Snippet #1089568

Kit smiled brightly at Amunet's offer. "Of course you can help! I hate drying anyway." She waved a hand casually, then allowed it to trail along the wall as she made her way down the hall to the kitchen. The walls... they were... red? Tan? She was startled that she couldn't remember, and stopped in her tracks, tracing her fingers down the texture of the paint as though this alone might provide her with the answer. She could feel every bump, every imperfection in the job someone had done painting it, could smell the substance even now, but she did not know what color it was. In truth, she had not allowed herself to be too bothered when she had woken up without her sight. So much had seemed so much more important, and she knew even now that such an inconsequential thing should not bother her.

But... she couldn't see. Couldn't pick out colors in a sunset, or read her favorite books, or even see Norman's face. "The walls..." she trailed off, voice suddenly melancholy. "I wonder... how long will it be before I forget the color of the sky?"

Belatedly, she remembered that she was not alone, and shook her head almost violently. "No... forgive me, I speak nonsense. The kitchen is this way." Kit removed her hand from the wall, letting it fall to her side and brush lightly over the smooth fabric of her dress. Some things were better now, after all. She was beginning to truly appreciate her remaining senses, and explore the implications of the strange new way she could "see": her understanding of the feelings of others through the sounds of heartbeats, body temperatures, the little, invisible tics they had when they lied to her.

And she still had her piano, she mused as she turned the stainless-steel faucet, cool and smooth under her touch. So what if she couldn't see it? She knew what it was, and she could use it; was that not enough? She scrubbed at her dishes with fervor, using her fingers to judge when they were clean, and then handing them to Amunet so that the young woman might dry them with one of the terrycloth kitchen towels.