peddiniz

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's settled in, placed her
briefcase on her lap and rested her cane against her leg.

It had been a year since Susan 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.

'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. 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 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 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 but he knew what had to be done. He promised
Susan that each day he would ride the bus with her 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 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. 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.

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, 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.

On Friday morning, Susan took the bus to work as usual. As she was
paying for 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? "Why
do 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, "What do you mean?"

The driver said, "You know,
every morning for the past week, a fine looking gentleman 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 you 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 see him, she had always felt Mark's presence. She was
blessed, so blessed, 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.

"You don't love a woman because she is beautiful, but she is
beautiful because you love her..."