The day my parents arranged my marriage to him – to a man in a wheelchair – I cried the whole night. I was only 23 years old, and he was 10 years older than me. I thought I’d be married to a healthy, handsome man who could walk around the city holding my hand, not someone who would depend on wheels all his life. But my family owed a lot to his family. He proposed to me, as if to get my parents out of trouble. I nodded, tongue chattered, and said to myself: “Well, let’s take it as fate. ”

The wedding ceremony was plain, not as lavish as I thought those weddings were. He was wearing a gray suit, sitting in a wheelchair, his eyes shining with joy, while I was holding my head down, daring not look into anyone’s eyes. The whole time, I was thinking, Is my life over?

That night, I sat motionless in the bride’s room. He brought the car and gave me a cup of hot milk.

– Drink, you’re tired. I took the cup of milk, I was surprised to hear her sweet voice. He asked me to take a bath first. When I got out, he was already sitting by the bed, with a file in his hand.

Come here, I want to show you this.

I sat down. He opened the file. It was filled with house designs, furniture samples, and some sketches of bougainvillea in the balcony.

I know you like bougainvillea. I’ve tasked someone to design the new house, so we can shift in a few months. I want you to live in a place you like.

I looked at him with big eyes. That’s when I noticed that his face was calm, with deep and soft eyes. He looked at me, smiled and said – both my legs are paralyzed, but I can still work, I can give you the whole life. If you don’t like this marriage, tell me, I’ll sign the divorce papers immediately. I didn’t marry you to bind you, but just… I want a chance to love you.

I suddenly burst into tears. No one has ever said such words to me in my life.

That night, he didn’t even touch me. He just leaned against the headboard and read the book, occasionally turning to cover me with a blanket. I turned my back to the wall, but my tears soaked my pillow.

The next day, he remained as gentle as before. They put breakfast in front of my room, and didn’t disturb me while I was sleeping. They hired a tutor to teach me English and enrolled me in an online course in graphic design – something I had dreamed of but never had the chance to learn. In the evening, he took his wheelchair to the terrace to water the plants, and I stood in the distance watching, a strange pain in my chest.

Then one day, they took me out to dinner. When I reached the gate, I saw a magnificent grate of bougainvillea in front of the house, which had been installed that afternoon. I burst into tears. How did you know I like bougainvillea so much? I asked sobbing.

He smiled, the yellow light on his face making him even softer.

Because you always listen to me, even when I’ve never spoken.

On the night of the second wedding, he asked me:

Are you scared?

I nodded slightly. He gently placed his hand on my cheek, then kissed my forehead and eyelids. Her kisses were warm, gentle but also intense. I thought he would be weak in the wheelchair, but on the contrary, his arms were strong, his breath was hot in my ears, making my heart beat loudly. That whole night, he tired me out, but not from pain or coercion, but because he loved me with all his sincerity and long-suppressed want. I never thought that the man I once considered a “burden of fate” would become my whole sky like this.

Now, every morning when I wake up, I see him making coffee for me, the grate of bougainvillea on the balcony waving in the sun, and he sits there smiling, his eyes shining with love that I will never be able to repay in this life.