When my sister told me about Tierrados, October had finally struck a stake in the earth, and the last of Summer had died. Back then, it had been fine with me. I loved the feeling of fall, how the air smelled like sweet hay and rotting crab apples. How the night felt absolute and I seemed to be able to hear the stars chirping way up high in their recluse. Even the biting cold was something I welcomed, and the sound of the shriveled grass crunching underfoot satisfied me. It seemed that fall dropped the spice of excitement into the air, it felt like something great was coming. So on that morning, when mom and I went on our daily walk, I schemed to sneak out late at night to breathe in the Autumn air.

Night had come, and shedding my blankets, I felt my way down the stairs. Mother would be furious if she knew I was going out. That was what had made it all the more exciting. I remember feeling air rush through the door and smelling cardamon. That was the first time I had ever snuck out, and it had felt magnificent. An urge to be wild, to run, had poured into me.

I had never run before, not really. After all the morning walks, it was easy to wind my way through the usual trail, shuffling my feet to make sure my path was clear. It had been.

Huffing out crisp air, I began to run. My lips felt tingly, and my eyes stung, but never had I felt more free. Bugs quit their chirping as I flew by. An owl hooted in wonder. I broke out of the woods, back into the tame lawn of our home. My feet came to a stop as I gasped for more of that sharp-night air.

The sounds of the farm had returned. Pigs oinked noisily. Horses scraped their hooves against dirt. And than -admist all the familiar, something that sounded wrong; the door opening. I knew than that I had been discovered. Frantic footsteps pattered against the grass, than a yell.

"Angel! Oh, Savannah, my poor angel Savannah. Stay right where you are, momma's almost there!"

I had debated running in that moment, dashing into the woods to duck into some bushes foliage where she could not find me. Never coming out. Instead I stood very still.

"Oh angel, you must have gotten lost, but everything is okay now. Everything will be fine." Leather hands grabbed onto my shoulders, and she held me at arms length. I could feel her eyes running over me, making sure I was okay. My face held no expression as she crushed me into a hug. "It's so cold out here, let's get you inside."

There went my freedom. It had only lasted for a few minutes. Somehow my mother had found out I was out here. It seemed so unlikely that she would have found out, impossible nearly. Just my fucking luck.

Although my mother meant well, she treated me as if I were missing brain cells instead of my sight. Inside the large farmhouse, which to me always felt much colder than outdoors, she wrapped me up in blankets. I had said nothing. There was nothing to say. All I could think of was my lost freedom. Genetics had taken away my ability to see, but my mother had robbed me of any chance to have a life.

She thrust a cup of hot chocolate in my hand. With the meaty hands of a farmer's wife, she vigorously rubbed my arms to send the warmth back into me. I know she didn't miss me flinching away from her.

"You poor lost lamb. I'm going to have to protect you. I bet you're so very scared. Don't worry, momma will keep you safe. You'll never accidentally do that again."

When would she learn? It was never a fucking accident. I always had to hold my tongue. I was scared of what she would say to me if I ever told her the truth. Her whole life was based on protecting me, how would she feel if she knew I didn't need to be protected?

After that night, she had grown even more protective of me. I could feel her presence as I listened to audio books. I could feel her presence when I first woke up. She was inescapable. One night my sister had snuck into my room, very quietly.

"I have to tell you something," she said. She smelled like perfume and booze; two things I never had the pleasure to use.

"What is it?" I had asked groggily.

"A way for you to get out of here; an escape."

An escape. I bolted upright in bed.

"What?!" I exclaimed, but before I could go any further she clapped a hand over my mouth.

"Shhh. We can't wake mom." She took her hand off and I sat very quietly as she began to explain. "Right now the whole worlds going crazy over this game called Tierrados. Its all everyone in school can talk about-" I felt a pang of jealousy. Mom didn't let me go to school. "Apparently this group of scientists teamed up with game programmers; all geniuses, of course. They created a video game called Tierrados."

"A video game? That's not going to help me," I said, already disappointed.

"Listen! In order to play you step inside an immersion tank, put on a headgear, and wake up inside a video game. Inside it, Savannah! It's supposed to be just like our world, except better. Your own body is transported into this virtual world. Everything you can do here, on earth, you can do in their. Its fucking brilliant. The game creators control the world. If they want it to rain, it rains. If they want to build a town, they just punch in a code and a real town pops up. And Savannah -here's the best part. When someone joins, they're cured of any physical disabilities. They're accepting disabled applicants right now to test it. You'd be sent down to Cape Canaveral to join. That's where they're hosting the trials. You wouldn't have to be here."

"No..." I breathed, I could hardly speak.

"Paraplegics can walk again. Savannah, the blind, they can see!"

There was dampness on my cheeks, and it took me a moment to understand that I was crying. My mouth must have dropped open too, for I could taste bitter salt on my tongue. Patty wiped them away with the back of her hand, laughing quietly.

The words left my lips as a whisper.

"How do I apply?"