Good Love Story
A Gift of Love
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, 34, became blind. Due
to a medical misdiagnosis she had been rendered sightless,
and she was suddenly thrown into a world of darkness,
anger, frustration and self-pity. And all she had to cling
to was her husband, Mark.
Mark was an Air Force officer and he loved Susan with
all 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.
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 the arrangement wasn't working.
Susan is going to have to start taking the bus again,
he admitted to himself. But she was still so fragile,
so angry - how would she react? Just as he 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 am 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.
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 the fare to exit the bus, the driver
said, "Boy, I sure do 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 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 gentleman in a military
uniform has been standing across the corner watching you
as 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. For 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 is darkness.
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