Sight: Part Five

     "Lage!" Aylie shouted, still unaware of my hurt. "He could wake up at any moment! If we're going to get all of this back, we'd better start moving."

     I nodded my head, and then turned to Terlizzia. "Are you strong enough to carry a painting or two?"

     I waited for her response. "Well?" I asked, impatient.

     "I nodded my head," she told me. Then she realized I was blind again. "Oh, Lage, I'm sorry. The answer is yes, I can."

     Another tear rolled down my cheek, but I shook it off. "Aylie, you and I will have to carry Slygor back."

     "Okay, let's get started." We proceeded out of the house in a single line: First Aylie, then me, and finally Terlizzia. I could hear Terlizzia grunting as she struggled to carry the portraits.

     "Terlizzia? Can we help with those?" I asked.

     She grunted again. "No"-another grunt-"No, I've got it."

     I knew she would never trust me with them. I could see the resemblance between her and her great-grandmother.

     "So, Terlizzia, tell me what happened when Slygor attacked you," I prompted.

     She sighed and shifted the portraits. "Well, after you delivered my newspaper, I had said I wanted to give you something. Do you remember that?" she asked.

     "Yeah, I do. What were you going to give me?" I asked. I had completely forgotten about that until now.

     She sighed again. "I know that in the past I haven't always had the nicest personality towards you. This is partly because I have to deal with taking care of my great-grandmother, and partly because…well, actually, my great-grandmother was the cause of all of my grouchiness," she said grimly. "Anyways, that day, I had decided to give you the potion that you drank earlier."

     I was silent for a moment as I thought about the possibilities. "So, can you make this potion?" I asked her slowly, not wanting to get my hopes up.

     Terlizzia answered after a moment. "Yes, I can, Lage."

     "How hard would it be?"

     "Not very; it would only take a few hours' work. Lage, if you'd like me to make some for you, it would be the least I could do for recovering my pictures and me. I'd be happy to do it."

     There were so many emotions running through me right then. Happiness, excitement, and worry were just a few. I thought about the potential. I could have the chance to see again for the rest of my life! On the other hand, I would lose some traits that I really enjoyed, such as my outstanding hearing.

     "I'll have to think about it," was all I said.

     "That's fine," Terlizzia said. "Whatever you want."

     We continued to walk along the narrow path until we reached the main path, and then headed for the Prenderghast mansion. Slygor's body was getting heavy, and I could've sworn I heard him groan a moment ago.

     Walking up the steep staircase leading to the front door was difficult, but we managed. Upon entering the hall, we dumped Slygor's body and proceeded to the Art Gallery to return the paintings.

     Mrs. Prenderghast greeted us at the entrance to the Gallery.

     "You've returned my precious paintings!" she squealed with delight. She proceeded to inspect every one thoroughly. Although I wanted her to notice Terlizzia, I was unsurprised that she didn't speak to her. I decided to end this feud now.

     "Nerlizzia, I think there's somebody you forgot to acknowledge," I said politely, but firmly.

     She stopped murmuring to herself about the portraits. "I did?" she asked, clearly confused.

     "Yes! Your great-granddaughter just returned from a kidnapping!" I said.

     Mrs. Prenderghast was silent. "Why should I talk to her? She betrayed me."

     "I did nothing of the sort!" Terlizzia shouted all of a sudden. "You told me you didn't want those paintings! And we needed the money!"

     Nerlizzia screamed, "I would never allow you to sell my precious art!"

     "But you did! Do you even remember the picture I sold?"

     "Why, of course I do!" she sniffed, outraged at even the thought of her forgetting.

     "Then what was it?" Terlizzia asked matter-of-factly.

     "It was…it was…" she stammered.

     "It was a painting of potatoes!" Terlizzia shouted at her. "How in the world could you want a painting of potatoes?"

     Mrs. Prenderghast started to protest, but then she stopped. I couldn't believe what I heard next: a giggle.

