My itching finally stopped after being treated with some medicinal herbs by the old TCM practitioner. The guy was really amazing even though he had shaky hands due to old age. It took the old TCM practitioner a long time to remove my eye dressing.
After removing the medicinal herbs from my eyes, he said in a warm friendly tone. “Ok, try to take a peek. Don’t be scared.”
“Ok!” I took a peek and saw the old TCM practitioner smiling kindly at me. My vision was blurry since my eyes were narrowed. I tried to widen my eyes a little more and my vision cleared up. I smiled in delight. Finally, I can see again.
The sun shone through the partially opened door onto the ground and over me. I raised my hands, stared at my palms, and reached out tentatively to touch my face. “Wow, the sun is beautiful.”
“Silas, I can finally see what you look like!” I turned around with a smile, but he was nowhere to be found. Jenny stood timidly in his place and stared at me nervously. She jumped with joy and threw herself into my arms when I told her I can see again.
“Jenny! You must be Jenny!” It was my first time seeing Jenny’s face. She looked exactly like how I imagined her to be, a plump and cute girl. “Where is Silas? He was still here a moment ago. Where did he go?”
“S-Silas… uh.. he left after sending you here. He probably has something urgent to attend to.” Jenny scratched the back of her head and glanced nervously at the door.
“Something urgent?” I felt a little disappointed that Silas wasn’t around to share my joy. After all, he had been taking care of my needs for more than two weeks now. Hence, I considered him as a friend.
“Thank you for healing my eyes, doctor. No doctor from the big city dare guarantee that I will be cured. Thank you so much.” I instructed Jenny to pay the old TCM practitioner well with the money Julia gave me since I didn’t need that much money for myself.
However, the old TCM practitioner refused to take more than I was charged. In the end, I told him to spend the excess money on the kids.
“Remember, don’t strain your eye, and don’t stare directly at the light. Cover your eyes with a piece of cloth or get yourself a pair of sunglasses when you get back home later.”
I was finally able to leave the wheelchair behind. Even though the old TCM practitioner failed to treat my brain cancer, at least I could see now. I shouted for Silas as I ran all the way home, but no one responded. As I passed by the display rack in the living room, I accidentally saw my reflection and stopped in my tracks. My neck was full of hickeys.
Where did these hickeys come from? Wasn’t it just a dream? I dreamt of Christopher making love to me yesterday night. But why would there be hickeys on my neck if it was just a dream?
I panicked and quickly fumbled around my bedside table for my phone. Today is 19th. Did I actually sleep through the entire day? The crazy sex I had with Christopher wasn’t just a dream. It really happened.
“Silas is Christopher?” My heart skipped a beat as I rushed downstairs. I grabbed Jenny’s hand and asked, “Silas is Christopher, am I right? Please tell me!”
“I…” Jenny hesitated before nodding. “Yes, Silas is Christopher. He revealed his identity on his third day here.”
It really is Christopher. I stood there, stunned for a moment. But I quickly came back to my senses and ran all the way to Lucas’s place. I pushed the door open and shouted, “Christopher, where are you? Come on out, Christopher.”
Lucas looked at me sadly. “He just packed his bag and left just now.”
What? My mind went blank. Tears flowed down my cheeks as I ran towards the bus station and shouted for Christopher’s name. He must be mad at me. He kept telling me he was going to dump me that night. It must be true. Why else would he leave now when I finally regained my sight?
Christopher was nowhere to be found even after a thorough search all over town. In the end, I found myself crying my heart out on the beach.
All of a sudden, a man appeared out of nowhere, grabbed my hand, and put a ring on my ring finger. He said softly, “You forgot your ring, so I’m sending it to you.”
