Whenever I mention that I have aphantasia, the people around me always say stuff along the lines of "oh that must be so boring" or "that sounds sad," but by far the most thing people ask me is
"What do you see when you read books?"
People tell me of the worlds they are transported to. Of the beautiful sights they see, the magical adventures they go on. The thing I think these people often forget, is that they have other senses.
When I read, I do not see magical worlds. I see words on a page. That does not mean I am not transported.
When I read I can hear the flying animals soaring above me. I hear the chatter of the marketplace by the pier. I hear the crashing of the waves agains rocks. I hear the magical sounds of faeries fluttering by. I hear spaceships taking off.
When I read I feel the grass beneath my feet. I feel the warmth of the suns, and the cold of the moons. I feel the dripping of the rain on my skin, the snowflakes melting on my tongue. I feel the hurricane lifting me off the ground.
When I read I smell the delicious food of a far off planet. I smell the flowers that line the castle gardens. I smell the stench of a burning village, the exhaust of a broken pipe somewhere deep within a cyberpunk city. I smell the sour scent of the dukes food being poisoned.
Sight is not the only way you can experience the world, ours or others.
When I read, I may not see the things I read, but I am still taken to a galaxy far, far away.
