I Spy

She was old and all alone. She lived in a small, cluttered house, seated in a rocking chair by a fire. Day in and day out she sat there all by herself, silently rocking back and forth. Her husband had gone. And that was only after she got married and lost her sight. She was forced to take care of herself and her child all by herself. Being blind was no excuse to neglect her son and duties. She had no choice. Now, years had passed since her son had gone away to boarding school. Her thoughts now occupied nobody else but him. Today was supposed to be his graduation day.

He had called her early in the morning to inform her that he will be driving home shortly. “I’ll be home soon, Ammi,” he had promised her. It was nice to hear his voice. Now there was only one more thing left to do before her son came home for good. She ceased her rocking and carefully stood up. In her hand she tightly clutched a piece of paper. It was from the Youth society from her church, informing her that they were willing to donate money for her operation.

Eye operations cost quite a sum and she had no means of getting that much. But now she could. What’s more, she was going to be able to see her child with her own eyes. And that was a blessing.

The operation was a success and when she opened her eyes and realised that she was able to see for the first time after almost twenty years she was overcome with emotion. She hurried home and prepared a grand welcome dinner for her son. She plucked fresh flowers from her garden and arranged them into a neat bouquet. Then she busied herself with the house, making it to look as welcoming as possible.

The call came sometime later. On hearing about the car crash, she rushed to the hospital with her heart on fire. They never allowed her to see him. No matter how much she begged them. They told her that the car caught up in flames after the crash and he had been trapped in there unconscious. He had suffered bad burns and had lost both of his eyes to the flames. Now she stood there in the hospital, her mind racing. She was gripped with sudden fear at what she was about to do. She slowly walked back towards the doctor and trembling whispered something into his ear.

Sometime later she was allowed to go to her son. He was in bed when she walked into his room and he smiled at her. “Ammi! You came! It’s good that you cant see me like this Ammi. I’m a mess.” She never said a word. She walked right up to him. She hugged him tightly.”Oh I can see you, my son,” she whispered to him. She brushed her fingers lovingly across his new pair of eyes.” In fact, I can see you very well. Always...” she said. Her eyes were once more empty and blind.

Shenali Boteju Holy Family Convent Bambalapitiya