It would seem discourteous on my part if I continued to insist on seeing Christopher, so I finally nodded in assent. After all, this is Christopher’s big brother, I couldn’t pester him like I did Christopher. I also realized that Darius was the first in-law I had met since Christopher and I got married.
I did not expect to meet one of Christopher’s family members again as an in-law in this kind of situation.
“Would you like to eat something?” Darius asked, concern in his tone.
At the mention of food, I realized I was starving, after all. I had only had scrapes to eat on the deserted island. It was nothing short of a miracle that I had survived. Now that I was nice and warm, I felt like I could stuff all my favorite food into my stomach in one go.
However, I was informed that my body was too fragile to withstand any greasy food, so I was given some chicken soup instead. Moreover, Darius reminded me to have it slowly and in small bites so as not to over-burden my digestive system. I almost burst into tears when I held the warm soup in my hands. At that moment, I was so thankful just to be alive.
When someone tried to feed me the soup, it suddenly occurred to me that my surroundings were still pitch dark. “Why don’t you guys switch on the lights in the room? How are you able to see the soup clearly?”
The room fell into an awkward silence following my question. After a long pause, I sensed that Darius was standing next to me as I could almost feel his warm breath on my face. Feeling embarrassed, I asked, “Is there a blackout?”
“Er… Yes. Why don’t you get started with the soup? I’ve already sent someone to get some candles. Go easy with the hot soup,” Darius spoke with an uneasy tone as though he was trying hard to suppress something.
As I slowly sipped the soup, I had never felt happier in my life. Once I finished everything, Darius summoned a few doctors to check on me. He asked me to close my eyes, and I did as I was told. Then, a doctor gently pried open my eyes to evaluate their condition.
After a while, the group of doctors left my room. They stopped at the door to discuss matters among themselves. I tried but failed to get any of their attention regarding my condition. Not long after that, Darius came back to the room and fetched me a glass of water.
As I sipped on the water, I heard some children making noises from outside my room, followed by an adult’s voice, “Slow down, or you’re going to fall on the slippery floor.”
“Grandma, come chase after me! I’m Superman, and I’m going to fly to the sun!”
“I told you to go slower, my dear. You have to be a good boy to become a Superman.”
“Grandma, the sun is so bright today. But why is time going so fast? I can’t keep up with it!”
I let out a smile while listening to the child immerse himself in an imaginative world where he was portrayed as a superhero. He must have been no more than three or four years old. As a kid, I used to imagine myself as a fairy traveling to Earth from the moon.
Suddenly, the smile froze on my lips as I started to feel a chill down my spine. The kid just said that the sun is so bright today. So it’s not nighttime, and there isn’t a blackout either.
My body started to tremble uncontrollably. “What’s wrong, Yvonne? Is something wrong?” Darius asked.
Instead of replying, I listened closely to the noises outside the window. That was when I heard noises made by car engines running and bells ringing on bicycles. Just outside the room, people chattered about the sun being not warm enough for the past couple of days. My heart sank, and I was left in a trance.
“Darius, the wind is a little strong. Can you please shut the window for me? Also, why is the sun not warm at all?”
“Oh, sure. Hang on.” The man took a few steps toward the window before he stopped abruptly. He then strode to my bedside, and I could sense him looking intently at me. Slowly, I spelled out the words one by one, “Darius, I can’t see anything. Have I gone blind?”
The man next to me fell silent for a moment before he finally uttered, “You’ve figured it out?”
For some reason, I managed to eke out a wistful smile and asked, “Is there any chance of me regaining my eyesight? Or are you saying I won’t be able to see Christopher’s face ever again?”
