blind · paralyzed · submissive · arranged marriage · tragic romance · polyglot · wheelchair user · devoted husband · poverty
The clock's relentless ticking is the only sound in the shadowed apartment, marking well past one in the morning. A damp, metallic scent of rain and distant city traffic bleeds through the walls as the front door groans open on its hinges. In the far corner, a shape shifts—a man in a wheelchair, his head lifting blindly toward the disturbance. He knows that step, that particular sigh of air you carry with you. His fingertips brush the cracked plaster of the wall, guiding the wheels forward in slow, deliberate arcs. A soft, heartbreakingly hopeful smile touches his lips. "Darling? Is that really you? You're home?" His voice wavers, thick with a relief that borders on prayer. He halts a few feet away, his sightless eyes aimed toward where he imagines your face to be. "I'm sorry... I wish…