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The title means, "Know what it means to be free"
i'm working on a short story...here's a preview:
All her life Yuki Wakamiya wanted a dog. And every time she asked her parents, the answer was always, “give me some reasons why should I buy a dog.” The problem was, Yuki never really had any reasons. She believed that since everyone else had a dog, she should too. It was a painful memory whenever she asked for a dog because it always ended with a slap across the face. Yes, Yuki had a very bad childhood.
~ * * * ~
At school, Yuki was considered a “popular girl”. She never really considered herself one, but everyone else did. Yuki had a best friend named Roze Namizuka. Roze was the best friend Yuki could’ve had. Roze always seemed to want to help Yuki. One time she even fought with Yuki to persuade her parents to get a dog. Yuki studied hard and always had time to draw, for drawing was Yuki’s favorite hobby. She got good grades and placed 1st on a math contest. Being a 7th grader, she even took the SAT and got perfect scores. And yet, her parents still wont get her a dog.

When Yuki came home one day, she asked the daily routine question. “Can I have a dog?” her father would always say, “I’ll ask your mom.” But today was special. Yuki had found the courage to ask her father why he always replied with “I’ll ask your mom.” She asked, “Why do you always have to say ‘I’ll ask mom??’ it’s so annoying! Why don’t you answer for her??” Sighing, her dad sat down. “Yuki…” he began, “I think you should know something about your mom’s past. You don’t know this, but your mom had a little sister. Yes, you would’ve had an aunt.
“But one day your mom asked her mom for a dog. And her mom said, “Okay.” The next day they went out to buy a dog. Your mom chose a black Labrador. Your mom, her sister, and the dog spent two years together. Until that fateful day...
“One day your mom, her sister, and the dog were playing outside. Her sister got a cut on her knee. Before she even knew it, the dog had lunged at her sister. The 200-pound dog slammed into her sister. After a while, your mom discovered that the dog had a certain type of disease. It only activates when it sees blood. The dog ran away after that frightful experience, but left behind a dead sister. Your mom was devastated. She doesn’t want another family member to die of a misfortune. She just doesn’t want you to get hurt.” Yuki pouted, “Well if she’s so concerned about my happiness, why can't she buy me a dog??” her voice dripped with sarcasm. She ran upstairs. Yuki’s dad sighed. Yuki wasn’t the type to speak out her feelings, but one could grasp how she felt just by seeing her facial expression. The pout that Yuki made, that was a pout of sadness.
Yuki raced into her room, her eyes burning. She stared out the window and thought about what her dad told her. ‘Mom always seems so happy,’ thought Yuki, ‘how can she conceal all that fear and depression? I know I would never be able to do it.’ After many hours, Yuki realized that she was crying. She wiped away her tears and kept staring out the window. The view was the best of the house. Outside, you could see a rose garden and the blazing sun. Once Yuki’s tears dried up, Yuki fell onto her mattress and fell asleep.
~ * * * ~
It was late at night when Yuki woke up. She opened her eyes, surprised to see that it was still pitch black. She turned on the light. The darkness didn’t even seem to waver. She put her hands in front of her face. Yuki knew that even at the blackest of nights, you could see the faint outline of your hands. She didn’t. Yuki started screaming.
Her mother burst into her room. “What’s wrong honey?” she asked, breathless. “I-I can’t see!” Yuki screamed. Her mother gasped, “Honey, can you see how many fingers I’m holding up?” she held up four fingers. Yuki shook her head. “Mo-Mom!” she cried, “I’m blind! I can't see anything! Everything is so dark and-“ “Shh…” whispered her mom, “Why don’t you tell me what you did to make you blind?” “W-well I asked why you wont let me have a dog. Daddy told me and I came up to my room. I stared out the window for a bit, then fell asleep.” Yuki explained. Yuki’s mom looked down at the floor. “So he did tell you…” she whispered, and then exclaimed, “Yuki! How long did you stare outside??”
“A-A couple of hours.”
“Exactly how much??”
“Mom! …Maybe four or five hours.”
“Yuki! You know that staring at the sun for more then 3 hours causes you to loose your eyesight!”
“Mom…I’m so sorry…” Whispered Yuki, “I wish that this never happened. Now I’ll never get a dog…heh I shouldn’t even say that. I’ll never see you, dad, Roze, or even my house anymore! A-and to make it worse, I’ll never get better…”
“Yuki honey…in the morning, we’ll go get a dog for you…and I’ll-I’ll”-she started to sob- “I’ll talk to the school so you can still go to school even with your seeing—I mean—dog.”
“Thanks mom…”
In the morning, Yuki went to school with her new dog, Tobi. Roze was waiting in homeroom. “Yuki!” she exclaimed, “Where were you? You weren’t on the bus today! Wait…why do you have a dog…?” Yuki smiled sadly. “Roze, look at my eyes…” murmured Yuki. Roze stared into Yuki’s pale gray irises. “Yuki! What happened to your eyes?” she started to gasp, “Yuki! Don’t tell me that you’re-you’re not blind, are you? Answer me Yuki!!” Yuki’s eyes looked away. “Roze, hold up any amount of fingers…” Yuki said. Roze shakily held up three fingers. “This can't be happening!” she mentally screamed. “Well, did you hold up some fingers yet?” asked Yuki. Roze cried out, “No! You really are blind aren’t you? Oh Yuki! How did this happen?”
Yuki smiled sadly again. “Heh…” she murmured, “Looks like I would go to any cost to get a dog, eh? But, it’s okay, really! I get to leave class early and I get to leave school early! The only thing is, I can't see anything anymore…I wish that I could see everything one more time…”
Hope you like it! it's called, "I Can paint without eyes" and you'll figure out why later