There are moments when I have hope that humans and mutants really can live and work together. That there is a chance we can coexist and avoid the war that some think is looming on the horizon. When I find those moments, I try to live in them for as long as possible. That is, before we have to move on and face whatever the world throws at us next. I did say hope, not blind denial.

It's a rare and fleeting thing, hope - and all the more valuable for it. There can never be enough light, and there is often far too much darkness. I've never particularly cared for being in the dark.

Children are the innocents in the battles and wars we wage - both the wars of words and weapons. They're the few who can see something strange, something unknown, and still look at it with a sense of wonder. Rather than turning away in fear or disgust, their eyes light up and sometimes . . . Sometimes they even smile at you, like maybe you're human too.

Which we are. We have the same worries and emotions as every other human on the planet. We're born and we'll die. Still, so many forget that we're not as different as we might seem. We lose something when we get older and more serious. I can't help but think it's sad.

Standing in the middle of the busy train station, I looked down to see a little boy gazing up at me, and I smiled. But when his mother pulled him away, I saw the panicked look in her eyes as she saw my visor. It hurt, because I knew that was all she saw when she looked at me - a mutation, not a man.

It's because of this that something as small that child's smile can be the one thing that can bring you hope - even when the ceiling is, literally, tumbling in on top of you. It's funny in a way that of everything that happened that night, this is one of the things that I remember the most clearly.

The attack by Magneto and his mutants is vivid in my memory, no doubt. At least, what I was able to witness of it. It was days before I could shake the feeling of helplessness that washed over me when everything started to fall apart. Storm being attacked by Sabertooth was the last thing I was able to see before my visor was ripped away and all hell broke loose.

I'm still more grateful than I can say that no one was hurt when I lost control of my powers. My greatest fear - since I hid from my high school prom after fighting with Selena - came to life in that moment, filling the room with brilliant arcs of red.

I've never told anyone how much I hate having my eyes closed. How for two months I lived with nothing but vague sounds and whatever I could touch. There was little I could do, fumbling through the world alone and abandoned at the age of seventeen. Standing in the middle of a crowded train station, brick and mortar crumbling around me, once again there was nothing I could do.

In that moment, I thought I knew what failure truly felt like. I had lost control of the situation and I had lost control of my powers. Control is the one thing I never want to lose, second only to losing my sight. The first time I lost both my world fell apart. Right then, they were both gone all over again.

I had left Storm alone - luckily she was able to hold on long enough to deal with Sabertooth. I've always known she was tough and she proved it that night once again. Me? I was busy trying to navigate my way through a screaming mob and litter-strewn floor with my eyes closed.

During that time, I focused on two things. The first, my duty to my team; second, the image of a little boy looking up at me not with fear, but with curiosity.

In the two months I was blind as a teenager, I didn't have anything to focus on. It felt as if I was wandering in a fog with nowhere to go and certainly no hope for the future. But while I fumbled my way toward Storm, so that we could try and find Logan, having my eyes closed didn't bother me so much. This time there was somewhere I was needed and in my mind, I had a picture of hope. It made the world of difference.

In the end, we lost the battle. Magneto managed to get away with Rogue. At the time I felt partly to blame, and I can't look back on it and say if everything had ended differently, I wouldn't have felt even more responsible for what happened that night.

Now, Rogue is safe and Logan none the worse for wear. Rather, he's off searching for his past - on my bike, mind you. The Professor is well and Magneto isn't threatening anyone.

Considering all of that, I'd say today is a little more hopeful than the some of the others. Too bad part of me can't help but think that it's too good to last.

End