Chapter 3

Back in the ward, I sat on the edge of the bed without saying a word.

Lily leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, watching me.

"Come on, Stella, don't be like this. You're making it seem like I hurt you or something." Lily pouted.

"I really didn't know that family would react so badly."

"I just said it casually. Who knew they'd take it seriously?"

She walked over to the bed.

"Besides, think about it — it's not like both your eyes are blind."

"Just wait a bit longer. There'll definitely be another cornea."

I didn't have the energy to argue with her.

My father, John, came in from outside holding a payment receipt.

He glanced at the bandage on my forehead, then looked down at the receipt.

"The pre-surgery examination cost twelve thousand dollars this time. Since the cornea surgery didn't happen, can we get a refund?"

Mary shook her head. "I asked. They won't refund it."

John slammed the receipt on the bedside table. "Twelve thousand dollars down the drain!"

"If you'd offended fewer people out there, would Lily have said those things to them?"

I looked up at him. "John, those are my eyes."

"I know they're your eyes." John cut me off.

"But think about it — Lily just made a joke, and this is what happened to you?"

"Don't you bear any responsibility yourself? If you'd been nicer to Lily normally —"

"Enough, enough." Mary patted Lily's back.

"Let's not fight, family. Lily didn't mean it."

"Stella, calm down. If we can't do the left eye for now, just rest it. We'll wait slowly for next time."

Lily nodded and burrowed into Mary's arms.

I watched their mother-daughter embrace and suddenly remembered something.

"Mary, the wound on my forehead keeps hurting. A bandage isn't enough — it needs stitches."

Mary didn't even look up. "What stitches? It's not like you broke an arm."

"You've always exaggerated things since you were little."

That night, the wound on my forehead started to feel hot.

The next day when I woke up, the entire right side of my face was swollen.

I told the nurse my head hurt unbearably.

The nurse removed the bandage. "The wound is seriously infected. Why didn't you get it treated earlier?"

"This won't work. We need to do debridement immediately, and you need an eye nerve examination."

When the test results came back, the attending physician called my parents into the office.

I couldn't hear what they said.

But when my parents came out, Mary's eyes were red.

She glanced at me and spoke. "The doctor said the infection spread into your orbital cavity."

"Your right eye's optic nerve... is damaged."

I froze. "What does that mean?"

"It means your right eye is going blind too."

My left eye had started degenerating three years ago. Now it only had a faint light perception.

My right eye was my last light.

"That's impossible — my right eye was fine — just because I bumped it?"

The doctor came out holding the report.

"The infection spread from the wound to the optic nerve, causing inflammation."

"If we'd done debridement and anti-inflammatory treatment immediately, it wouldn't have developed to this point."

"But you waited an entire day."

He looked at my parents. "Why didn't the family bring her in for treatment right away?"

My parents were silent for two seconds.

Lily sat on a chair in the hallway, legs crossed, eating yogurt.

"Well, Stella's always made mountains out of molehills. How were we supposed to know this time it was real?"

No one responded to her.

I sat in the examination room, watching the last bit of light perception in my eyes slowly dimming.

Not even the last faint glimmer of light — no one was willing to help me keep it.

I gripped the bed sheet tightly.

I didn't cry or make a scene.

I was just thinking about one thing — something I would never have considered before.