The Gift of Love (A true Love Story)

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.