Without a cloud in the sky, the clear sunlight was radiating into their living room. His little sister’s nonchalant words affirmed the anxiety Tatsumi had been holding on to. Since his mother was more familiar with the progression of Tatsumi’s condition more than he was, she realized it right away.
By that afternoon, Tatsumi’s eyes no longer saw a thing. His vision was covered in darkness, closing him off from the outside world like the moment a camera shutter closed. Dumbfounded, Tatsumi was frozen in his seat in a cla.s.sroom, unable to move for a while even after cla.s.s ended. Tatsumi, completely frozen in shock, called out to the math teacher.
“Sensei, it appears I’ve completely lost my eyesight.”
He reported it as if he were talking about someone else. When he thought about it now, that male teacher he confessed that serious matter to must have been panicking on the inside as well. Tatsumi appeared calm. But there was no way he wasn’t panicking. He was just so dumbfounded that he wasn’t even able to react. His sight was completely closed off, but he could vaguely distinguish light from dark. Even if that was only limited to days of good weather. He thought it was a good thing, but he also resented it because we would have preferred to have given up and not see a thing. It made him hold on to a faint hope that he may have been able to see for just a moment, but nothing burned its images into Tatsumi’s retinas ever again.