All for eye

I stand at the bus stop waiting to barge into a bus. After a 10-minute wait, there comes one. But wait. Is that 170M or 70N. I am not sure. I squeeze my eyes, move forward to get a clear view. No use. Finally, when it was near it was neither 170M nor 70N but 17M. Sigh! It's been happening with me for quite sometime. Ego or self-consious, I didnt bother to rectify my defect. I didnt want someone to identify me as "oh! that girl-short and bespectacled". Gosh!. And the thought of using a contact lens made me sickening. Remove it, put it in a solution and again place it on your eyes. Can't go out in the dust nor stay overnight somewhere without any preparation. And above all carry those boxes wherever I go. sigh!

But this time. I was determined. Come what may. I can't go around with my "half-blind" eyes. And moreover, the number of headaches I had in the past few days has been on the rise. I went through just dial, made a few calls and finally found a doctor close to my house.

It was one evening I decided to make a "sacrifice on my beauty(he..he..)". After buzzing the bell, I waited for a call. It was a small, dark room with dim light. Neatly arranged ophthalmology and medicine books on one side, and equipment of various sizes and shapes on the other corner. The doctor looked like an intellect. Bald and was wearing spectacles. A Malayali menon, I noted. I was asked to sit on a chair, a special one designed for the purpose.

"Look at the mirror in front of you and see whether you can see the letter." he said. Right before my eyes, in the mirror, I could see black numbers on white screen. The bigger ones were visible, but the smaller ones looked like a jelabi. Squeezing my eyes, I tried to figure it out. But naw..nothing was clear. Embarrassed, I said him no. He inserted another glass. Wow! this time it was visible. I could read the bigger and the biggest letters. But the smaller ones still looked like a jelabi. My attempt to read those numbers failed and I ended up reading 6 as 2.

The third glass was much better. I could see the smaller ones, blurred. Finally, when the fourth glass was used, I could see even those jelabis. Hurray!! It was 7-2-6-9-4-8. The same procedure went on for the next eye too. The doctor, still not satisfied and want to predict my power accurately, went on further. A beam of light was passed into my eyes. And then two slides were shown in the mirror. Red and green with letters inscribed.

Doctor: "Now, can you see the colours"
Me: "Yeah. Orange and green."
Doctor: "Thats red. not orange."
Me:????? (Do I suffer from colour blindness?Oh God!)

Again a series of readings. Umpteen glasses used and changed. Finally!! I got one! So clear and crystal. I could read the smaller and the smallest. A smile on my face. And my power. It's -1.:)
And here I am ready. To join the intelligent group. Bespectacled and looking wise.