The hospital hallway was still and quiet. Nurses clad in seafoam green scrubs filtered in and out of patient’s rooms leisurely. They were in no rush, but Hope Winters sprinted.
He swung around the first corner, his sneakers sliding on the linoleum tile. Just ahead was the front desk. He slammed his hands down on the counter as he slid to a stop.

“Ariel Winters’ room,” he gulped down deep breaths, leaning over the counter.

“Let me see,” the receptionist began typing without even looking up. “She’s in room one nineteen.”

Hope bolted from the front desk without another word. He tore past another nurse in the hallway, knocking her clipboard to the ground. The clatter as it hit the floor was already distant when he saw a group of three nurses and a doctor exiting a room at the end of the hall. He whirled around them, rushing through a cloud of medical jargon.

“Ariel,” he panted, bursting through the door. The overhead fluorescent light was off and sunlight spilled through the window. A girl with long brown hair lay there in silence, her eyes closed. At the sound of his footsteps, she opened her eyes and looked toward the door with a smile.

“Hope,” she reached out toward him. “I thought you were coming later?”

“No, I came as soon as they called,” he explained as he came around the bed and slipped his hand into hers as he sat down beside her. “How do you feel?”

“Weak,” she laughed softly before falling into a fit of coughing.

“Just wait. I’ll get—”

“No, no,” she gripped his hand as he tried to get up. “I don’t want to waste any time with nurses.”

“Don’t say that.” The words stung his ears as a subtle reminder as he slowly sat back down. Smoothing the blanket, he kept his eyes on the floor until she spoke again.

“Hope,” she reached up and brushed his dark hair away from his forehead with a smile. “Barely twenty-one and you have to go through this.”

“That I have to go through this?” he shook his head. “What about you? We are going through this. If anything, it’s hardly fair that this is happening to you.”

“Yeah, life isn’t fair,” Ariel stroked the back of his hand. “But you have to work with the time that you’re given, and sometimes you don’t get as much time as you think you should have, but that doesn’t change anything. I’m the same as any other cancer patient.”

“Except you’re not,” Hope ran his fingers through her hair, brushing it from her face. “I don’t love any of the others.”

“You’re not married to any of the others either,” she laughed, fingering the ring on his hand. “Do you remember when you asked me to marry you? In that field of wildflowers? It was like something out of a movie.”

“I do,” he tried to stifle a chuckle. “I was so nervous. My palms were sweating and my heart was pounding. I didn’t feel like I was in a movie at all.”

“Well, I felt like I was,” she looked down at the ring on her finger and smiled. “Whenever this cancer starts to get to me, I just think about this and the day we got married and it helps me get through bad days.”

Hope turned away for a moment, wiping his eyes on his shoulder. “I almost don’t want to remember.”

“Why not?”

“Because…” Hope took a deep, shaking breath. “It just reminds me that I have to keep going…without you.” He wiped his eyes again with the back of his hand. “I knew it was coming. I thought I would be able to prepare myself for it, but here I am.”

“This isn’t something that you could’ve prepared for,” she rubbed his shoulder. “Death isn’t polite and no one is ready when it comes, whether for you or someone you love.”

“When did you get so philosophical?” he looked at her, still fighting back tears.

“I had to come to grips with this too,” she pulled on her hair with her free hand. “We don’t get to choose when our time comes.”

Hope didn’t say anything. The stillness in the air was broken only by the sound of their breathing. He could hear two distinct breaths; there were still two heartbeats in that room.

He felt her fingers intertwined in his, the warmth of her hand, and he thought back to before the hospital and before the cancer. He thought back to when he met her. Never would he have thought that only a few years would bring them there.

“You know what?” he looked her in the eyes, his voice still shaking.

“What?”

“If I had known that this would happen when I met you,” he swallowed, searching for words. “I would still choose you over and over again, because I can’t imagine any other life than this.”

“Hope, how can you say that?” she shook her head. “I wouldn’t wish this life on anyone, never knowing if it’s going to be the last day or not.”

“Because,” he took both of her hands in his. “I already told you. I can’t imagine any other life than this. I can’t even begin to think of my life without you. It’s just not fair,” he hung his head. “You’re too young. Heaven doesn’t need you yet.”

“I know. I know,” she squeezed his hands. “But this is how things are,” her smile vanished for the first time since he had arrived. “I promise you’ll get through this, and there will be a reason for it.” She reached up and touched his face. “And it’s not just you. Do you think I want to leave you? I didn’t want this either, but I don’t regret a moment of it.”

Hope held her hand to his face, squeezing silent tears from his eyes. “Ariel…” His tears made big splotches on the hospital blanket. He drew a gasping breath in an effort not to cry, but let out a loud involuntary sob.

“Oh, Hope,” she leaned forward into his chest. “Come on. Look at me.”

He sniffed and forced himself to look into her eyes.

“Now smile for me,” she said, leaning back. “It’s the last thing I want to see before I go.”

“Ariel…” his voice shrank to a whimper.

“Come on, Hope,” Ariel flashed an even bigger smile. “Don’t cry over me.”

He took a deep breath and did his best to force a smile for her. He stroked her cheek through misty eyes.

“There you go,” she laid her hand on his face. “I’m going to miss you so much, Hope. Heaven is going to feel a little empty without you there.”

“I love you so much, Ariel,” his voice quivered uncontrollably, almost unrecognizable, as tears fell from his eyes. “This world is going to feel a lot empty without you.”

“I love you, Hope,” she smiled back with tears brimming in her own eyes. “And I will see you again, even if it’s at the end of the world. I…love you…so much.”

Trembling and tears running down his face, Hope leaned forward and kissed her gently on the forehead, his whole body shaking. He felt her chest rise and fall beneath him, and he held her close. Finally, her chest rose, fell, and then ceased to move. Immediately he lost it. He sobbed, clutching her warm body in his arms. He didn’t care how loud he cried. He didn’t care who heard him.

It felt like hours, but when he was finally able to compose himself, he felt empty, like a piece of his soul had been ripped out. He sat there in silence, covering his mouth with his hands. She was gone, really gone. He almost broke down again, but her words echoed in his mind, and for a split second he could feel her again.
”I will see you again, even if it’s at the end of the world.”