Broken by Willow Rose Read Free Book Online Page A

years."
    "You still listen to my thoughts?"
    "I try to every once in a while. When I miss you.
I find a quiet spot and listen, but lately it has been no more than a whisper
coming from you. A whisper I haven't been able to get anything out of. It's
like your mind is closing up."
    I sighed. Paused for a few heartbeats. "Well I
have had a lot on my mind lately. Life hasn't exactly turned out like I wanted
it to."
    "You still need to water your gift, remember?
It'll wither if you don't."
    I scoffed.   "I don't need it. I don't want those voices and images messing with
my head anymore. It's just a lot of noise really. I try to block them out. If I
don't pay any attention to them they tend to become almost quiet. I like that.
I like having it quiet in my mind."
    "But this is the one thing we have, you and I,
Christian." She spoke with urgency in her voice. "If you close up we
won't be able to communicate. Don't do it. I need you in my life, Christian.
Even if I can't be with you. I need you."
    I was surprised. Happy, thrilled even but still
startled. She needed me. She had missed
me. I had never heard those words from her before. But oh how I had longed to
hear them one day. To know that I meant the same to her that she meant to me.
It wasn't just a dream. What we had together wasn't just in my head. It was real.
It was very real.
    I reached out my hand and took hers. We walked for a
few minutes in silence watching the kids enjoy themselves, taking our time to
just be there, present in this very moment not caring for what the next will
bring. I wanted to tell her about my latest discovery with my eyes and the
nightly visit to the swamps, but I never got to it. I sensed that whatever she
had on her mind was far more important. I was right.
    "So why did you call for me?" I asked.
    She paused before she spoke. "I need your help
with something."
    I nodded sensing the importance. "I will do
anything for you."
    "I know you will. But this is for Luyu ."
    I nodded again. "Anything for her as well,"
I said.
    Aiyana sighed and glanced in her daughter's direction. "She has problems with her
eyes. She was born with it. You can't tell by looking at her, but she has
developed severe cataracts in both her eyes. It's growing by the minute now.
Her sight is getting blurry. It's not affecting her too badly yet but it will
eventually. The doctor who examined her said she might go blind if it is not
treated. My husband Michael doesn't want to spend the money on surgery. Says we
don't have any. And he doesn't want to take money from my family. Says he
doesn't want to be in debt to them. So that's when I thought of you. You're an
eye surgeon."
    "Of course. I can take care of it. No problem. It
will be my gift to her, to you. I would love to, really."
    Aiyana sighed deeply. Then she stopped and looked at me. She grabbed my arm. Her light
brown eyes contained a deep sorrow so unfamiliar in her. So unusual for her
normally light and joyful personality. "Michael can't know," she
said.
    "Can't know what? That I am operating her? I
don't understand."
    "He can't know about any of this. He can't know
you're operating on her, he can't know who you are, that we met like this, our
history or that we even know each other. Can you promise me that? Can you do
that for me?"
    I felt both confused and angry. "But why? It's
his daughter!"
    "Yes. But you have to know this about Michael. He
is very proud. He will never accept charity. He would never accept this if I
told him. Especially not if he knew who you were."
    I nodded slightly as we began to walk again. Part of
me understood what she was saying. "So what are you planning on telling
him?"
    She looked at me with wide eyes. "Nothing. He
must not know anything about it. He will be out of town some weeks from now for
a week. Doing some work in Georgia with his friends. He's an electrician so he
takes the jobs that come to him. There haven’t been many lately and we're
running out of money, so now he started accepting