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

It had been a year since Susan, 34, 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. And 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 and confidence 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 the arrangement
wasn't working.
Susan is going to have to start taking the bus
again, he
admitted to himself. But she was still so fragile,
so angry
- how would she react? Just as he 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 am going? I feel
like you're
abandoning me."

Mark's heart broke to hear these words, but he
knew what
had to be done. He promised Susan that each
morning and
evening he would ride the bus with her, for as
long as it
took, 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,
specifically
her hearing, 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.

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, And
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. She was doing it! She was going to
work all
by herself.

On Friday morning, Susan took the bus to work as
usual.
As she was paying the fare to exit the bus, the
driver said,
"Boy, I sure do 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?
Curious,
she asked the driver, "Why do you say that you
envy
me?"

The driver responded, "It must feel good to be
taken
care of and protected like you are." Susan had no
idea
what the driver was talking about, and again
asked, "What
do you mean?"

The driver answered, "You know, every morning for

the past week, a fine-looking gentleman in a
military uniform
has been standing across the corner watching you
as you
get off the bus. He makes sure you cross the
street safely
and he watches 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 physically
see him, she had always felt Mark's presence. She
was lucky,
so lucky, 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 is
darkness.