Just a short oneshot I wrote a long time ago. Hope it's not too cliché or anything... :)

"Hey, Ig!"

I looked up from the bomb I was making. Well, not really looked up as much as – well, you get the picture.

"Yeah?"

The Gasman's small footsteps padded into my room. "We were gonna start a game of Hide and Seek, and Max sent me up to ask if you wanted to play."

I stared in his direction incredulously. "Um..." I said, gesturing to my sightless, broken blue eyes.

"Oh," the Gasman said. "Sorry." He spoke really quietly, hoping he hadn't hurt my feelings.

I gave the best fake grin I could muster. "It's fine. Have fun."

He ran back down the stairs. I sighed.

My sight would be a handicap for the rest of my life. I could never read a book, never surf the Web.

I couldn't play games with the rest of the flock. I could hardly remember what they looked like.

I felt my watch. 7:30. I walked down the stairs and opened the back door quietly so no one would hear me. I wanted to be alone.

I know it's dumb, but sometimes, when I'm outside as the sun sets, I can almost hear it sink below the horizon. I couldn't exactly hear the sun, but I could hear as the cicadas began chirping, and the birds flew away to be with their chicks.

I sat down on the porch swing, and someone gasped. I stood up quickly.

"No, it's okay," Ella said. "Sit down."

I sat down awkwardly.

"The sunset's beautiful, isn't it?" Ella asked dreamily.

"Uh..." I said awkwardly.

"Oh, my gosh! I'm so sorry! I forgot –"

I laughed. "No, don't be. It's fine."

She sank into silence. We sat there for a few more moments.

"Hey, Ella?"

"Hm?" she asked.

"Can you describe it to me? The sunset?"

She paused. "Well... there's lots of different colors. In the middle, there's a huge spot of red, and the outside is tinged with some orange and yellow."

I let my eyes glaze over as I tried to imagine what she was saying.

"And it's really amazing to look at... and you just want to look at it forever and ever."

That's when I realized she wasn't looking at the sunset anymore. I blinked in confusion.

"Wait." She stood up and grabbed something off the ground. Then she sat back down. She gently grabbed my hand and placed the thing in it. It was a leaf, with a brilliant mixture of bright colors.

"That's what it looks like."

I closed my fingers around the leaf. Ella didn't let go of my hand. She scooted a little closer to me.

"Now can you imagine it?" she asked softly. I nodded awkwardly. What was going on?

She scooted even closer. Quickly, she kissed me softly on the lips. Then she got up and trotted towards the house. I touched my mouth, utterly confused. What had just happened?

Whatever it was, I liked it. A lot.