Quarantine Reads: Blind by Asterio Gutierrez

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Every Saturday, Ramon, a retired concert pianist, plays on the restaurant’s grand Yamaha the same set of songs that he sees as a bastardization of the original tune. Though his ability to play the piano after his accident is considered a miracle, he doesn’t see it as one. Before the accident, music used to be his passion, but now he has become deaf to the music he is ‘obliged’ to play each night at Mario’s. Ramon’s unhappiness is a result of him being blind to the things he should be grateful for or the life he has now because he continues to linger in the past.

In the literary piece, we see Ramon follow a strict timetable every day for he sees his sleep time as something precious. In dreams, he is granted the gift of sight. He would relive highlights of his past in these dreams. They would revolve around his past as a musician and how he would be back at the concert hall, playing the music he has obsessed over. In some dreams, he would be with Angela, his past lover, and reminisce about the happy moments they have spent together before.

Upon waking up, he would instantly be hit with the reality that his present is no longer like the past. He would often compare how his life was back then to his life now, which adds more to his unhappiness and dissatisfaction with his current situation. This would not only make him resent the life that he has now more, but this also makes it more difficult for him to move on from his past, and appreciate the now because he is still clinging on to these memories. He has now become blind to the miracle of life, and his ability to not only continue to play but to be able to perform basic tasks on his own as well. He is blind to the possible moments that he could have made his life worthwhile again because he often focuses on the comparison of his past and his present.

It’s not surprising to see how he would eventually mistake Fe for Angela. Their voices were very similar to him. In addition, his mind was so focused in the past, that when he talked and got to know Fe more over time, he still continued to see Angela in her even though they were completely different people. This could be seen in the way he tried to imagine how Fe looked for he pictured her looking similar to Angela as well.

This is why when he was able to feel her face and her body for the first time, he was shocked and confused. Just like with what he does with his everyday life, he has compared Fe, his present, to Angela, his past, and seeing that she is not as “beautiful” as Angela, he is immediately disappointed and he feels betrayed by her because of that. It was during the climax that we could see how these comparisons he makes with his past and present are what make him blind beyond his physical disability.

He is blind to see how much Fe not only cared for him but liked him for who he really is despite having this disability. While he is also blind to seeing Fe for who she really is. He liked her because it reminded him of the past he desperately clung to and frequently reminisced; he thought that she would be able to perfectly fill the hole that Angela left, still trying to somehow go back to his past. This could also be seen when he started playing the piece he wanted her to sing, the only time he really listened to the music again.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”6558″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The story, “Blind” by Asterio Guttierez is a reminder to appreciate life and not to hold on too much to the past. Ramon’s unhappiness is not entirely because of his physical disability, but because of his blindness to what was already in front of him. From this we could see Asterio Gutierrez’s possible underlying message in his piece: that being blind is beyond the physical–you can be ‘blind’ even when you can see.

Though his life is not as “glorious” as it was back then, it is still possible for him to find joy and happiness in the present. From his ability to play once again and earn from it, though he’d stumble from time to time and would often play the same set of songs, to his newfound lover, who saw him for who he really was and who really cared and liked him in spite of that. His blindness to all of this has not only prevented him from truly being happy but also from fully moving on from his past as well.

When you’re in the mood for something light to read with an important lesson to learn from, Blind by Asterio Gutierrez will definitely help you see things in a better light, especially during these times.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]