Chaos Palette

22.

Months crawled by, each day a monotonous exercise in frustration for Ryle. The world remained shrouded in blurry shapes and a persistent ache throbbed behind his eyes. Today's training session with Lilith was no different.

"Alright, Ryle," Lilith announced, her voice bright and cheerful, a stark contrast to his internal turmoil. "What color is this?" She held up a bright yellow object in front of his face.

He squinted, the harsh fluorescent light a constant assault. "Uh... Smaragdine?" he hedged, his voice laced with a casual sarcasm that did little to hide his growing frustration.

Lilith sighed, a hint of sadness in her eyes. "It's a lemon, Ryle. Yellow."

He forced a smile. "Right, a lemon. Of course. How silly of me."

The session continued, a litany of misidentified colors and fumbled attempts to grasp objects at arm's length. Each mistake chipped away at his already fragile spirit, leaving him feeling like a toddler learning to walk all over again.

Exhausted, both physically and emotionally, Ryle retreated to the bedroom after the session. Lilith settled on the couch in the living room, a call flickering to life on her phone. Laughter filled the room as she greeted Tyler, her brother.

"Hey Lil," Tyler boomed through the speaker, "how's everything?"

The conversation continued, news trickling in from their world outside the confines of their apartment. Tyler, Laura, and Rose were planning their trip back to London soon. Work had taken Tyler to Italy for a while, but it seemed their life was settling down – at least for now.

Suddenly, Laura's voice replaced Tyler's on the phone, her familiar tone filled with a tremor of emotion. "Lilith," she began, her eyes glistening with tears on the screen, "I... I have some news."

Lilith's smile widened, her excitement palpable. "What is it, Laura?"

"I'm pregnant, Lilith!" Laura blurted out, tears of joy streaming down her cheeks.

"That's amazing, Laura! Oh my god, I'm going to be an aunt!" Lilith exclaimed, the phone clutched tightly to her ear.

"Where's Ryle?" Laura asked, her voice laced with concern.

Lilith glanced towards the bedroom door, her face etched with a momentary worry. "He's just resting," she said softly. "He's been a little frustrated lately, you know, with the slow progress, and still not seeing after having the bandages removed by the doctor."

Before Lilith could elaborate, a loud crash from the bedroom sent a jolt through them both. The phone clattered to the couch as Lilith bolted towards the room, her voice laced with alarm.

"Ryle? What happened?"

Ryle sat amidst the wreckage of a spilled paint can and a ruined canvas, his face pale and contorted in a grimace of pain. A fresh wave of frustration, laced with a bitter self-loathing, boiled over.

"What do you think happened, Lilith?" he snapped, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Apparently, I can't even walk in a straight line anymore, let alone see well enough to avoid knocking over your precious paintings!"

Lilith rushed to his side, her concern overriding any irritation his outburst might have caused. "Hey, hey," she soothed, gently placing a hand on his arm. "I'm so sorry, honey. I shouldn't have left it there without telling you."

He flinched away from her touch, the anger a shield against the vulnerability threatening to consume him. "Don't you get it, Lilith? It's been months! Months of this... this disorientation and pain! The damn surgery didn't do anything! I'm stuck like this..." he trailed off, the self-hatred thick in his voice.