The well of the saints

the long version

Martin and Mary Doul are blind and homeless tramps. They beg for a living in a village where the locals have taken a perverse pleasure in making the poor unfortunate couple believe that they are the most beautiful, radiant couple that ever walked the earth. Of course, this is visibly not the case, as they soon discover, when a saint blesses their eyes with water from a holy well, miraculously restoring the blind couple's sight. This new vista gives a terrible insight into their condition, and the cruel face of the world, driving a wedge in their marriage even as their restored sight once again begins to fade.