Matthew turned his head toward her and smiled even wider.
— “You’re wearing a yellow dress, and your hair is up.”
Karen burst into tears of joy. Andrew knelt by Matthew’s chair.
— “How do you feel, buddy?”
— “Different. Like I was asleep and now I’m waking up.”
Sam was standing to the side, smiling quietly.
— “Thank you, Sam,” Matthew said. “Your grandmother was right. The earth really does heal.”
Sam shook his head.
— “It wasn’t the earth, Matthew. It was you. You decided to be brave again.”
— “But I didn’t do anything.”
— “You did. You chose to trust. You chose to stop hiding.”
That day, Matthew spent hours looking at everything in the house as if seeing it for the first time. He was fascinated by the flowers in the garden and the fish in the living room aquarium.
— “Everything is so much more colorful than I remember,” he told Andrew.
— “Maybe you’re just seeing it with new eyes,” Andrew replied.
During dinner, Sam announced that he thought it was time for him to head back to his aunt’s place.
— “But why?” Matthew asked, clearly disappointed.
— “Because my work here is done, Matthew. You don’t need me anymore. But I’m glad I could help.” Sam looked at Andrew and Karen. “Can I talk to you guys for a second?”
In the office, Sam spoke with a gravity that belied his age.
— “I wanted to thank you for letting me stay and for trusting me.”
— “We’re the ones who should be thanking you, Sam,” Karen said. “You did what no doctor could do.”
— “I just helped. Matthew did the hard work.”
Andrew leaned in.
— “Sam, what if you didn’t have to leave? What if you stayed here with us?”
Sam’s eyes went wide.
— “You’d let me?”
— “We’d love it,” Karen said. “Watching you and Matthew together these last few days… it feels like our family is finally complete.”
— “But I don’t have anything. I can’t pay for anything.”
— “Sam,” Andrew interrupted. “You gave our son his sight back. You brought joy back into this house. If anyone is bringing something to the table, it’s you.”
Sam’s eyes welled up.
— “You really want to adopt me?”
— “Yes,” Karen said without hesitation. “If you want to be part of this family, we’d be honored.”
— “What about Matthew? What does he think?”
