Generations of Glasses

'Time to get up' mother sing-songed at me until I moved. She immediately put my glasses on my face. She did this every morning and although I groaned every single time. Today she was allowing me to go back to school. The school nurse was coming to test everyone’s eyes last week and she made such a huge fuss about it that she kept me off school the whole week and told me she tests my eyes herself and doesn’t need a school nurse who isn’t qualified telling you, you don’t need them when you do. She sounded like a crazy lady but I never argued about it. I was so used to having them I barely remembered when they were on my face.

Mother insisted on walking me to school, despite the fact it was only down the road and was old enough and capable enough of going myself. On this particular morning it was foggy and I could hardly see my hands stretched out in front of me. Another child had come running past, not seen me, sent me flying sideways, causing me to slip on the curb and fall to my knees. My glasses went flying off my face and the loud crunch of a car driving over them was all I heard. I looked around expecting everything to be blurry but instead I saw everything crystal clear and my mother’s hand reaching out for me to pull me up. She rummaged in her bag and produced a 'spare pair' of glasses and tried to put them on my face.

'No' I insisted pulling away.

'But your eyes..'

'Are fine' I protested. Everything seemed more clearer without them. I could no longer see fog and all the colours around me seemed brighter than ever before. I started to walk forward. The child who had knocked me over stood silently in front of me apologetically waiting for me to tell him it’s okay. Instead I stared at him. He had wings. Black feathery wings tucked in at the back. I had to stop myself from reaching out and touching them. A girl walking down on the other side of the road only looked to be about 8 years old, had horns protruding from her forehead and I wondered for a second how she was holding them up as they looked so heavy.

I turned to my mum. She had a wide smile and sharp teeth but her eyes told me that I wasn’t supposed to see this. She reached out for me again. I moved quickly and started running home. I burst through the front door and headed up the stairs. I ran to the mirror and saw my own face for the first time. It was terrifying. It was like I had it all. long back horns coming from my forehead, black feathery wings coming from my back and a wide grin with razor sharp teeth that was able to bear all of them at once. I stood there shaking my head until mother had finally caught up with me.

'What’s going on? I stammered

She stood there silently until I stared at her, I wanted to know what was going on but at the same time didn’t know what I’d do with the information once I had received it.

'When I was a little girl, my mother did the same with me, made me wear glasses until I was 16. When I was finally able to take them off she said I wouldn’t have been mature enough to deal with the truth and made me promise to follow strict rules.'

'What am I?' I asked

'You are you. You’re just seeing yourself from a different point of view. You see, most people believe that when you die, you go to heaven or hell. It’s what people are taught from a young age, different religions and faiths teach it a different way but the concept is the same. The truth is that we already live in either one or the other and when you die, you come here to the middle ground. You then life your life depending on where you want to reside next. Those that come from heaven see as you do with your glasses. A human form and everything pretty from a happy angle. The majority of those from heaven return to their land. Those from hell, you and I for instance see all the bad in everyone and always end up back where we came from. We live countless lives of hatred and pain. But we can change that with our behaviour in this land. However, residents from hell see so much evil and corruption, that even trying to do the right thing and change it causes even more conflict and it still doesn’t make a difference.

A few generations ago our ancestors stumbled onto something that could change where we were destined to be. The story as to how they came into our possession is unclear but no one else has them. I don’t know how many pairs there were. Only 4 were handed down to me. It’s a way to cheat the devil himself. The glasses are there for you to grow up in a world that shows you good, happy things. For your life to not be corrupted by seeing the evil in, not just things around the world but in yourself. It’s a chance to bypass the system and have a chance of enjoying the perks in heaven. And I will not apologise for doing it either. You are the last chance to change our families destiny. Here is the last pair' she hands them over. 'It’s up to you now if you wish to continue wearing them'

And with that she turned and left. I must have sat in my room for the rest of the day putting them on and taking them off, staring at both versions of my face intently. By the time I finally came downstairs for something to eat I had decided to continue wearing the glasses. My mother gave me a slight nod and a smile in approval.

I will allow her to continue to think that I was the saviour of the family. That by wearing the glasses I could actually change our destiny. Because I still have to live through this life to get back home. The truth is I’ve been breaking every possible pair I could find for generations. You can’t cheat the devil if you are she.