Merle 106

The young artist put the magic glasses on with great care.

"Wow, this fog is three times worse.... Did that lady have such poor eyesight?"

"It was even a bit worse for her, Merle. Remember you don't need to bridge the full gap, you are starting at -2.50"

"Poor devil. Well, even this gap will take a while for me.... Keep talking to me, Rob. It's a bit of a lonely, lost feeling in the fog"

"Don't worry, you will get there. Just tell me if there are any changes and if so, what they look like. Any sign of the tickle yet?"

"A bit. As a child, it always gave me a laugh reflex when I was tickled by adults or other children"

"One more thing. When the fog starts to clear up, you will also start to see the distortions towards the rim of the lenses. It can be a bit confusing. mention this to me when it happens"

"You seem to know exactly what can be expected. That's reassuring"

"Twenty women did the experiment with these very glasses before you, Merle"

"Did they all have 20 / 20 vision without glasses? Or were they shortsighted just like me?"

"Only five of them had 20 / 20 vision. Three of them were very shortsighted, above minus ten. The adaptation process went much faster for them"

"That makes sense. Hold on.... Yes, the fog is clearing up a bit now. And something funny is beginning to happen all around the area I'm looking through"

"Keep looking straight ahead now and concentrate on what you can see"

"It's clearing up faster and faster now.... I feel tempted to check the corners"

"It's best to do that after the fog has disappeared. One step at the time"

"Nearly there.... Yes, now I can see sharp and clear. It's amazing. Everything is much smaller than it was with the previous glasses. Can I look towards the sides now?"

"Yes, you can. But take it easy"

"Wow, this is claustrophobic.... I'm surrounded by a moving clouds. Like a psychedelic trip. At least that's how Janis called it. I need some time to get used to it"

"If it makes you uncomfortable, just remove the glasses and you will be home in a minute"

"No way. I'm determined to play my guitar and sing. Really curious about what will happen then"

"So am I, Merle"

"Am I the first musician taking part in this experiment?"

"Some of the other women sang or played instruments, but music was not their vocation. Two of them were bass players in amateur bands"

"But you never took pictures of anyone performing?"

"No, you are the first"

"Well, in that case I will try to play a bit for you now"

"Forget about the audience if you can. Pretend that you are back at the moment when I first heard you. From now on, my role is to be your photographer again"

"Alright, I will try. Off we go"