First Sight

Kimberly was born blind. Her parents died when she was at the age of 7 from a brutal homicide. Though Kimberly was also attacked that night, her condition was critical but not serious. However, it was from that night on that the doctors learned that Kimberly was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, one of the most common types of Leukemia among children. From then on, Kimberly lived at Memphis Hospital, since she also had no other family member to look after her. Throughout her years at the hospital, she made many friends but they would all just come and go, leaving her all alone once again.

One day, a new boy was admitted to the hospital. His name was Justin and he was there due to Pulmonary Valve Stenosis, which is when blood is unable to get to flow from the heart to the lungs, resulting in a reduction of blood in the lungs. Justin was 13 and at that time, Kimberly was 12. And this is how their love story began.

Justin, after having awoken from his "long nap", looked around and saw a girl on the bed adjacent to his. She was sitting upwards and leaning against her pillow, staring at something out the window. Her silky long hair rested calmly and peacefully upon her shoulders. Her skin was of a fair color, not too dark and not too light. Her figure captivated Justin, almost as if an angel had just appeared before him. A nurse came in and said something to the girl. The girl was then led off of her bed and out of the hospital room. As she walked, Justin saw that the nurse had to lead her, which made him realize that she was blind. When the girl returned, Justin decided to try and make conversation with her.

"Hi," said Justin. The girl slowly turned her head to the left.

"Hello there," she replied. "My name's Kimberly. What's yours?"

"I'm Justin." He reached his hand out for a handshake but then he remembered that she was blind so he quickly withdrew his hand. However, he then noticed Kimberly making an effort to walk over to shake his hand.

"Oh, it's okay," said Justin as he jumped off his bed to lead Kimberly back to her bed.

"I'll come over to your bed so it'll be easier for you." He went off somewhere and came back with a chair in his hand. He put the chair next to her bed and took a seat.

"So," said Justin. "What's your story?"

"What do you mean?," asked Kimberly as she tilted her head.

"How come you're here?," asked Justin, hoping that he wouldn't offend her in any way.

"It's a rather gruesome story," began Kimberly."My parents were stabbed to death in their bed by a mysterious man. Though I was also attacked, my injuries were not as serious so I survived."

"Oh," said Justin as he stared at the floor. He didn't expect to hear such a disturbing tale.

"So, were you born blind?," he asked. A small frown appeared on her face as she nodded 'yes'. Justin felt bad for Kimberly, knowing that she would never be able to see the beauty of nature, nor him.

"Now it's your turn," said Kimberly as she shifted her body to face Justin. He took a deep breath before he answered.

"I was born with a heart problem. Up until recently, I was fine. I started getting these attacks since about a year ago and my parents freaked out so they admitted me into this hospital." Kimberly listened with sadness in her heart. Like her, Justin was dying, but she didn't want to tell him her condition, afraid of saddening him even more.

"Justin, how old are you?"

"I'm 13. You?"

"I'm 12. Promise me that we'll be best friends?" she asked as she held up her pinky.

"I promise," said Justin as he hooked his pinky around hers. From that moment on, an amazing friendship began. On days when the weather was beautiful, Justin would take Kimberly out to the little park outside the hospital, walking hand in hand. At night, they would tell each other funny made up stories. Sometimes, Kimberly would sing to Justin in the middle of the night when he couldn't sleep, causing him to fall in love with her even more.

Four years later…

Justin and Kimberly were playing Taboo when Dr. Kim walked in.

"Kimberly," he said. "I have good news for you."

"What is it?," she asked.

"We've finally found you a donor for your eye surgery. You'll finally be able to see. Would you like to go through with this operation?" At first, Kimberly was silently shaking in fear. She was finally going to be able to see what the world was like and most important of all, Justin. Justin wrapped his hand around hers, assuring her that everything would be all right. With that, she gave the doctor a nod.

"Great," said Dr. Kim. "The operation's in a week." Then he left. Though Kimberly was happy with the decision she had just made, she knew that she wasn't going to live much longer for she had been feeling weaker. Little did she know, the same was happening with Justin; his breathing had gotten worse and he had to walk around with an oxygen mask every once in a while.

The day of the surgery came and Kimberly was ready. Justin accompanied her to the operation room and then waited outside the room for three hours. When Kimberly finally came out, her eyes were wrapped with white bandages and a nurse led her back to her bed, with Justin following behind. The doctor said that Kimberly would be able to take off her bandages in a month. During that month, Justin's condition became even worse but he never told Kimberly because he did not want to upset her.

The day before Kimberly was to take off her bandages, she overheard the nurses saying that Justin was in critical condition. She desperately wanted to see him but was too afraid to unwrap her eyes, so she waited one more day. The next morning, Justin sat eagerly next to Kimberly's bed as she was getting her bandages removed by the doctor. Kimberly's eyes slowly flickered open, trying to adjust to the light. When her vision became clearer, she looked around the room and stopped at the boy next to her. The boy had short brown hair and hazel eyes. His complexion was so pale, yet he was smiling.

"Kim," said the boy. "You can finally see." From his voice, she knew it was Justin, the boy she has been in love with all these years.

"Justin!," she cried as she hugged his neck. "I'm so happy that you're the first person I see with my new eyes." She was so happy that she started crying. Just then, Justin had another one of his "attacks" and was rushed to the emergency room.

"What's going on?," asked one of the nurses who'd just come out of the emergency room.

"Justin would need a heart transplant in order for him to survive. I'm sorry." Kimberly stood there in shock. Justin was going to die. After several hours, Kimberly was finally able to go see him. Justin was sleeping but he awoke at the sound of her voice.

"Oh Justin," cried Kimberly. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want the happiest day of your life to become your saddest." He looked even more pale than before and his breathing seemed even slower.

"They say you really need a heart transplant."

"I know. I'm not going through with it."

"What?! Why?"

"My sole purpose in life was to be able to see you see me for the first time. Now that it's fulfilled, it's time to end my suffering."

"But, you'll be leaving me all alone. How can you be so selfish?," cried Kimberly. With a struggling effort, Justin was able to hold her hand one last time, as he felt his energy depleting slowly.

"You're a strong girl," he said. "You'll be fine, I'll be watching over you." He motioned with his free hand for her to come closer. She leaned forward more. With his last ounce of energy, he lifted himself up and kissed her on her lips. A second later, he collapsed onto the bed, not breathing anymore. Kimberly cried her heart out that night. The one she loved left her too soon.

A year later, a girl is seen standing in front of a certain grave in the town cemetery. It was Kimberly, visiting Justin's grave in honor of his death a year ago. Though her condition had also gotten worse, she begged the doctor to let her visit Justin's grave. So there she was, holding a bouquet of flowers for her beloved. She knelt to the ground and placed the flowers on the grave. Her fingers traced Justin's name on the tombstone. She felt very tired so she leaned against the tombstone, closing her eyes to rest for a little bit. The next day, the grave keeper found a motionless girl next to the grave. Kimberly had died the day before, right next to Justin's grave. She was now able to reunite with her beloved Justin in heaven.