Everyone is born with senses. But you don’t get all of them until you turn 18. Some are born with a few, while others get one, or sometimes not any. I was one of the unlucky ones. I was born with touch, that’s it. I didn’t think the other senses were all that important, considering I’d lived 18 years without them. Until that morning, I never understood how amazing this life can be.

I woke up to m...

(Probably a bit short but I can always add to it later down the line)

The first sensation I can ever feel and it is cold? Surely I could’ve got a better feeling like that. Apparently being warm is nice, but being tired is bad. This is all new to me, I’m young compared to my friends by all accounts so they have been feeling for months more than me, its finally my turn.

At least it wasn’t heartbre...

i woke up, didn’t even open my eyes, and i knew something was wrong. then it hit me. it’s my eighteenth birthday. i’ve been dreading this day. i cant handle change. i hate change. i’ve learned to live without sight, why begin to see now? i open my eyes, and everything is so, bland. i knew i would hate it, and i do. on my journey down the stairs, i realize that this is much easier. “mom,” “happy bi...

People tell me not to overlook what I have. Not to wait for what’s to come, but enjoy what I can already experience.

I think that’s a load of crap.

How can you honestly enjoy life when you know you won’t be your full self until you turn 18?

My thoughts were interrupted by a loud knock that seemed to rattle inside my throbbing head.

“Who is it?!” I asked, annoyed.

The door was cracke...

I was so excited to be awake this morning. In twenty-three short minutes I will be eight-teen. I watched the clock as my mother set the table with every food she could possibly buy. I looked at it all with great anticipation.

“Now remember son, you can’t eat everything. Just a bite from each, okay?”

She was so worried I would be in pain, whatever that is. I hear it’s miserable, but I’ve never f...

There was a strange comfort in not knowing what people looked like, in not knowing the appearance of society's standards. But all of that was about to change.

"This is your alarm for 8:00 AM," my cellphone chirps.

I keep my eyes closed just a little longer, not wanting to know what vision is like.

"Happy 18th Birthday, Jeremy," my AI assistant chimes from my nightstand.

"No," I groan, burying ...

Dawn was breaking on Claras 18th birthday. Her memories were hazy from the night before, partially from the generous alcohol intake & otherwise due to her massive overhaul overnight. Something which happened to all pre-pubescent people on their 18th. Usually on this particularly special birthday, growth development would involve elevation & discoveries of the human senses however Clara seemed to h...

“You all look so amazing!” Iris said to her friends. “Nothing like what I thought you would. Not that I know what people are supposed to look like anyway.” Her friends laughed. “Hera, what color is your hair, it’s beautiful!”

Hera signed her answer for Aesthesis to translate. “It’s called red.”

“That’s what ‘red’ is? I love it!”

“Can’t you speak now?” Nervosa asked Hera.

Hera signed her answ...

Warm liquid kisses spill in from the window, splaying my cheek in affection. I lay there a moment longer basking in the warmth of the sunlight and savouring the few seconds I have before I need to start the day. I finally roll over, prepared to face the day, when something jarring and frightening peels though the air. The sensation, like undulating vibrations beat painfully against something deep ...

They said this would happen but it just felt too surreal. Lights, colours, shapes surround me as I open my eyes to the world for the first time. The overwhelming feeling that fills my heart causes me to tear up. I wipe at them furiously for fear that will take the magic of today. My room was totally different to what I had imagined. Everything was. I leap out of bed and rush to the mirror, no long...