At a family reunion a few years ago, I asked, “What if everybody in the world suddenly went blind?” My cousin’s 10-year-old kid replied, “Then those who see with their hearts would finally lead the way.”
We all laughed at the time, brushing it off as a cute response from a kid. But his words stuck with me more than I expected. Over the years, I’d think back to that moment during times when I felt misunderstood, overlooked, or when I’d witness people judged too quickly by their looks, jobs, or background. I never thought I’d live through something that would make me revisit that question — until last summer.
I had just started a new job in a smaller town. Marketing assistant for a local non-profit that worked with people with disabilities. It was a decent job, nothing too glamorous, but it paid the bills and I believed in the mission.

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I moved into a modest apartment complex right outside the town center. Quiet neighborhood. Lots of older folks, a couple young families, and one guy — Elian — who everyone seemed to avoid.
He lived two doors down from me. Mid-40s maybe. Always wore these dark sunglasses, even at night. Carried a white cane. I figured he was blind, but no one ever talked about it.
The first time I waved at him and said hello, he didn’t even flinch. Just kept walking. I later found out he’d gone blind a few years back after a freak accident at work — some kind of industrial chemical exposure. He used to be a welder.