Romance Short Story : BLIND EYES

       

       This afternoon was the same as the previous days. So bright with clouds that slowly moved that followed the direction of the wind. People, included nurses paced back and forth in the corridor with their own activities. Some nurses were pushing a wheelchair and accompanying their patients, the rest were busy carrying medicines and bringing lunches for the patients at the hospital.

A woman—Adeline which includes one of the patient at the hospital was being pernsive on her wheelchair lone. She could feel the blowing of the wind and the warmth of the sun on her face. A nurse that brought her to the hospital’s garden expelled by her with a little rough. Because, the nurse was forcing to always accompany her. While, she wanted to be alone since the accident that happened to her a week ago. 

She was holding her hair that just cut yesterday. Her brown wavy hair which she was always proud of, intentionally she cut to start a new life. A life without a living gaze. Because she tought, her life would begin to feel as empty as her eyes now.

Both her eyes were blind because an accident that happened to her. She was not sad because of her eyesight. She just sad because a person that she really loved was betrayed her. Her own sister. Her very beloved sister had an affair with her own fiancée. For some time she might closed her eyes not to trust a news between her sister with her own fiancée.

“Do not you feel hot because you sat here alone? Look, your sweat is flowing.” That voice made Adeline realize from her mind. She was totally unaware of the existence of the man who was either beside her, behind her, or in front of her.  

“I can not see,” replied Adeline with cold voice.

A nurse rushed over to Adeline, her expression looks feel guilty, “Sorry, miss, it is time for you to take medicine and lunch.” The nurse slowly pulled a wheelchair that was used by Adeline. So, the nurse smiled and asked for leave to the man that was kneeling in front of Adeline.

The next day, Adeline came back to the garden in the afternoon, and the same man like yesterday was came over to her again. A man with curly black hair and sharp eyes pay attention Adeline from the front.

“Are you an introvert? Everytime I see you, I never see someone come to see you,” said the man not known by Adeline. Adeline’s heart was slightly hurt because of his words.

“None of your business,” said Adeline with the same voice like yesterday.

“I am Thomas. From this moment, I will always accompany you.” Thomas said with confidence. But, Adeline did not respond at all.

For two full weeks, Thomas always accompany Adeline in the afternoon. Even, Thomas always accompany her at the hospital. Adeline always says with cold words on Thomas, slowly started talking warmly and opening up to Thomas. She deliberately fortify herself, when she knew Thomas. But, Thomas deeds to her, made her defense crumble.

“Are you happy because tomorrow you will start to see again?” asked Thomas. He tried chatting with Adeline.

“I do not know, my feelings become a little scared because I will have a new pair of eyes. I already get used to it with my situation now,” answered Adeline as she squeezed her hands nervously. Perhaps she had fallen in love with Thomas, because Thomas deeds to her. Whereas, the knew each other only a while.

Thomas who saw Adeline is still wringing his hands smiled, then he started to grab Adeline’s left hand warmly. He brought Adeline’s right palm to his face. “Touch my face,” said Thomas.

Thomas’s eyes began to close as began her hand touch his face. Adeline’s hands started down touch Thomas’s face. Her fingers were moving down to Thomas’s hair mane. Thomas has curly hair. Adeline touched Thomas’s eyes, down to his pointed nose, and the last was his lips.

“You are handsome,” said Adeline slowly. She started imagine Thomas’s face in her mind. “Do you have green eyes?” asked her curious. She was very curious with the color’s of Thomas eyesballs.

Thomas laughed crisply because Adeline’s question, “My eyes are gray,” replied Thomas with a smile. “Its time for you to go to sleep, so that the surgery will run smoothly.” He helped Adeline to lie down, and enveloped her.

Adeline’s surgery was scheduled starts at one o'clock, and will be soon held. But, Adeline quite confused, because since she woke up, Thomas did not come to her until now.

“Maybe he forgot my surgery’s schedule,” said Adeline quite disappointed, because Thomas did not see her before the operation began.

