With Ears to See

“I’m glad you’re finally coming home today.”

He didn’t say anything as he pulled his shirt over his head.
I frowned and walked over to him, sitting down next to him on the bed.

I ran a hand through his hair and played with the dark locks.

He smiled slightly, but it quickly went away.

“All these years…I thought my parents wanted nothing to do with me anymore.”
He let out a dark chuckle as a tear rolled down his cheek.

“They still loved me, and here I am thinking that they didn’t…”

Soon, he went from silent tears to sobs and hiccups.
I wrapped an arm around him and placed a hand on his hip while I used the other one to wipe his tears away.

“I…I shouldn’t be crying over the past…I should be moving on…Right, Aus?”
“It’s okay to grieve, Kellin. Whether past or present, it’s still okay.”

He rested his head against my chest and let more tears fall as I rubbed soothing circles on his back.

There was a knock on the door before it opened.
The nurse walked in with another man following behind her.

“Good afternoon. I’m Dr. Jones. I’m here to speak with you both before you two leave.”

I wiped away Kellin’s tears again and nodded towards the doctor.

“It’s about Kellin and his blindness. I assume you already know about your parents and how it affected you.”
Kellin nodded.

“Your blindness is temporary. However, your amnesia prevented you from recovering.”
Kellin looked up, eyes widening a little.

“What I’m saying is that with physical and mental therapy, you can gain back your ability to see.”

I stared at him in shock. Kellin bit down on his lip.

“What will the therapy consist of? Will I have to remember the incident?”
“In order to break your amnesia, yes.”

There was a moment of silence.

“No.”

I gave Kellin an incredulous look, even though he couldn’t see it.

“Kellin, if you do this, you can see again! Don’t you understand?”
“I understand completely, Austin.”
“Then why—”

“If the incident was so horrible that I developed amnesia and became blind, then I wouldn’t want to remember what I witnessed.”

He grabbed my hand and intertwined our fingers.

“I’m happy with the way things are now. I…I don’t really want to change anything.”

The doctor gave me a worried look.

“Are you sure?”
A smile appeared on Kellin’s face.

“I’m sure.”

x x x

I still can’t believe it.

We were driving home. Kellin was in the passenger seat, fast asleep.
I was holding his hand, gently brushing his knuckles with my thumb.

It’s what he wanted, and he seemed happy with his decision.

“You’re truly amazing, Kellin.”

He stirred a little, but he didn’t wake up.
I chuckled to myself and brought my focus back onto the road.

x x x

“Oh Kellin! My baby! You’re finally back home!”
Mei-Xing didn’t hesitate to pull him down into a hug.

Kellin hugged her back with a content smile on his face.
“I missed you too.”

“Come on, you two. Haneul and I just finished making dinner. I know you’re probably sick of hospital food, Kellin.”
He gave her a sheepish smile and nodded.

Mei-Xing was about to walk into the dining room with Kellin, but I stopped her.
She turned to me.

“What is it?”
“I couldn’t keep my word…He knows.”

She stared at me, mouth agape.
With her facial expression, I couldn’t tell if she felt sympathetic for Kellin, or if she wanted to rip me in half.

Probably both.

“Ai-yah! Wǒ yīnggāi dǎ nǐ ba!”
She shook her fist in my face, but calmed down soon after.

“How did he take it?”
“He was upset about it, but he’s trying to move on.”
“That’s just like him.”

I shifted my stance.

“The doctor said he could have regained his sight with some physical and mental therapy, but…”
“He refused.”
“Y-Yeah…”
She smiled slightly.

“That’s just like him, too.”

“Mei-Xing!” Kellin called from the dining room.
“Tell Haneul to stop being such a mean old man!”

She shook her head in disbelief and headed towards the room.
“Stop acting so childish and eat your food!”

I smiled and walked into the dining room as well, taking a seat next to Kellin.
We all passed through different conversations whilst eating our food.
And soon, it became a usual Friday.

Haneul and Mei-Xing were watching a soccer game while Kellin and I washed dishes.
When we were finished, I pulled him close and stole a long, passionate kiss from him.
He giggled, blushing madly.

“Welcome back home, Kellin.”