From Blindness to Forever

An unexpected car accident left me blind in both eyes. And the only person in this world who could still be considered my family, my cousin’s widow, came to take care of me.

That night, my sight returned, but I saw an unbelievable side of Grace. She actually did that right in front of me... “Mr.

Ethan Carter, I have to tell you that although the injuries caused by your car accident have improved, your eyes are temporarily blind, and we cannot guarantee when you will be able to see again.” Listening to the doctor’s words, I tried hard to widen my eyes, but aside from endless darkness, only two lines of clear tears slowly slid down.

Seeing this, the doctor continued to comfort me and said, “Don’t be too upset, as long as you rest properly, you will definitely be able to see again.” “Right now, the most important thing is that you need to find a relative or friend to take care of you during this period.” I sank into sadness again, because my parents had passed away one after another more than ten years ago, and I had been living in this city all these years.

Even after more than ten years, this city still felt strange to me, because I had no family and no friends.

Even if I had a group of coworkers I got along with fairly well, how could they possibly waste their time on a blind man like me? “What about your parents?” The doctor asked me carefully.

I shook my head. “My parents have already passed away.” After quite a while, the doctor continued asking, “What about a girlfriend?

Relatives or friends?” I still shook my head, because the relatives I had were either far away in other places or, like my parents, had passed away early.

If I had to name a relative, the closest one to me was only Grace, my cousin’s widow, who was still living in the countryside.

Thinking of this, I still said to the doctor, “I still have my cousin’s widow, Grace, and she lives in the countryside.” After sighing, the doctor said, “Then we’ll help you contact her and see if she’s willing to come take care of you for a while.” Although I did not hold out much hope, I still handed my phone to the doctor and told him the passcode.

The doctor went outside the ward to contact Grace.

A few days earlier, on my way to work, I had suddenly gotten into a car accident and suffered extremely serious injuries, which was like taking a walk through the gates of hell.

Now the driver who caused the accident was still on the run. The savings I had built up over the years had also been completely used up during my hospitalization and treatment.

My cousin’s widow was named Grace Miller, and like me, she was someone with a hard life.

After she married my distant cousin Mark Miller, less than half a year later, Mark got into a conflict with someone at a construction site, they fought violently, and Mark beat the other person to death.

After being on the run for three years, he was caught by the police and sentenced to death.

After Mark was gone, I thought she would remarry, but unexpectedly, not only did she stay, she also took care of Mark’s parents until they passed away.

To this day, she still stayed alone in Mark’s home in the countryside, living like a widow with a husband who was no longer there.

Grace and I had only met a few times at her wedding with Mark and at Mark’s parents’ funerals, and the total number of words we had spoken to each other was probably less than a hundred, so how could she possibly come take care of me?

Even if she was willing, she probably would not agree because she would want to avoid gossip.

Just as I silently thought about where I should go from here, the doctor walked into the ward and said to me, “All right, Mr.

Carter, Grace has agreed to come take care of you for a while, and after she arrives, you can go home and rest, so I hope your eyes recover as soon as possible.” When I heard the doctor’s words, I could hardly believe my own ears, and I never expected Grace to actually agree to come take care of me.

I silently took back my phone and confirmed it with the doctor once more. “Doctor, is that true?” The doctor said, “It’s true, and she said she’ll come today, so rest first, because I still have things to do and will be leaving now.” To be honest, at that moment, in the endless darkness before my eyes, I seemed to see a sliver of light.

It was a very strange feeling, like regaining something I had lost, and even more like suddenly finding a relative when I had thought I was all alone in this world.

Grace arrived very quickly, and a few hours later, I heard hurried footsteps in the ward. Then a concerned voice sounded by my ear. “Ethan, what happened? How did it get this bad?

Why didn’t you contact me earlier so I could come take care of you?” Listening to Grace’s concerned words, even though I tried to act strong, my tears still slipped down uncontrollably. “Grace, I...” “All right, don’t be sad, because the doctor said your eyes are injured and you’re temporarily blind, so you can’t be too emotionally shocked.” She interrupted me, and once again, warmth filled my heart. “Let’s go home, and don’t worry, because the doctor also said that as long as you rest well, your eyes will definitely be able to see again.” As she spoke, she came to the bedside and helped me up.

Then she took me to handle the discharge paperwork, and she did everything personally.

