Tonight was a night of miracles. My mother-in-law, who had lived in a foggy world for so long, saw the light again. She underwent a surgery that replaced her clouded eye with a clear one, a gift from a human doctor who defied the laws of nature and compassion.

She had been losing her sight gradually, ever since she was a young jackalope. She blamed it on the harsh sun, the dusty wind, the polluted water. She said it was a curse from the gods, a punishment for her sins. She said she deserved it, for she had seen too much horror and sorrow in her life.

She had seen her mate killed by a hunter’s bullet, her children taken away by coyotes, her friends starve or freeze to death. She had seen the destruction of her home, the invasion of her land, the extinction of her kind. She had seen little but darkness and despair.

But my wife loved her dearly, and she wanted to give her one last chance to see the beauty of the world. She had heard of a human doctor who could perform miracles with his tools and machines.

@maximillian_deersteak and I escorted her to the doctor’s office, which was hidden in a small town near our burrow. We sneaked in at night, when the streets were empty and the lights were dim. The doctor was expecting us. He greeted us warmly and led us inside.

He asked her if she was ready. She nodded, nervously but courageously. He gave her some drops that numbed her eye. Then he used a laser to cut open her eye and take out the cataract. It felt strange but not unbearable. Then he inserted a new lens that looked like a tiny crystal. He sealed the cut with another laser and put a bandage over her eye.

After a brief healing period everything was clear and bright and colorful. She saw the doctor’s face, his kind eyes, his gentle smile. She saw Max and me, my furry ears, her twitching tail, our loving gazes.

We left the doctor’s office with a new sense of wonder and awe. We walked back to our burrow under the cover of night, but we felt like we were walking in daylight. We saw things we had never seen before, or had forgotten how to see. We saw the shapes and colors and textures of the world.

#cryptidfamily
#jackalope
#cataractsurgery #doodle #CryptidLife