Eye’s surgery took two hours, and the surgery was success. Adeline was immediately taken to the treatment room. She woke up six hours later and hoped there is will be Thomas waiting for her. But unfortunately, she must be disappointed again because there was no Thomas. She asked to the nurse who accompanied her, but, the nurse diverted her question, made her quite annoyed, and she chose to stop to speak.

The next morning, the doctor who did the surgery to Adeline came to check the results of the surgery. And it turns out, the result was really great. So at that time, Adeline was allowed to go home. When Adeline saw for the first time with her new pair of eyes, she hoped Thomas is the first person she saw. However, the man she waited since yesterday did not exist. Caused, a sense of disappointment in her heart increasingly more and more. She saw her new eyes in the mirror, and knew that the color’s of her eyeballs are gray, same as Thomas.

In the afternoon, she prepared to go home to the main house assisted by a nurse. But, suddenly the door of her treatment room was knocked, and a tall man stepped inside. Adeline guessed, he was Thomas. But, when she knew the color of both men's eyeballs are brown, Adeline had to swallow the pill of disappointment again.

“You must be Adeline. My name is James, I am Thomas’s brother,” he explained. Adeline was just silent did not give respond to him. “I know now you are upset and wonder where is Thomas. I will bring you to him.”

James brought Adeline with him to a country side. She saw a stand-alone house in a large land. The house was so big. She tought, she will be directly meet with Thomas. Unfortunately it was wrong. Behind the house there was a little hill. James took her to the top, and Adeline was dumbfounded. She saw a mound of soil with a headstone had written a name ‘Thomas Andrew Cruise’.

“There was a letter from Thomas for you.” James gave Adeline an envelope.

Adeline walked closer slowly. Her brown short hair started to dance because the wind blows fast in the afternoon. She opened the envelope and started to read it.

Hello, my lovely sunshine. Although the meaning of your name is a noble freedom, I will still call you my sunshine. Because out meetings for the first time was in the afternoon, the time when the sunshine is at the top.

I want to tell a little story. I was not in a good condition when I was with you. A lot of nurses got mad at me, because I did not obey with their words to wear patient clothes, taking medicine on time, and many more. Because, when I am with you, I want to become a healty man. But now, I am really healty. Trust me.

Finally, there is a part of me that is in you right now. I am so relieved, so I can leave you camly. Do not cry for me. I will not let my eyes that are on you now tears out because of me.

Although my body is not with you, but myself always with you. What you see, is what I see. 

I love you,

My sunshine,

Thomas Andrew Cruise.

Adeline folded the letter and put back to the envelope. She kept her tears so that not fall. She stroked Thomas’s headstone and smiled softly.

James was standing not far behind Adeline, “Thomas told me, that you were blind because of him. A car that brought Thomas hit your car, so your car got into the chasm. At that moment, Thomas drove his car frantically without see what was in front of his car. He only suffered minor injuries. But he felt very guilty, when he knew a woman that he loves was blind. Since the accident, Thomas's health condition declined because of heart disease he had. 

“You certainly did not remember your classmates on campus who are often call Andrew. He was Thomas. He rarely comes to the campus and class because he had illness. He likes you for a long time. He began to approach you, while you were alone at the garden. Many nurses got mad at him because he often hang around at the hospital. He often skip the time to take his medicines. Even, he had stopped take medicines for a week, because he wanted to be a healty man when he was with you.

“His doctor predicted his time was not long. And Thomas started take some tests on his eyes, to be donated to you. I thought, when the surgery finished, Thomas will survive because of you. But, when he was taken to the treatment room by the nurse, he breathed his last. His face was so peaceful when he left this mortal world. Remember Adeline, he always loves you, and will continue like that.”

Adeline started running down the hill surrounded by weeds. She was running in the middle of the weeds with the face as bright as the sun. Her face smiled sincere smile. She knew that Thomas was happy to see her up there.

She grabbed the letter from Thomas tightly and promised not to let her tears fall because Thomas.