Although I could not see, I could still feel her concern, and at that moment, I experienced a kind of family affection I had not received in more than ten years.

I gave her the address, and we returned to the only home I owned in this city, which was not big, just one bedroom and one living room. “Grace, I’m sorry, everything happened so suddenly, and the place is a little messy.” She smiled at me and said, “It’s fine, I’ll clean it up for you, and from now on you just focus on recovering.” I nodded, and I originally wanted to say thank you to her, but when the words reached my lips, I swallowed them back, and I did not know why.

After she helped me sit down by the bed, she began tidying up the room. She asked me about the car accident, and I could only tell her the rough sequence of events.

After learning that the driver was still on the run, she cursed him out furiously and vented on my behalf. With her arrival, this home finally had a trace of warmth.

By evening, she made a simple meal and helped me sit at the dining table, and I had wanted to rely on myself, but unfortunately, because I could not see, I could not even pick up the food.

Seeing this, she immediately took my bowl and fork and patiently fed me bite by bite. Aside from being moved, all I felt was still gratitude.

Only after I finished eating did she begin eating by herself. “Let’s just make do today, because when we came back, I saw a place selling groceries downstairs, and tomorrow I’ll make you something nourishing.” I nodded and took the bank card out of my pocket. “Here, Grace, there should still be some money on this card, so I’ll have to trouble you during this time.” Hearing this, she immediately pushed the bank card back. “Ethan, what are you doing?” “It’s only right that I take care of you, because after all, the two of us are the same, and in this world, you’re the only family I have too.” “If you act like this, I’m going to get mad.” I smiled bitterly, and seeing that she would not accept it, I could only change my approach. “No, Grace, I can’t have you come take care of me and then make you spend your own money too, so keep this card for now and use the money on it whenever you need to buy something.” “If you don’t accept it, I’ll feel guilty.” Hearing this, she thought for a while and finally agreed. “All right then, I’ll hold on to it first, and I’ll tell you how much I spend.” I nodded.

When night came, after I fumbled my way through washing up, a very real problem appeared before us.

Because of money issues back then, and because I had not considered anything else, I had only wanted a little place of my own in this city.

So the apartment I bought was only one bedroom and one living room. There was no extra bed, and now that Grace had arrived, I could not possibly let her sleep in the living room.

Grace seemed to notice my embarrassment and asked me. “Ethan, what’s wrong?

Let me help you go rest.” I hurriedly said, “Grace, why don’t you sleep in my room, and I’ll sleep on the couch.” To make her agree, I added, “Don’t worry, when I used to stay home alone, I often slept in the living room too.” “How could that be okay?” “You’re the patient, and the doctor said you need to rest well, so how could I let you sleep in the living room?

Hurry up and sleep in the bedroom.” “As long as I have a place, I’ll be fine, and that couch is pretty good, much softer than the bed back in the countryside.” I still wanted to insist, but she had already helped me up and led me toward the bedroom.

Just like that, I was dragged into the bedroom by her, and after she helped me sit down on the bed, she told me to rest well and hurriedly left.

In the end, I could only follow her wishes. Lying in bed with darkness before my eyes, my thoughts became unusually active.

I thought about many things, from every little memory of living with my parents as a child to today. I did not know when sleepiness finally came, and I gradually fell asleep.

But I did not know when a wave of thirst woke me up again.

I did not know how long I had slept, and I did not know whether it was day or night now, and I originally wanted to call Grace, but I was also worried that it was nighttime and that waking her would be bad.

So I could only feel my way toward the door. I gently opened the door, then followed my memory and felt my way toward the water dispenser.

Unexpectedly, I did not know what tripped my foot, and my whole body fell heavily to the floor, making me cry out in pain uncontrollably.

Grace seemed to be startled awake by me too. “Ethan? What happened?” She hurriedly got up, ran to my side, and helped me up.

I fell into panic, and my hand instinctively grabbed at something, but I suddenly felt that I had grabbed something soft. Grace suddenly let out a delicate startled sound.

I immediately sensed that something was wrong and hurriedly withdrew my hand. “I’m sorry, Grace, I didn’t mean to.” I did not know where on Grace I had grabbed, but no matter where it was, I should not have done that.

While I was in a panic, Grace held me again, and after I got up from the floor, she asked me with concern. “What happened?

Why did you get up alone in the middle of the night without calling me?”

