If Love Is Blind

seven

IT TOOK A LONG three months for Claret to hear about Kaden again. It was three months of pure apprehension of the heart that went by as slow as a gloomy Sunday. We did not feel a single breeze. Nobody really knew the Khan family, and if asked, no one would pin point the emptiness in town on their departure.  The souls of the towns' people were heavy and everyone walked as if there was never a hurry anymore. The latter statement exempted my Claret.

Because she was utterly irrelevant if we were to talk about souls today, for it seemed as though she no longer had one.

The newspapers, though, had a large amount of opinions on the moving of the Khan family. Headlines were written every week or so featuring them. That was nothing that made my Claret happy, of course. The constant reminder that Kaden had left was only opening her wounds wider.

I am never going to be more disappointed in the fact that I tried everything I could have possibly tried to make her feel alive again, yet nothing seemed to work. Nothing ever gleamed through her eyes and it seemed as though she harbored her feelings just so I would not notice them. Perhaps she wasn't feeling anything at all. Claret Hale was barely a portion of what she used to be; a walking vessel, many might say. I beg to differ. I always knew there was still something there. There was always something waiting to be brought back up, as if the exterior was far too wrecked for it to come through.

Anyways, back to the story I originally intended to tell you. It had been three months since the Khan family moved to America. I was doing some shopping downtown when I came across a newspaper guy sitting on the corner of a street. I had no intention of shopping for newspaper, but he was adamant that I buy a paper from him. So I did, and then I intended to throw it out on the next bin. There I was, my hand already extended to fling the newspaper, when a line stuck out and rang a few bells in my head. I remember how it read because it will haunt me forever.

KADEN "KHAN" SEE AGAIN

And as I skimmed through the article with a blurry vision, I found key words that made my body feel as light as a feather: surgery successful, miracle, unbelievable, destiny, millions. The one that made the biggest impact, though, was: engaged.

Yes. I, too, thought I had read that wrong.

Completely sure that my Claret would find this headline sooner than later, I turned back to the man on the curb before anyone could buy another paper.

"I want to buy all of them," I said. He looked quite shocked to say the least.

"You want all of my newspapers?"

"I believe that is what I said, yes."

"And what would a man like you want with all these newspapers?" He asked. I was growing rather impatient.

"What do you care? You only want the money, right?" I said. He remained thoughtful for a minute, as if waiting for me to come to my senses. I knew what I was doing.

He proceeded to hand me down all the newspapers he had in display and all the two boxes filled to the brim with papers he was sitting on. They were heavy with shame. You could feel the guilt creeping onto your fingers when you touched the grimmy cardboard.

People were starting to stare. I walked back to finish my reading before Claret was home from school.

I will summarize what the article read in a few simple words. The doctor who gave sight to Kaden again is also a very wealthy man. He has a beautiful daughter who wants to be an eye doctor too named Elisa Little. She was the first girl his age that he saw and they both fell "in undeniable love" (as cheapishly described by the journalist). Their parents thought it was a great idea. They are engaged and are due to get married as soon as they turn 18, which is very soon.