3.5 Stars ( )

People withdraw from society and their fellow human beings for a range of different reasons. Weston, the first-person narrator of this story, is motivated by fear. But although he has never gotten on with people, it isn't just the fear of what others will think of him because he is clumsy, it's his knowledge that he is going blind.

Wes has a degenerative eye disease, and it will take twenty years for him to lose all sight, but the effects have already started and he is understandably panicked. The fear colors everything he does, and it takes meeting Chris for Wes to begin coming out of his shell.

Chris seems to be a new stable hand but turns out to be so much more. He is good with the horses they both work with, he has new ideas about what they can do in terms of lessons and activities, and he is clearly interested in Wes. I loved how he quietly understood what Wes needed and unobtrusively begins to make changes. He treats Wes just like a fully sighted man, while at the same time taking his needs into consideration.

If you like stories about men who aren't the life of the party, if you want to see how difficult dealing with going blind can be, and if you're looking for a story that is as sweet as it is heartwarming, you will probably like this free short story.

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