     Nerlizzia Prenderghast was laughing. Soon enough, Terlizzia joined in. The whole fight couldn't be more ridiculous. It was…funny. I smiled, and I began to laugh a little as well.

     "Are you sure it was potatoes?" Mrs. Prenderghast managed to say between fits of giggles.

     "Yes, I'm sure," Terlizzia responded with a chuckle.

     I had finally set things right.

     ***

     After we finally calmed down, I told the others there were still a few other matters to tie up.

     "We still need to figure out what to do with Slygor before it's too late. Any ideas?" I asked them.

     No one could think of anything. We were stumped. Finally, Nerlizzia came up with an idea.

     We brought his body up to the Gallery and waited for him to wake up. He awoke a short while later with a cough.

     "Where am I?" he said.

     "In my gallery," Mrs. Prenderghast said as she hovered above his body. "I'm about to strike a deal with you. Are you listening?" she inquired.

     "Yeah," he replied gruffly.

     "Ok, first I want to say I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so greedy and I'm truly sorry for causing you so much hurt. I wish I hadn't said what I said, and I wish we were still working together. To this day, I have not found anyone so passionate about art, save my great-granddaughter," she told him. I could hear the sincerity in her voice.

     "And?" he asked after a moment.

     "And I want you to come back and work with me. Work with us, I mean," she corrected, referring to Terlizzia. "So, what do you say? I'll even give you a room here, so you can watch over our art too."

     There was silence in the room for a moment. Aylie shifted her weight and sighed. I could tell she was itching to say something, but I was proud of her for restraining herself. Even she had changed after this adventure.

     "Alright. I'll do it," Slygor said, his voice rising as he got happier.

     Nerlizzia clapped her hands in joy. "Excellent! We have a lot of work to do. What say we get started now?" I could tell she was elated.

     "Grandma, wait," Terlizzia said all of a sudden. "There's still one more thing to do." She walked over to me and gave me a huge bear hug. In my ear, she whispered, "Thanks." To everyone, she said, "We still need to decide what to do with this troublemaker here. What were you thinking, barging in here and changing everyone's lives?" she said mockingly.

     "I'm happy that I could make everything better," was all I said.

     "Well, we are too. Now, it's time to make your decision. Would you like us to make that potion for you?"

     I had been thinking about it for the past hour nonstop. I kept changing my mind, and weighing my options. But I had finally decided.

     "I have made my choice. I want to stay as I am. I loved being able to see again for those few hours. But, I definitely couldn't have done any of this without having the skills I can only have without sight. It's a wonderful thing, sight, but I think I've grown to love being blind. Some may think it's a curse. I sure did. But throughout this whole time, I've come to realize sight isn't all it's cracked up to be. So, yes, I've made my decision."

     "Alright, Lage. I knew you'd make the right decision," Terlizzia told me.

     I was confused. "What do you mean, the right decision?"

     "I presented you with two choices: the choice to be an individual or the choice to lose what's come to be your personality. I would have made the potion for you if you had really wanted it, but I knew that was the wrong choice. And I had a feeling you'd make the right choice too," she told me.

     "So why didn't you just choose for me?" I asked.

     "I didn't want to choose for you, either. You had to realize what was the right answer, the right decision for you to really gain insight into it."

     "And I did, didn't I?"

     "Yes, you did, Lage, and I'm so proud of you for it." Tears were flowing by now.

     "Thank you, Terlizzia. For everything," I told her.

     "It was nothing, Lage. Now, I'll be expecting to see you every week, right?" she asked.

     I nodded. "I think I'll come every day. I want to help with the Art Gallery."

     "Excellent. We'll see you tomorrow."

     Aylie and I walked to the front door together, and said our goodbyes. On the way home, Aylie asked me a question.

     "Lage, what about the darkness?"

     "Darkness?" I replied, "I don't have any darkness. My path is lit up. I'm not afraid of the darkness anymore. I have sight."

The End