Random story

"Who was that?" she demanded.

"It was just a client." He was tired of all the incessant questioning. Every person he talks to, every phone call, every text message - he was suffocating.

Yet he still stuck to her. She was the one who brought color into his monochromatic life of loneliness and rejection. Without her, he would probably have vanished from the surface of the earth.

It was just that she had this extremely annoying habit of interrogating him lately, about his location, his activity, the people he contacts and the content of their communication.

"Are you sure?" she asked, as she snatched his mobile.

That was the last straw.

Before she could do anything he yelled, "Jesus, woman! Get a life!"

She froze for a few seconds, then handed his phone back to him, her facial expression dejected. He's never rose his voice at her before, and he did that now in public, causing most of the people in the park that they were at staring at them.

He immediately felt guilty. He knelt in front of her and took her face in his large hands. "Sorry I yelled," he said, pressing his forehead against hers. She closed her eyes and put her arms around her neck, planting a light kiss on his nose.

It's just that recent events has had her really uptight these days - the dark past that she worked so hard to bury has caught up with her, and everyone around her were in danger. Yet she still hadn't found a reason to report anything yet.

"Let's walk home," she said. He gave her a kiss on the forehead before taking her hand firmly and leading her home. They lived together, in a small rented flat with a small park just down the street.

It was usually quite lonely in the evening, and the only way back from the park would be a rather small path lined on both sides with large, shady trees. There was a shortcut, but it was much darker and there was usually where the robberies happen.

"Baby?" he said. She looked at his somber expression, and asked him what was wrong.

"Baby, I-"

Before he could continue, a few guys appeared around them.

"So this is what you settle for now, bitch?" The guy had a huge scar down his arm, with shoulder-length oily hair and a knife in his hand.

"W-Who's that, baby?" he whispered. He wrenched his gaze from the man, and saw her gazing fearfully back at the man.

"Whatever you want, it has nothing to do with him, so let him go," she told the man, her voice quivering.

"Oh no, I don't think things are that simple, honey," the man smirked.

In a flash he was on the ground, the scarred man standing above him. "If I can't have it, no one else can," he said cheekily.

"NOOO!!!" she yelled. She struggled against the men that held her back, but forced her to watch the man she loves blinded.

Everything happened in a flash - blood was pouring from his face, the men were gone, paramedics were professionally pulling out a stretcher - but yet she still couldn't take it what just happened.

When they arrived at the hospital, she begged the doctors to give her eyes to him, to let him live with sight and complete his dream of becoming the world's greatest artist. He was unconscious, and he desperately needed a blood transfusion and eye transplants.

Two months later the doctor removed his bandages - his family was surrounding him, but the picture was incomplete.

"Where is she?" he asked. A wave of thoughts went through his head as he took in his family's reaction.

"You need to see something, honey," his mother said, her expression tight, as if she was holding back tears.

He was put into a wheelchair, and wheeled to the room next to him. There was a girl with bandaged eyes, being fed by a nurse. She looked vaguely familiar, then his mother called her name. It was her.

She turned toward the direction of the sound, and smiled. "Hey, how is he?" she asked.

"He's here."

She was silent. She pursed her lips, and said, "Hey, how are you feeling?" with a small smile.

"What happened to you?" he asked. He feared the worse.

She simply said, "You needed it."

===

He woke up facing her, she was already awake, staring blankly in front of her, stroking his hair. The years have passed with difficulty, but they got by. He worked hard at helping her and developing his career. In just a few short years he was one of the popular photographers in the country.

She spent most of her day at home, tutoring young children in English, then spends the night with him listening to his adventures at the studio.

Her artificial eyes made her look normal, and he always reminded himself of her sacrifice. It was because of her that he lost his sight, and regained it.

It was after that incident that he knew about her past - she was the daughter of a drug dealer, and she got involved in that society when she was growing up, but by high school she escaped from the turmoil and started afresh in a different town, where she met him.

The man she followed at that time felt that he was made a fool, and wanted her to pay for his humiliation. After that incident, he and his boys were arrested, set to be imprisoned for life for multiple charges of robbery, drug dealing, involvement in gangs, and for that incident.

She was now free from her past, and was expecting his child, which would be twins.

Anyone who asked her whether she regretted what she did, she would say, "If he could accept my past and present, everything is worth it."