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 Khadijah 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, Salim.
Salim was an Air Force officer and he loved Khadijah 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, Khadijah 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. Salim volunteered to drive her to work each day, even though they worked at opposite ends of the city. At first, this comforted Khadijah, and fulfilled Salim's need to protect his sightless wife who was so insecure about performing the slightest task.
Soon, however, Salim realized the arrangement wasn't working. Khadijah 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, Khadijah 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."
Salim's heart broke to hear these words, but he knew what had to be done. He promised Khadijah 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, Salim, military uniform and all,...