I once was blind, but now I see

My friend went for his drivers licence test almost a year ago, only to be turned down after the eye test. He didn’t get past the second line. After that, they wouldn’t let him near a car. He told no one.

He thought his eyesight was fine, and they were being too strict with him on the test. Still, he thought it might be a good idea to get an eye test. Eventually. He didn’t want to wear glasses, after all; it would cramp his style.

A few days ago, I got The Call. “Come and see me, I have something to show you”. Okay then.

Turns out that after he finally got his eyes checked, his eyesight was so bad they fast-tracked the process so he could get his glasses as soon as possible. Two days, as opposed to two weeks.

Without glasses, his eyesight is atrocious. We tested it on our way to meet friends. On our way past a petrol station, he read the price as 116. It was actually 123.7. I would read street signs. He couldn’t even see the streets. People would appear as a blur. He couldn’t see any detail.

He had thought his eyesight was like everyone else’s. Among other things, he had driven a car, worked as an accountant (he would sit inches from the screen) and played professional tennis.

With glasses, he told me, “You look younger than I thought you did.” He saw a girl we knew, and exclaimed “She looks like THAT!?”

Everything he sees looks different now, including familiar places, family and friends. I told him, “You’ll get home tonight, and your mum will look different. Your brother will look different. Your house will look different.”

Just like Neo in The Matrix, he has been plunged into the Real World, a world that he never even knew existed.