1974 I was on my way hitchhiking to the south, heading for Italy. Standing beside the road at a resthouse in northern Germany in the early morning light I was waiting since 20 minutes, with not so many cars passing by. The big Mercedes aproached slowly, the lady inside mustered me carefuly and stopped. Without opening the door she took a closer look at me. I thought, that she was not the kind of person that takes hikers aboard, but was hopeful she might give me a ride. She opened the window and asked me where I was heading for. I told her and she said after short hesitation: ok come in and opened the door. . The first ten minutes were kind of uneasy, we didn’t get into communicating. But when I asked her, where she came from and what was the purpose of her travelling, she started to explain. 15 years ago her sister died and in big grief she happened to get married to her sisters fiance, He was a real big shot and they lived in a big house ashore a lake in southgermany until he died last week on a business travell suffering a stroke. They had no kids and no close relatives nearby and that was why she now was all on her own. Asking more I found out that the marriage she lead was more or less a fake, because her husband was a secret gay, that needed her as a partner to pretend straightness. Now she was about to inherit all his belongings and was very unsure what to do next. Telling this she started to cry and had to stop the car beside the motorway. I did my best to be an understanding person. The next resthouse we paused and she invited me to have breakfast with her. She couldn’t stop talking about all the trouble she had in her live, after her sister had died in a caraccident together with her parents. She really must have loved and adored her sister, which had a job as secretary with her later now dead husband. She offered me to call each other with our first names which I agreed to, hers was Helga. So driving on we started to come into a friendly almost familiar being together . She was around 30- 35 years old, had oldfashioned styled hair and was wearing glasses . I asked her, if she needed the glasses all the time or just for driving. She said, that she was very shortsighted and was helpless without them. After a while the clouds, that had dominated the sky, vanished and the bright sun started to shine. Helga asked me, if I could get her sunglasses out of her bag. After I found these she took her normal glasses of gave them to me and I gave her the sunglasses. I watched here squint while in the short time of not wearing glasses, she really seemed to be half blind. Then before storing them away I took a look at her glasses in my hand, they felt precious and I had the thought, how it would feel to put them on. I asked Helga, if It would be ok to try her glasses on. She said -help yourselfe, I don’t mind- . I carefully slid the glasses on my face and looked through the front window. It was a strange expierience, my vision changed completely. What I saw was distorted, blury and seemed much smaller than before. Wow I said, what a strange view. Helga asked me to turn my face towards her and musterd me. -You look really good with my glasses on- she said with a smile. -But I think these must be way too strong for you. They are more almost 10 diopers, which means its good for shortsighted people that can only see a distance of 10 cm. If you are curious about glasses, you can try a weaker pair that I have in my bag in a red case. It’s my deceeded sisters glasses. My husband always had these with him as a rememberence and his family gave them back to me.- I took the strong glasses off, put them in their case and searched for the red case in Helgas bag. The glasses in this case were very old style feminine glasses from the sixties. But I liked the looks. I put them on and to my surprise I was able to see more contours than with the stronger pair before through them.- These seem to be ok to try for some time. I’m courious how it feels to keep them on for a while – I said. Helga smiled and said -ok and I am courious too how long you stand to wear these glasses, they must be at least -3.5 diopers which is quite strong for somebody with perfect vision.- I tried to read numbers of cars ahead which was a bit difficult, because my eyes seemed not to get focused well with the glasses on. It was easier to read the names on lorries or the big signs beside the road. I cant say why, but I felt an urge to keep the glasses on though not seeing perfect. After about an hour of driving, talking about our lifes and other things, I got used to my distorted vision and after another while gliding through the landscape I felt a tucking in my eyes which I couldn’t rember to have expierienced before. It took another while, we kept on talking in a very intimate way as if we were longtime close friends, it felt like nice and easy company, and then to my surprise I managed to read a numberplate in about 60 Meters distance. Looking around I realised, that everything I viewed was getting into better focus. I told this to Helga and she gave me a worried look- you seem to enjoy wearing my sisters glasses. Be careful not to hurt your eyes.- I said- it feels good to me with these glasses on, and I’d like to find out what it feels like to get more used to them. I don’t worry about hurting my eyes, it doesn’t feel bad at all.- Helga shook her head
- I should not have given you these glasses, my dear Bruno, did you wear glasses before?- -No, it’s the first time and I find it fascinating, its like seeing things with other eyes, like being continoues in an real life colour movie.- Helga shook her head- Bruno be careful, you could slip into something that’s forever. I think I should tell you how I got shortsighted. I had perfect eyes when my sister died. You know what I did in my sorrow? I started to wear her glasses to have a piece of her on me for short times, like half an hour or a bit more every day. After a couple of weeks the time I was wearing her glasses got longer and longer and after awhile I got used to see perfect with my sisters glasses. Then I started to wear them constantly whole days but always had a pause after that to regain my normal view without glasses. It was like getting addicted. After another month I had the urge to try to wear them constantly. After I did this for about 20 days I woke up in the morning and had troubles to see without glasses. This was how I became shortsighted. What I loved most was the feeling of my eyes adapting to the strength and like an addict I started to increase the power of the glasses step by step until I had to wear these real strong glasses.- But Helga, do you regret that by now?-
- Not really bruno, I am so used to it now, that I don’t even think about it-
We didn’t talk for a while until Helga stopped the car for the next pause. She said - come on lets have coffee and get some fresh air-
I asked her if it would be ok to keep the glasses on. Helga said- well they look very female and outdated, but together with your long curled hair and hippielike look this looks ok, like some stylish guy.
