Taking care of my wife for 5 years, once I forgot to take my things, as soon as I opened the door, I saw … That scene made me stunned

“For 5 years, I was more attached to the hospital bed than my bed. I fertilized my wife with every spoonful of porridge, changed each piece of bandage, wiped every drop of sweat. People say I’m stupid, but I believe in husband and wife. Until one afternoon, I forgot my wallet at home and came home earlier than usual. Opening the door of the room, I stood still. The world I had preserved for so many years, collapsed in the blink of an eye…”

Minh is a man in his thirties, thin but strong, with a face that is more austere than his real age. He lives with his wife, Thao, in a small level 4 house located on the outskirts of Hue city. In the past, both husband and wife were elementary school teachers, living a simple life, not well-off but peaceful. Their life used to be the dream of many people.

The event struck on the last day of the year. Thao had a traffic accident while going to the Tet market, suffered a spinal injury, leading to hemiplegia. At that time, Minh was still in class when he was called by the hospital’s phone. Looking at his wife lying motionless on the emergency bed, he couldn’t believe that the once lively and joyful woman could only cry silently.

Since the day Thao could no longer walk, Minh asked for a long-term resignation. He takes care of his wife from the smallest things: from eating, personal hygiene to physical therapy at home. The small house gradually became a mini medical station with all kinds of medicines, bandages and assistive devices.

Someone advised him to take his wife to a nursing home for the paralyzed, but he refused. “My wife, I stared. No one can replace it.” – Minh replied, his eyes were red but his voice was full of determination.

Every morning, he gets up early to cook porridge, feed his wife, and then take advantage of a part-time job as an electrical repairman at home to make a living. In the evening, he sat by his wife again, reading to her, massaging his limbs, hoping to stimulate the nerves with some reflexes. Every time he saw her fingers move slightly, he was as happy as a child receiving a gift.

Thao didn’t say much. She was silent for most of the conversation, only occasionally nodding or shedding tears. Imagining it is helplessness, but it is also gratitude. He never had any doubts.

At first, my family still went back and forth to help. But a few years passed, everyone had their own life, and relatives gradually faded. Minh didn’t blame anyone. He knows that taking care of a paralyzed person is not something that everyone can bear, much less can it last forever.

Life continues steadily, until one day…

Minh was on his way to the electrical repair shop when he suddenly remembered to forget his wallet at home. Including papers, money and even invoices that customers need to pay. He turned the car around, thinking that he would simply run back quickly, get his things and move on.

But as soon as he pushed the door into the house, he was stunned.

The door had just opened, and the afternoon sun shone obliquely through the small window, illuminating the scene in front of Minh — and it was also the moment when his life was shattered.

On the bed where Thao has been lying for the past 5 years, there are now two people. Not only Thao — but also a strange man sitting close to the edge of the bed. He wore a white shirt, khaki pants, a tall figure, a familiar face, and seemed to be a physical therapist that Minh sometimes hired to assist once a week.

But what stunned Minh the most was that… Thao is sitting up, clear, steady — no need for a fulcrum. And her hands were gripping the other man’s hand, trembling, as if holding on to something that was both fragile and warm.

“Thao…” – Minh stammered, his steps staggered. His voice was hoarse, and his whole body seemed to be drained of strength by someone.

Both of them on the bed turned around. Thao rolled her eyes, her face turned pale. The other man snatched his hand out of her hand, stood up, embarrassed like a child caught stealing.

Ming didn’t shout. Don’t swear. Do not hit. He just stood there, his eyes full of chaos. “I… How long have you been traveling?”

Thao was silent. Then, after a few seconds, she lowered her head and said softly like a breeze:
“Almost 8 months.”

“8 months…?” – Minh repeated, his mind blank.

Thao cried. For the first time in many years, her tears fell not because of physical pain. “I’m afraid you know… I’m afraid of your eyes, I’m afraid of expectations, I’m afraid… himself. I don’t know who I am anymore. In the past 5 years… I live like a shadow. And when my body gradually recovers… I don’t know what to do with myself. I’ll give you all… But I can’t love you like I used to be anymore…”

Minh was silent. His heart aches, not because of betrayal, but because of the feeling of 5 years of love and sacrifice … become meaningless. He used to think that as long as he tried, love would heal everything. But he forgot that there are wounds that lie deeper than the body—in the heart.

The other man was about to walk out of the room, but Minh raised his hand and gestured: “You don’t need to leave. I just want to hear one word—to be honest.”

The other person lowered his head: “I didn’t mean to… But she needs someone who listens. He may be the husband, the caretaker, but he is no longer the one who understands her. She’s lonely… in your own love.”

Minh didn’t say anything more. He walked out of the house, still holding his wallet in his hand, as a testament to the moment that changed everything. The road back to the electrical repair shop seemed to be twice as long. It rained that day.

Minh moved out of that house and went to his hometown to live for a while. He did not blame, nor did he litigate. The divorce papers were quickly signed by him, leaving the house for Thao. “Consider that I am repaying my husband and wife for 5 years,” he wrote in the application with a trembling but decisive handwriting.

He returned to work as a teacher, but in a small village school. Life is slower, more sad, but also more relieved.

Once, someone asked him, “Do you regret sacrificing so much?”

Minh shook his head and smiled sadly:
“No. Because when you fall in love, people don’t calculate. But from now on, I will learn to love myself first, and then love someone else.”

The story has no absolute bad guys or good people. Minh is not wrong because he loves too much. Thao is not wrong because she wants to relive her life. The biggest mistake… is that they both think love will keep everything—even things that are dead in silence.