I could only tell her. “It’s nothing, I was just a little thirsty and wanted some water.” After she helped me sit down on the couch, she got me a glass of water, and only after I drank it did I learn from her that it was only three in the morning. “I’ll help you back in to rest, and remember, if anything happens from now on, just call me directly, because I’m here to take care of you.” I nodded.

From then on, my cohabitation life with Grace began just like that. But because of that, many awkward things happened.

Although I agreed to her out loud and said I would call her if something happened.

It was impossible for me to call her even for something like going to the bathroom, so every time I wanted to use the bathroom, I could only feel my way there by myself.

Many times, as soon as I opened the bathroom door, I would hear Grace let out a startled cry from inside. I would awkwardly close the door in a hurry and apologize repeatedly.

There were many similar awkward things, and since Grace had always lived in the countryside, she did not think about many things the way city people did.

She rarely knocked when entering a room, and several times, I was fumbling around changing clothes, only for her to open the door directly and catch me right there.

If I had been able to see, I did not know how awkward that would have been.

However, because of her arrival and her meticulous care for me, I could briefly forget those painful memories.

One day, after I got up, I fumbled around and put on my clothes, then walked out of the room. After this period of time, I could already go in and out on my own.

When I came to the living room, I softly called out to Grace, and she was sitting on the couch watching TV, first greeting me, then suddenly bursting into laughter.

While I had no idea what was going on, she got up and walked over to me, then said, “Ethan, why don’t I help you with getting dressed from now on?

Look at you, every piece of clothing on you is inside out or backward.” I felt a little embarrassed and was just about to speak, but she immediately helped me into the room and said, “Come on, let’s go inside, and I’ll help you change into something else, and since it’s been so long, how about I take you out for a walk?” I became even more embarrassed and hurriedly refused. “It’s fine, Grace, I can change by myself!” “Oh, if you change by yourself and walk outside, won’t people laugh their heads off?

What are you afraid of?

Just treat me as if I’m the same as you and can’t see either, okay?” My whole body froze in place, and before I could come back to my senses, Grace had already started unbuttoning my shirt for me.

I was completely immersed in shock and had no time to stop her, and only when I had nothing but my underwear left on did I hurriedly burrow into the blanket.

Grace found clean clothes, and when she saw me hiding stiffly in the blanket, she laughed again, making me wish I could find a crack in the floor and crawl into it.

But she said to me generously, “All right, all right, do you still want to go out for a walk or not?

It’s a little stuffy at home, and the doctor said going out more will help your recovery a lot.” In the end, under her insistence, I could only blush and let her help me put on my shirt and pants.

She helped me outside, and the longlost sounds of traffic and bustling streets also made my mood improve a lot.

We walked around the park, went to the mall, and also went to the market. She stayed by my side the entire time and never left me for even a moment.

During the time I spent with her, although we often encountered awkward scenes, I could not see after all, so afterward I did not feel much about them.

Until one day later, I never expected that my relationship with Grace would suddenly become ambiguous.

It was a stormy night, and a cold front suddenly hit our city, and because it came so suddenly, both Grace and I were caught off guard.

Listening to the thunderstorm outside and feeling the slight chill, I thought of Grace outside with only a thin quilt, and my heart could not help aching.

After thinking it over again and again, I still fumbled my way out of the room.

When I came to the living room, I called softly, but Grace did not respond, and only after I raised my voice a little did Grace’s weak voice finally come. “Ethan, whwhat is it?

Are you thirsty?

I’ll get you water right now.” I kept feeling that her voice was trembling, and only when she came to my side, handed me the glass, and I touched her hand did I finally understand.

I hurriedly grabbed her arm. “Grace, what’s wrong with you?

Did you catch a chill?” My hand moved uncontrollably toward her face, and sure enough, her face was burning hot. “Grace, you have a fever, hurry, there’s medicine in the room, take some medicine first.” She said to me, “It’s fine, I’ve already taken some, and I just feel a little dizzy now.” As soon as her words fell, I felt her entire body go soft, and I instinctively held her in my arms, my heart aching and tense, not knowing what to do.

As a blind man, never mind taking her to the hospital, I could not even call 911.

After thinking about it over and over, I could only feel my way as I carried her into the bedroom and placed her on the bed to lie down.