So I left the car with glasses on and made my first steps with my new vision. The fact that things were smaller made walking tricky especially going down stairs. We sat down besides a café and studied the menu. Helga was surprised, that I was able to read it by holding it far away from my eyes.
– My god you must have adapted to these glasses really fast. It took me weeks to be able to read with glasses on. Because the closeup is more difficult to manage for “normal” eyes with glasses than the distant view.-
I was by now able to see everything absolutly clear and crisp with the glasses on and had a warm feeling of enjoying the expierience. I told that to Helga and she asked what I exactly liked so much. – I think it’s the sensation of having the eyes sheltered and for the most this fantastic impression of colours and light, its like having new eyes . –
After having coffee I went to the bathroom and there for the first time I saw myselfe in the mirror. I was amazed to see me completely changed. The glasses, they were oval with darkbrown rims and silver hinges and shiny reflecting glasslenses, looked to me like a newly achieved jewelery I had in my face.
Coming back Helga watched me aproaching. – If I wouldn’t know better I would say you wear these glasses since years. They really look like they belong to you, but I better should not say this, because it might encourage you to do something you will regret.-
Drivng on Helga said, that she was really sad, that our encounter would end in a couple of hours, when we had to split, her going to her home, me going on to Italy. She offered to me, that I could make a little deviation and stay in her place for a day or two. This was a nice offer to me, I had no hurry and so I said – Thank you very much for the invitation I really learned to like you and would appreciate to spend some more time with you. – Helga smiled and said – Its really been a good idea to take you in my car, I am glad you come and give me company-. I was shy to ask, but gave me a push and asked- but Helga, is it ok for You, if I keep wearing these glasses as long as I stay at your place? I’d like to so much. – You are mad Bruno she replied, but you are grown up and you must know what you do. I don’t need these glasses for anything. My deceded husbands friend gave them to me as a rememberance. But I have so many things to remember my sister, even some of her glasses. I give these glasses as a present to you, ok?- I was stunned I possessed my own glasses from now on, wow it felt great.- Thank you very much Helga, this is great, now I can try for a couple of days how it feels to be a constant glasseswaerer- Helga sighed and shook her head- I only make mistakes today, my god.
Arriving at her house at night I helped unpack the car and we went inside. Helga was tired and worn from driving and needed a bath, so I offered to prepare a meal for us.
I found my way through the kitchen AND PREPARED SOME SALAD AND PASTA FOR US: Helga came back from the bathroom with a towel round her head and a bathingcoat on. We sat down to have our meal and Helga opened a bottle of wine.
We made ourselfes comfortable and talked about our lifes while eating. After we finished I had found out, that Helga was not used to reading books and so I offered to read one loud together with her.
-Nice idea- she said and I found “Anna Karenina” in her bookshelf and suggested to start reading this novel. -Ok whatever you like- So I started to read Anna Karenina sitting on the sofa with Helga. I had to hold the book far away from my face and had some difficulties to read in the beginning. But with a bright lamp behind me and some adjusting work of my eyes I started to feel comfortable reading with my new glasses. Helga listened with closed eyes.
After about 2 hours of reading I paused and went to the bathroom. Again I was fascinated by my new look with glasses, I liked it very much and after watching me awhile with turning the head from side to side and up and down I felt so excited by the whole expierience, that I asked myselfe, if I should just keep on wearing these glasses every day and accept to get shortsighted. I thought that Helgas way of becoming a shortsighted glassesdependend very understandable.
Coming back Helga was sitting on the sofa and watching me coming back- What makes you smile so happy?- I told her about my bathroomthoughts and Helga sighed a lot about it. – I will feel guilty all my life if you get myopic my dear, please don’t do it.- - Its not your fault Helga, it’s a feeling like having found something that’s been waiting for me, come on lets go on reading.-
I love to listen to you and this novel is just fascinating to me. How long does it take to read all?- -I think it should be 1 or 2 weeks if we read every evening that long.- I replied. – Then you should stay at my house at least until we are finished, ok?- she smiled at me. – Do you really want my company for that long Helga?- -You can stay as long as you want, to me it feels good to have you in my house, I am on my own now any way. So we started to live together I worked in the garden and did the cooking, Helga cleaned the house and did the correspondency to get things settled after her husbands death and in the evening I read for the two of us. Waking up in the morning I enjoyed lying in the comfortable bed in Helgas guestroom and looking out the window into the budding garden. After getting out of bed I saw my glasses beside the bed and put them on. After that I went to the guest- bathroom to brush my teeth, wash myselfe and get dressed. On the first morning it took 10 minutes till my eyes started to focus well through the glasses. I felt a familiar tucking strain before seeing clear. The next day this happened after 5 minutes, the third morning it took only 2 minutes. The fourth day it took half a minute. I enjoyed wearing glasses more and more. On the fourth day I started to real feel familiar with my glasswearers face, I really loved my look more than ever before. The limitations the glasses gave me, such as the perfect look straight ahead and the getting worser of vision at the periphers of the glasses, as having a smaller field of vision, especially at the rims of my glasses, where the space was a little bend , the need to focus more on what I look at, the light soreness on my nose after wearing the glasses all day, made wearing them difficult on the first days. But the longer I had the glasses on, the less I had problems with these menaces. My eyes and my brain must have learned to smooth these borders of and create a perfect colorful and clear vision.