Eric Lafforgue is a seasoned traveler. He visited many countries, and now it is difficult to surprise him with anything. However, a recent visit to Ethiopia was long etched in his memory. Near one of the pubs, Eric met an unusual boy. At first glance, he was no different from his peers, but when the man came closer, he was mesmerized by the look of the child. The black child turned out to have sky-blue eyes that are completely atypical for representatives of this race.
The traveler decided to find out more about the child and talked to him. It turned out that the boy’s name was Abash, he lives in a shack not far from the restaurant, where Eric Lafforgue later looked. The unusual sky blue color of a child’s eyes is the result of a congenital genetic disorder called Waardenburg syndrome. This anomaly is extremely rare, with about one in 300,000 people.
When Abash was born, his parents were frightened, deciding that their son was born blind. Due to poverty, they could not afford to see a doctor, so they had to wait for many months until it became clear that the baby could see well. Then mom and dad came to the conclusion that blue eyes are not a curse at all, as they initially thought, but a gift from God! However, to the boy himself, his peculiarity caused a lot of trouble.
Abash is often bullied by other children because of the color of his eyes. Young wits call him “plastic eyes”, and the boy can not stand this incessant mockery. When Abash was 8 years old, his parents decided to give him to his grandmother so that he would live closer to the city where the school is located. One night there was a fire in the hut. All simple property, along with all the textbooks, turned into ashes. Fortunately, the grandmother and the boy managed to jump out in time and were not injured.
After this incident, the boy moved to the city, because the fire destroyed his already small savings and it was not affordable to buy a bus ticket from his grandmother’s village every day. Bringing Eric to his new home, Abash was very embarrassed. “It’s dirty in her ” “It’s dirty in her ” he whispered, pointing to the cardboard box that had replaced his bed. The boy’s livelihood depends on the kindness of the owners of the restaurant opposite his home.
Abash considers his red ball to be the most valuable thing. For him, this is a real treasure, with which he does not part for a minute. The boy is crazy about football and does not miss a single game of Barcelona, watching matches in a nearby restaurant or nearby bars. The boy’s idol is Lionel Messi, Abash simply adores him. “We are very similar. Both of us are not like everyone else.