The Darkening of the Light

My wife didn’t have it easy growing up. Her mother was an abusive alcoholic who lived to torment her. A childhood surgery to remove a tumor growing on her left eye took her sight when it took the growth—she’s never been able to see anything with her left eye but changes in shadow and light.
Her mother died in a house fire twelve, almost thirteen, years ago—a single year after my wife and I were married.
Roughly five years ago, my wife’s sightless eye started bothering her. It felt irritated all...