Kites Ashka Patel

Eyelash Bokeh Eyelash Bokeh Audrey Nguyen

Author’s Note:

The Bokeh Effect is a technique used in photography to produce parts of an image that are out-of-focus, often depicted as circles. Similarly, the narrator wakes up from a coma, and the first thing they see is the light refracting off their eyelashes, forming their own rainbow bokeh. Like how a camera adjusts and shifts focus from different things, the bokeh symbolizes the bridge between the narrator’s slumber and reality.

Winter’s pale curtain draws back Releasing a stream of sunlight through the hospital room Its milky liquid fills every crack Every crevice of my imperfect skin that forgot its warmth

It embraces me as I peer at the awakening world Oh, how vivid the cityscape seems Even if my only view is that of bustling highways and various shades of gray and brown It could never compare to the darkness of slumber

My frozen ears begin to thaw as well The dull hum of winter fading to the precious sounds of urban life 8 A.M. conversations over coffee The usual morning commute And the husky voice giving the 5-day forecast through my bedside radio

Slowly I am melting the frost That once sealed my lashes shut Clogged my ears And took away my everything

As my gaze shifts into focus I notice something new Or perhaps Something that’s been there all along The quiet shadow of a girl watching over me in the form of rainbow spheres

I’ve rarely seen myself Other than in the mirror and pictures But these delicate drops of sunlight Bouncing off my eyelashes Undistorted by filters and insecurities Are mine They are the curtain to the world beyond my head The window from my soul to reality And finally, after what feels like years, I remember what it means To be real