Till Death Do Us Part: A Letter To A Dying Lover

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Ananya Ray
Apr 17, 2019   •  15 views

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To my love, on his deathbed.

Cinnamon and fresh laundry. That is what you smelled like when I first saw you in all of your soccer star glory. Confidence oozing out of you, your charisma winning over every teacher, every parent, every friend. Every girl.

Oh yes, there were girls, weren't there? Loads of them. Long hair, hazel eyes, pretty faces. Girls thinner than me. Girls smarter than me. Girls lovelier than me. Way, way, better than me in every aspect. And you? You were crazy enough to choose me

Remember that one time you topped Math and I failed? Well, you scratched out the A+ on your report card so that you could make me feel less miserable. You stayed back every evening in school to tutor me in Calculus. And no one could be happier than you; not even me, when I got that A+ with you. You saved me, love. You still do.

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My dear, tonight as I sit by your bed in the Emergency room, waiting for the tell-tale beep that resolves everything, but wishing against wish for a miracle, I realize one thing. If you are not able to make it tonight, love, the world will not stop moving.

I know, how it goes. The school will mourn you for what? Two months? Three months? They will hold a memorial, fundraisers, awareness camps warning students not to do what you did to yourself. There will be two minutes of silence in the assembly hall. Students will bring flowers, offer condolences, say how much they miss you.

But then? After a time, people will forget. They will forget all about you. Coach will select a new captain for the soccer team. Our class teacher Mrs. Patel will make us vote for a new monitor. Your friends will no longer remember that you were here. Greenview High will move on and a time will come when the only reminder of your existence would be the yearbook photos in the old library shelvesPictures from a time that had gone by long ago.

My dearest, if you don't make it tonight, a part of me will die with you...that part of me which you owned.

But, love never dies. It grows tendrils and branches, wraps around us, humans, like climbers, and ultimately, survives. We had something invincible, something indestructible. And even if time erases the memory of this school, this whole town, this world, it will not be able to delete what we have. Not now, not ever.

If you wake up tomorrow, you will find these words written down in my all too familiar scribbly hand on the back of a tissue paper by your bed. I hope with all my heart that you will.

But if you don't, goodbye, my love, we will meet someday. Remember, that, I will always love you, to the end of my days. For ever.

Sleep well, my love.

Goodbye.

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