I wouldn’t say I was blind, but close. I couldn’t see much other than bright lights. But we lived by the sea, and I loved to listen to the waves crash on the shore and feel the sand on the soles of my feet. It’s also where I learned how to maneuver myself like a normal person, instead of continually bumping into things in a dark room. Instead, I just had to learn lay outs of places.

My brother was so cool, he fought in wars under the emperor all over Rome and neighbouring countries and states. My parents were so proud, and sometimes he would let me feel the texture of his shield after he returned home. Each time having more scratches and dents than the last, and I took record of it to give to him when it came time he would have to replace it. That day never came though.

One day, we received note that he had died with his platoon who were trying to kill a monster hidden in a cave. One with properties of a god to turn people to stone with a glance, those were the rumours at least. We wanted so badly to properly lay him to rest, but to do so, you would have to go into the cave with that monster. I had to at least try to retrieve him, or die trying next to him. So two weeks after our notice of his passing, when the sun set and the moon rose on the horizon, I snuck out after remembering what the solider that delivered the news said, a cave not too far by a path on the east. It would even be identified by torches outside at the entrance, a warning to those unaware of what lay inside. So with a long, thin piece of driftwood I had kept for years to identify my surroundings, I left.

I stepped inside the cave after seeing the torches, thankfully they were bright enough. There was a small decline all throughout, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle in my sandals. Then I heard a hiss, and my hand collided with the feeling of a robe over a chest. “You shouldn’t be here.” They said in a low voice, but I quickly shushed them. “Quiet! There’s a beast here, this isn’t a place to take refuge.” Another hiss. “Get down!”