I Heard Your Voice In A Dream

Chapter 24

Lauren thought of every possibility on how unsuccessful the surgery could be. She's had her share of disappointments with every alternative treatment or surgery for her eyes. And if by the time the bandages were taken off and she still saw the dark world she was accustomed to, it would just be another disappointment.

Disappointment was something she was quite accustomed to. Especially in regards to her health. So she tried not to get her hopes up that the surgery would be successful.

But she did anyway.

And how could she not? Everything...it just felt right. It felt like it was all coming into place. There couldn't be room for disappointment, not this time around. She hoped. Lauren never hoped for anything, but God, she really hoped this surgery worked.

She wanted to see the world before she left. Lauren wanted to see the flowers bloom in the spring, the beauty of summer in the scorching heat, the leaves change colors and fall when autumn came, the white snow fall from the sky...

But more than anything, she wanted to see the most beautiful wonder in the world. The most beautiful work of art not even the most talented artist could recreate if they tried...

That, was Camila Cabello. The most beautiful masterpiece to ever come across earth.

Lauren knew she was beautiful, she didn't need eyes to see it. But she wanted to see the girl that changed her life for the better. She wanted to see the girl that showed her the concept of "whatever" and shared her many theories on life and just...loved her.

She wanted to see the girl she was madly in love with.

She wanted to see the girl that made her believe in true love because she found it. Lauren found true love with Camila and she'd never find it with anyone. Even if she lived to be 110, by some strange miracle, there'd be no one she could love more fiercely than Camila.

Camila was her person. She was the girl she talked to on the phone until three in the morning, and they'd have conversations about the importance of Oreos in society or something as ridiculous as that. But she was also the girl she could talk about the beauty of the universe or the beauty of life. She was the girl she could cuddle with but also laugh with until she was red. She was the girl that made her start singing again. She was the girl she wanted to write songs about forever.

Camila...she was the girl.

There was no one else for her.

Lauren was in the hospital room where she had stayed recovering for the past month. The bandages were annoying to have covering her eyes, but if at the end of the day they helped give her sight, she wouldn't mind the minor sacrifice.

"Are you ready, Lauren?" Lauren's ophthalmologist asked. Her friends, her parents, her siblings, and Camila were here with her to support her on this—hopeful—miracle.

Lauren nodded. "I've been ready for a long time...please."

Camila squeezed her hand and smiled widely, feeling anxious for Lauren's bandages to come off. She had a lot of hope at the moment, a lot of hope that this surgery worked. Lauren smiled at the squeeze. "I love you." Camila told her in a whisper.

"I love you too. I can't wait to see you." Lauren whispered back with a wider smile.

The ophthalmologist began to unwrap the bandages in her eyes and Lauren blinked when she didn't feel the bandages anymore. "Okay, I'm going to put some drops in your eyes and tell me if you start seeing anything." The doctor told her as he tilted her head up and placed the drops on both her eyes, Lauren flinching when she initially felt the cold liquid spill in her eyes. She blinked rapidly as she moved her head back down.