Second Chance-In the mist Book 1 novel Chapter 3

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Adams..." That was all I could say to her. What else could I have said? How to comfort the heart of this woman who's loved one was dying?

"That's fine. I've already made my peace with God. I am not upset" I still wish I had known what to say to her. One thing was certain.

"People were not supposed to suffer this way!" And I was really speaking from the heart.

"It's okay to be angry, but once we accept God's will, what He has in store for us, life becomes easier to live... without our loved ones. But it will not be your case." Then she turned her sad eyes away and buried them in her palms. I then heard soft sobs.

"Sometimes it's just too hard to understand..." I continued, thinking about the woman I had saved who was probably in excruciating pain.

"It is, my dear, but there must be some happiness for us mourners beyond the grief. At least a closure... I must go now. It's time!"

"Mrs. Adams..." I felt the need to tell her I would be there for her if she needed something.

"Yes, son..."

"Please, take good care of yourself and thank you for your kind words. Here's my business card... if you need anything, please call me!"

"I am the one I should thank, young man. You've made my suffering easier. God bless both you and the young lady you came with!"

With those last words, that brave lady went to say her farewells to her sister. My heart clenched at that thought. How in the world could you say goodbye to someone you care deeply about? Your flesh and blood?

The night was so hard, but I couldn't move from that chair until she got better. The good news finally came sometime after midnight. She finally started breathing on her own, but Declan kept her in ICU for a week more while the danger passed completely. I finally was hopeful about her recovery chances. However, not entirely. Declan brought me bad news.

"Dominic, you came in every day for the last two months now. In fact, there were nights when you slept right in this chair. I admire your strength, but I keep wondering why you do this? I know you bro..." and he came close to my ear so only I could hear him. "You're not like that. What the hell is wrong with you?" 

In the last two months, her recovery has been slow but not complete. She had now been awake for about a week and kept asking for me. Or at least of the one that saved her. When I brought her in, Declan did a detailed CT scan, and now he covered her eyes in bandages. He must have seen something he shouldn't have...

"If I tell you I don't know what's wrong with me either, would you believe me? It's like my whole body's screaming, calling out for her..." 

"What now, Declan?" 

"Sit down. We need to talk some more." 

I sat in a chair in his office, preparing myself for the discussion. I was fully aware of what was to come, but I didn't know if I was also prepared to hear the harsh truth.

"Dominic, what this woman has been through has left a nasty mark on her. Since she had no papers on her, and I had to put a name on the register of admissions, I made up one for her, Corrine. Now that she woke up, she could tell me her real name, Rebecca Holland. But there are two things you'll have to know and accept. First, just as you first told me and the way we brought her here, Miss Holland is paralyzed from the waist down. Add to that the fact that she witnessed the murder of the man she was with, and the psychological shock she suffered went further than I could have ever imagined. At the last CT scan, I could see slight disturbances in the nerve that gives her vision. You know I did one when we brought her in two months ago, and I've seen something wrong ever since. It's also the reason I performed the surgical procedure. I'll keep her bandages on this week, and when you come to pick her up, we'll see if the blindness isn't permanent." 

It was like listening to a horror story and no matter how hard I tried to tear myself away from it, I couldn't.

"What do you mean, Declan?" Although I was afraid of the answer, I took a chance and asked.

"I mean that the shock was so great that it affected her eyesight. And although she hasn't opened her eyes yet to be able to say that for sure, but just based on the changes in her eyes seen on the CT scan at that moment, Miss Holland definitely suffered this due to post-traumatic shock. In other words, I'm ninety percent sure she can't see anything around her, but it could not be permanent. That would be psychological blindness."