The young man carefully negotiated the aisle and stepped off the bus. He regarded the graffiti on the concrete buildings lining the street, neon colors and soft, bubble letters, ghetto murals he admired every evening as he walked home. He adjusted the glasses that framed his hazel eyes, making sure they sat securely over the mask covering his nose and mouth. The sky was aglow, broad pink and orange brush strokes coloring the last, best rays the sun could offer. Clint stood motionless and took in the scene, committing it all to memory. He wasn’t alone. Many people repeated this evening ritual, all eyes drinking in the view, everyone that still could, anyway.

Clint trudged uphill as the light dimmed, rushing now to beat the sunset. Even with his glasses, his night vision was poor and he risked losing his way, despite having walked these streets for years. Clint valued his sight, knew it was a finite gift, was resolved to it’s loss. He had read about a time when human eyes were heartier, lasting most of one’s life. Yes, sight had declined with age, but it was still there at the end. His great-grandfather had enjoyed a lifetime of sight, but that was before the SDV epidemic, short for Sternumentum Damnum Visum (the medical community couldn’t resist mucking things up with a little Latin).

Researchers had noted a startling rise in the incidence of blindness. As more and more of the population succumbed to darkness, scientists had studied the data, interviewing patients and their doctors with growing desperation. When the cause was discovered, it was initially dismissed as preposterous. News reports were delivered with jokes, scientists were ridiculed for their efforts. The culprit responsible for stealing human sight was… a sneeze?? Well, not just one. It was different for each victim. For some, each sneeze was catastrophic, with total loss of sight after just a handful of sneezes. For others, it took a bad upper respiratory virus or seasonal allergy attack.

All agreed that the best course of action was to protect one’s airway. Air filtration systems became essential for every household. Masks were worn inside and out. Certain professions had absorbed disproportionate losses; farmers, cleaners, landscapers, barbers & hair stylists. Working fields or caring for livestock were sure ways to quick blindness. Modern food was concocted in laboratories or farmed by robots in warehouses equipped with ventilation hoods. Over the years, human cleaners had been replaced with automation. Gone were the days when homes were filled with tchotchkes. The accumulation of things just created more surface area on which dust could collect.

Sight was now an EXPERIENCE, something to be grabbed by the fistful. Across the globe, communities had developed disparate strategies to expose little eyes to a lifetime of sights. One fed their infants a steady stream of media, another favored exposure to natural beauty. Clint had dutifully visited every art gallery in his community. He had studied faces. He had travelled and filled his mind with pictures that he would recall in his sightless future.

Despite global efforts, many things were lost to the epidemic. Clint had never driven a car. Automated trains and buses got people where they needed to go. Because the majority of the population lost their sight before they reached adulthood, there was no longer an audience for social media posts, no incentive for “keeping up with The Joneses,” no need for makeup, manicures, hair extensions. Most people kept theirs heads shaved.

At last, Clint reached his apartment building. His hands shook as he pulled his key card from his pocket and waved it over the panel. The interior was brightly lit and Clint strode the length of the hallway without incident. He paused at his door and listened intently. He heard no voices and could not discern any bodies in the hallway with him. Convinced of his solitude, he took a deep breath and pushed open the door. He quickly closed it behind him and braced himself for what was about to come. He registered a brief flash of white before a soft, but solid ball of fur crashed into him. He embraced his cat, remove his mask, buried his face in its fur and…. ACHOO!! The world faded to black.