Grace seemed to have fallen into a halfconscious state, her body trembling constantly, and she mumbled incoherently. “Cold, so cold.” I became completely panicked, and in the end, whether she could hear me or not, I said to her, “Grace, I’m sorry, I don’t mean to take advantage of you, but I can only use my body heat to keep you warm, so if you agree, respond to me.” When I said these words, my mind went completely blank, and aside from my concern for Grace, there was also a trace of anticipation in my heart, which startled even me.

After quite a while, I heard her softly hum in response amid the wind and rain.

Whether I was hallucinating or not, I immediately took off my pajamas, trembling uncontrollably all over, and felt my way onto the bed.

Then, the instant I pulled her into my arms, I almost forgot to breathe.

At that moment, although Grace was a woman from the countryside, she still had the unique fragrance of a woman on her body, and it went straight into my nose and mouth.

My entire mind went blank. However, not long after I held her in my arms, the frequency of her trembling became much lower.

I only felt that Grace was soft in my arms, and this was the first time I had ever been this intimate with a woman.

Even though she was my cousin’s widow, I could not help letting my imagination run wild.

I cursed myself fiercely in my heart, but I could not control myself at all, and all kinds of messy images kept appearing in my mind.

That entire night, under circumstances where I could not tell day from night, I woke up countless times, but fortunately, Grace’s body temperature in my arms had already gone down. “Ethan, are you awake?” In my sleep, I heard Grace call me, and I slowly opened my eyes, then in an instant, my whole body froze on the bed, unable to say a single word.

Before my eyes were the white ceiling and the hanging light. I could see, and my eyes had recovered.

I was wildly overjoyed and turned my head, wanting to tell Grace this good news, but the moment I turned my head, the scene before my eyes froze me again. [This is the paid content point.] What entered my sight was Grace’s body, which seemed to glow white under the sunlight.

From head to toe, she was wearing only her underwear.

Although Grace had lived in the countryside for years and often did farm work, it had not made her figure lose shape at all, and instead it added a mature beauty to her.

Even more fatal was that the underwear Grace had probably bought casually from some cheap stall did not fit her at all.

That perfect figure looked as if it might spill out at any second.

I stared completely dumbfounded, and the good news I had been about to tell her, that I could see, was forcefully blocked in my throat.

Seeing me dazed, Grace asked again, “Ethan, what’s wrong?” I came back to my senses and hurriedly turned away my greedy gaze, but I could only keep pretending to be blind, because if I told her now that I could see, wouldn’t we both die of embarrassment?

So I shook my head and changed the topic. “It’s nothing, Grace, are you feeling better?” Grace’s pretty face turned red, and she smiled, saying, “I’m much better, Ethan, thank you, because if it weren’t for you, I probably wouldn’t have taken good care of you and would have ended up troubling you instead.” I hurriedly said, “If I hadn’t had you during this time, I really don’t know what I would have done, so I should be the one thanking you.” She smiled and said, “You’re hungry, right?

I’ll go make you something to eat.” After saying that, she turned and walked out of the bedroom.

I could not help looking at her back again, and to be honest, if Mark had not broken the law and were still around, just how happy would he have been?

As for the fact that I could see again, it seemed I had to find another opportunity to tell Grace, because at least saying it now would be too awkward, and I could only continue pretending to be blind.

After a short while, I got up and put on my clothes, and just then, Grace also opened the door and walked in.

Seeing this bloodracing scene again, my heartbeat could not help speeding up, and I really wanted to remind Grace that it would be best for her to put on some clothes.

When she saw that I had already put on my clothes, she smiled and said, “Oh, not bad, you put them on by yourself today, and nothing is wrong, so that deserves encouragement.” A wave of guilt immediately rose in my heart.

Grace walked over and helped me up, and she was probably this bold because she thought I could not see.

I lowered my head and did not dare look at her, but I saw that my arm had been hugged into her chest, making my whole body so stiff I did not dare move.

When we came to the dining table in the living room and sat down facing each other, I became even more afraid to look at her, but my eyes never knew where to settle.

No matter what, from the corner of my eye, I would see her perfect figure.

After a tasteless breakfast, she helped me sit down on the couch again. “Ethan, sit here and rest for a bit, and I’ll go wash the clothes from last night, because they’re all sweaty.” After I nodded, her next move instantly made it feel like my nosebleed was about to spray out.