. I ran to my window, and everything was much more different than I remember. I looked around admiring the beauty of it all until I saw a sentence being repeated everywhere. DON’T TELL THEM YOU CAN SEE. I felt alone again, and for a moment, I started wishing to go back. What if all of this was a trick? What if we can all see, yet no one is brave enough to speak? If this is reality, if this is what our world is, then I prefer to be blind again.
Word count: 186

Taher Vahanvaty

1/28/2020 10:42:54 am

Take me home

A deep blackness is my only view,
A void of shadow, a darkish hue,
I’ve stopped exploring long ago,
The shining world has lost its glow,
And I miss the small things.
Watching the grass grow,
The wind blow,
The falling snow,
My eyes cannot see, only there to cry,
A call for help, my echo the only reply
But as the tears roll down
And I blink them away,
The blackness fades,
And the brightness stays,
And for the first time…
I see the sun rays,
So I follow its gaze
To the trees and leaves
And the beauty is brings,
Like the first blooming flower
On the first day of spring
Or the flutter of a bluejay
And the sweet melody it sings.
But I’m not met with nature,
Welcoming and warm,
No. I see words
Not a song, but a shout
And I read it out
Don’t tell them you can see!
I don’t understand
What is this new land
It’s not what I left
And I crave for my home
In the darkness
Not knowing the unknown
Because there I am warm
Get me out of this storm!
I claw at my head
My eyes filled with red
Stopping the pain
An umbrella from the rain
No longer filled with fear.
My bloody eyes
shed one crimson tear.

Taher
Word Count: 222

Faris Kassisieh

1/28/2020 10:48:20 am

Orange and Carrots

I spread my back on my bead and looked to the ceiling. It was the only place that message wasn’t written. I tapped my fingers on the quilt that I was now reminded was blue. I fidgeted. I didn’t know what to do. I suddenly heard the rattle of someone turning the door knob. My mom tumbled in with a tray of orange and carrot juice on a cart. I looked into her eyes which I now knew were covered in cataracts.
“I juiced some oranges and carrots,” she said.
She shakily picked up the glass and placed it on the bed stand she memorized the placement of after so many years. She stumbled back out. I looked around me. “DON’T TELL THEM YOU CAN SEE.” I won’t, I said to the ominous voice reading it in my head. I stopped tapping my fingers and raised both my hands to my face.
My nails were overgrown. We didn’t care about how we looked anymore ‘cause there was no one to see us. I poked my beat-up nails into my pupils and let out a sharp scream. I held it in as much as I could, but I couldn’t. “Is everything okay?” she yelled. “I’m fine,” I answered. She, like everyone else, was blind, not deaf.

Word count:215
Faris Kassisieh

SARA SALEH

1/28/2020 10:57:00 am

The Light in the Darkness
The darkness continues and I don't expect anything to change. I envision what the world may look like. The birds chirping happily. The ocean’s waves brushing on the beach.The children running enthusiastically. The reflection of the moon in the sea. The smile of the rising sun. The buzzing of the bees as they make their honey. The gigantic towers that stand proudly in the city. The daily hustle of the people in their workplace, but all I see is darkness. These memories I barely recall. I try as to keep them stored safely inside my brain not wanting to hope, for I know that I will never have what I once lost. Nobody has hope, we have all lost what is truly precious. Something that no amount could repair. I turn around and suddenly in red, DON’T TELL THEM YOU CAN SEE. It is definitely a hallucination. Everywhere I turn, dispersed on the surrounding walls the phrase repeats itself. I gasp and the world goes black.
Word Count: 171

Sama Alissa

1/28/2020 11:07:00 am

The Land of Flesh
Word count: 230 words
I look around they all look blind. I don't think anyone can see other than me. Is that what world looks like? I have never seen them. I look around again, all eyes are bleeding, not blood, flesh. I see someone that is breaking the pattern, his eyes are not bleeding flesh, but his nails are very long. I don’t understand what is written, I never learned human letter. Everyone starts screaming. Flesh fills the ground. I lose my sight.
I can see now; everyone is not normal. I can hear for the first time in my life. I can hear the screaming, the crying and the pain. I miss my sight, but I don’t think I should have. I can’t enjoy it anymore. Everyone has elastic arms and legs, they circle the world a few times. It’s freaky. No one wants to see it. Why am I being punished by seeing it. A bee stings me. I can’t see anymore.
“Don’t tell them you see” I read. I wonder, what sense is missing this time. I had already lost my taste sensation and then my sight. Now I have one back, do I have the other? I walk around in the land of Flesh. I find a shoe to eat. It tastes amazing. I forgot how it tastes like. The shoe jumps and with it my vision jumps.

Zade Shenaq

1/28/2020 11:19:52 am

Overrated

Not as colorful as I recall. Not as bright either.

There I rested on a frigid mountain peak. The wolrd-renowned pinnacle of beauty. I was anxious to take a peek off the ledge. My excitement got the best of me and I finally opened my sealed eyes. After adapting to the sudden change in light, I was underwhelmed. The aqua blue rapids crashed at every turn, the tall, aged oak trees stood sturdy and tall overlooking the forest, The tulips, and lilies, and roses sweetened the scent of the whole terrain. But it wasn't enough. I could've sworn the land had more to offer.

I reminded stagnant till dawn waiting to be fulfilled by Mother Nature. However, all I received was a crisp slap across the face. The temperature was drastically under freezing point now and the wind wasn't doing me any favors.

My mood was beginning to finally change. I enjoyed the deer. So keen and clever. So elegant and brisk. A smile was trying to push its way out of my face. However, that urge died when I pictured the unexpected in my mind. The deer dropping to the ground, swimming it is own pool of blood. A hunter and his son chuckling, letting the corpse rot in the sun.
It's useless finding beauty in ugliness.

Word count: 219

Chris Pultz

1/28/2020 11:28:16 pm

Congratulations to Taher. A few thoughts from our judge, Tala:

"I really enjoyed reading your poem and the way you used the prompt, but what I especially enjoyed was your imagery. CONGRATS

Taher, you now have the honor of creating next week's prompt. New prompt will be up Thursday morning.

Try Out Your Words

Round 11: Tala

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