The passengers on the bus watched
sympathetically as the attractive young woman with the white cane made her way
carefully up the steps. She paid the
driver and, using her hands to feel the location of the seats, walked down the
aisle and found the seat he'd told her was empty. Then she settled in, placed
her briefcase on her lap and rested her cane against her leg.
It had been a year since Susan,
thirty-four, became blind. Due to a medical misdiagnosis she had been rendered
sight-less, and she was suddenly thrown into a world of darkness, anger,
frustration and self-pity.
Once a fiercely independent
woman, Susan now felt condemned by this terrible twist of fate to become a
powerless, help-less burden on everyone around her. "How could this have
happened to me?" she would plead, her heart knotted with anger. But no
matter how much she cried or ranted or prayed, she knew the painful truth her
sight was never going to return.
A cloud of depression hung over
Susan's once optimistic spirit. Just getting through each day was an exercise
in frustration and exhaustion.
And all she had to cling to was
her husband Mark.
Mark was an Air Force officer and
he loved Susan with all of his heart. When she first lost her sight, he watched
her sink into despair and was determined to help his wife gain the strength and
confidence she needed to become independent again. Mark's military background
had trained him well to deal with sensitive situations, and yet he knew this
was the most difficult battle he would ever face.
Finally, Susan felt ready to
return to her job, but how would she get there? She used to take the bus, but
was now too frightened to get around the city by herself. Mark volunteered to
drive her to work each day, even though they worked at opposite ends of the
city. At first, this comforted Susan and fulfilled Mark's need to protect his
sightless wife who was so insecure about performing the slightest task. Soon,
however, Mark realized that this arrangement wasn't working it was hectic, and
costly.
Susan is going to have to start
taking the bus again, he admitted to himself. But just the thought of
mentioning it to her made him cringe. She was still so fragile, so angry. How
would she react? Just as Mark predicted, Susan was horrified at the idea of
taking the bus again. "I'm blind!" she responded bitterly. "How
am I supposed to know where I'm going? I feel like you're abandoning me."
Mark's heart broke to hear these
words, but he knew what had to be done.
He promised Susan that each
morning and evening he would ride the bus with her, for as long as it took,
until she got the hang of it.
And that is exactly what
happened. For two solid weeks, Mark, military uniform and all, accompanied
Susan to and from work each day. He taught her how to rely on her other senses,
specifically her hearing, to determine where she was and how to adapt to her
new environment. He helped her befriend the bus drivers who could watch out for
her, and save her a seat. He made her laugh, even on those not-so-good days
when she would trip exiting the bus, or drop her briefcase full of papers on
the aisle floor.
Each morning they made the
journey together, and Mark would take a cab back to his office. Although this
routine was even more costly and exhausting than the previous one, Mark knew it
was only a matter of time before Susan would be able to ride the bus on her
own. He believed in her, in the Susan he used to know before she'd lost her
sight, who wasn't afraid of any challenge and who would never, ever quit.
Finally, Susan decided that she
was ready to try the trip on her own. Monday morning arrived, and before she
left, she threw her arms around Mark, her temporary bus riding companion, her
husband, and her best friend. Her eyes filled with tears of gratitude for his
loyalty, his patience, and his love. She said good-bye, and for the first time,
they went their separate ways.
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,
Thursday.... Each day on her own went perfectly, and Susan had never felt
better. She was doing it! She was going to work all by herself.
On Friday morning, Susan took the
bus to work as usual. As she was paying her fare to exit the bus, the driver
said, "Boy, I sure envy you."
Susan wasn't sure if the driver
was speaking to her or not. After all, who on earth would ever envy a blind
woman who had struggled just to find the courage to live for the past year?
Curious, she asked the driver, "Why do you say that you envy me?"
The driver responded, "It
must feel so good to be taken care of and protected like you are."
Susan had no idea what the driver
was talking about, and again asked, "What do you mean?"
The driver answered, "You
know, every morning for the past week, a fine looking gentlemen in a military
uniform has been standing across the corner watching you when you get off the bus.
He makes sure you cross the street safely and he watches until you enter your
office building. Then he blows you a kiss, gives you a little salute and walks
away. You are one lucky lady."
Tears of happiness poured down
Susan's cheeks. Although she couldn't physically see him, she had always felt
Mark's presence. She was lucky, so lucky, for he had given her a gift more
powerful than sight, a gift she didn't need to see to believe the gift of love
that can bring light where there had been darkness.
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