Copyright – Douglas M. Macilroy
Peter surveyed Marie’s silent workshop. Selecting a glossy shell, he felt its ridges, then traced with fingertips some smooth, fat pebbles arranged on splintery timber. He wanted to see as she saw, as she’d tried to show him, but it remained just shells and pebbles. He’d thought it was a distraction, a time-filler. Now he saw that for Marie it was everything.
He returned dejectedly to the house, its walls hung with carefully chosen artworks he alone valued. He replayed her voicemail: ‘Peter, I know you tried, but we live in separate worlds. I need to build mine.’
Beside her chair, overlooked, stood her old white cane.
……………………………………………………………………………………………
You can read more about some amazing blind and visually impaired artists, and the organisations that are promoting and helping them, on the following websites. Each one has galleries of the artists’ work.
http://www.artbeyondsight.org/e-gallery.php
http://www.blindart.net/gallery/blindart-permanent-collection/gallery/4
This story is for Friday Fictioneers, where Rochelle posts a new prompt picture each week, with the challenge to write a complete story in 100 words.
Onto the page 
This is lovely! I didn’t get the idea she was blind until the end, then I reread your story. Perfect!
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That’s what I was aiming to achieve, (surprise ending, not perfection) so I’m really happy to read this. Thank you for your lovely feedback.
Marg
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Ok, the blindness at the end surprised me, but going back and reading the ‘for her, touching was everything’, ‘seeing like her’ etc. This worked really well.
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I’m glad it worked. I would have liked to extend the ending a bit to say more about the blindness – but I’d already gone over the 100 words. Thanks for responding.
Marg
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Interesting piece. Had to reread it to really grasp what you are saying. Well done.
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Thank you. It’s an interesting topic. I’m astounded by what some people with disabilities are able to achieve, and I’m also interested in the different ways they might perceive the world when the disability is sensory.
Marg
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Dear Margaret,
I, too, had to read this twice. Not a bad thing at all. We all tend to be shortsighted or blind in our own ways. In some ways Marie saw things clearer than he did. Nicely done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I appreciate your feedback, Rochelle. You’re right – Marie has a very different perception of the world, and appreciates different aspects of it, which Peter is just unable to see.
Cheers
Marg
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A lovely story, even though it was about incompatibility. Nicely done.
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Yes, I feel sorry for Peter, and it was difficult to show that Marie’s decision to leave had a good reason. I wondered, in fact, if the idea was too big to do justice to in 100 words. Thank you for your comment.
Cheers
Marg
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A different perspective here. Art can be a personal journey, and doesn’t require approval. Maybe he will come around to see it from her point of view someday. Nice one!
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Yes, it is all about perspective. The need for approval is an interesting concept, I think – some of us need it and some don’t seem to. Marie needed her perspectives to be understood and appreciated. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Marg
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I reread it once I found out she was blind and realised the source of their incompatibility. Art is very personal anyway, but when one person uses touch and the other sight the difference must be huge.
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Yes. So much of our world functions by sight. Our personal interactions include a lot of visual cues and feedback, so even everyday relationships need to be navigated very differently when one is sighted and one is not. It’s sometimes like being in two worlds in fact. Thanks for your comment.
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Wonderful emotions. Strength and beauty beyond disability, remorse, regret, longing in his inability to understand until it was too late. A lovely wave of poignant feelings. Thank you.
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I tried to show her as having strength, not just neediness. He does love her, but just isn’t in tune with her need for expression on her own terms and for her work to be taken seriously. Thank you for seeing this in the story. I was concerned that it hadn’t come across well. Thanks for your very lovely comment.
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I liked the surprise blindness at the end! Didn’t see that coming. Beautifully written, even though the couple’s ending wasn’t a happy one. Hopefully they’ll both find their happy endings someday.
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It is a sad ending, that’s true, but I’m glad you liked it. Thank you for reading and for your kind comment.
Marg
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Gosh. That is such a moving story. Thanks for sharing.
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Thank you. It was a bit tricky to get the feelings I wanted without overdoing it. I appreciate your feedback.
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Hello Margaret. Beautiful imagery created for such a touching story. Thanks LHN
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I’m happy you liked it. Thank you for reading and commenting.
Marg
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Wonderful descriptions – this was a real eye-opener…thanks for this fresh perspective!
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Thank you for your lovely comment. I’m glad you found something of worth in my story.
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I’m really impressed with how you managed to convey such a complex relationship and emotional history in so restrained and indirect a fashion. Excellent story-telling!
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Thank you so much for this wonderful response. I’m really enjoying the discipline these short pieces provide in just those areas. Achieving some complexity without losing clarity is a challenge.
Cheers
Marg
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