Visual Aid
Elliot looked up from his book and rubbed his eyes.
"Are you having trouble seeing over there?" asked his father. "You might be giving yourself eyestrain."
"I'm fine," grumbled Elliot, even though he had a pounding headache. He liked his reading spot on the couch. It was cozy, but his parents were always telling him to turn on the lamp. "It's just this book," he lied. "The plot is giving me a headache."
The next morning, Elliot's mom was looking out the window at the bird feeder. "Oh look—the yellow finches are back," she said. Elliot looked, but all he could see were yellow blurs darting to and from the bird feeder. He quickly lost interest.
"You're squinting," his mom observed. "Can you see them?"
"I am?" Elliott said. He hadn't felt himself squinting.
"You know, I think we should get your eyes checked. You make that squinty face a lot," said his mom.
When they went to see the eye doctor, Elliot learned that he had astigmatism in both eyes. He badly needed glasses.
At the optometrist, Elliot picked out a pair of sleek oval frames. When his lenses were ready, he tried them on. He was amazed. He could see street signs a block away. He could see the outlines of leaves on trees. His headaches disappeared, too, as if some muscle behind his eyes had suddenly loosened its grip.
Later that night, Elliot was reading on the couch when his dad got up and stretched.
"Good book, Elliot?"
"Yeah," Elliot said. He had been reading for hours and hadn't stopped once to rub his eyes. "Books are better when I can see."
