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- Story Listed as: Fiction For Adults
- Theme: Love stories / Romance
- Subject: Death / Heartbreak / Loss
- Published: 09/23/2017
The phone buzzed on the counter next to the hospital bed, awaking Breanne. Her eyes showed life, but her appearance displayed death. Stressful lines scarred her face, and her bald head gleamed underneath the ceiling light, a few hairs reaching to the heavens for rescue. She extended her trembling hand toward the counter, but the phone was quickly taken away.
A tall woman, hair as gold as the sun, eased to the bedside and cast a shadow over Breanne. She held the iphone in her palms and looked over the text.
Breanne removed her oxygen mask. “Jenn, is it him?”
Without glancing up, Jenn nodded. Her lips moved as she quietly read over the message, like an actress reading a script in hopes of understanding the character’s motivation.
“What does he say?” Breanne asked.
“Bre, I just think you need to rest. The doctor said—”
“That I don’t have much time,” Bre shot back with more vitality than she’d shown in the last week combined. “So, what does it matter?”
Jenn massaged her baggy eyes. “Why do you care so much about a guy you never met?”
“What did he say?”
Jenn repeated his words aloud. “I’ll see you tonight, under the pine tree on our prairie.”
“No other place I’d rather be,” Bre mumbled.
“You don’t have the energy to leave this hospital. And even if you did, I wouldn’t let you,” Jenn snapped. “If he wants to see you, he can come here.”
“No.” Bre paused. “He lives too far away and doesn’t make much money.”
“I can’t, for the life of me, understand how a couple can fall in love without ever meeting.”
“Internet,” Bre joked. She flashed a smile before the pain soured her face once again.
“Without ever seeing him, touching him—”
“I’ve talked with him, seen pictures,” Bre said, “and I’ve met him plenty of times.”
“You’ve been sick all year, so where have you met him?”
“The same place I do every night… under the pine tree on our prairie.” Bre looked to her sister. “Text him back.”
“Why?”
“He’s always with me, and I with him,” Bre answered. “That phone is his hand, and if I don’t squeeze back, he’ll think I died.”
“Bre…” Jenn placed the iphone on Bre’s stomach. As she spoke, her chin quivered. She covered her mouth, swallowed the grief. She finally fought through the urge to cry and said, “I love you, sis. And if you need anything, I’ll be right outside.”
“Go home,” Bre urged. “Go home to your husband and kids. You’ve been up here for days on end.”
“You know I can’t.” Jenn kissed Bre on her warm forehead. “You’re my older sister and were always there for me. It’s my time to be here for you.”
The ceiling light created a thousand iridescent sparkles in Bre’s watery eyes, like the sunrise over a crystal-clear pond. She fought back the tears, flashing that fragile smile.
Jenn waved at Bre, attempted to say ‘bye’. Yet, all she could muster was a mutter. She hung her head and inhaled a shaky breath as if drowning in an ocean of sadness. She swam toward the door for safety, but before exiting, she turned back and watched as Bre struggled with the rough waves of life. With no raft to cast, she asked, “Why does this man mean so much to you?”
“I don’t know. It’s like I’ve shared a previous life with him.” Bre gazed at her sister with a light in her eyes like the light of a lamppost, shining upon a dark street and revealing the only path. “He’s my soulmate.”
Jenn arched her brow, expressing her true feelings. She didn’t seem to understand, but she didn’t judge either. With a simple nod, she flipped the light switch and closed the door behind her.
A gloom fell over the room, but many more lights brightened around Bre, like stars appearing after the fallen sun. Her heart monitors flashed. The nurses’ station blinked. And, lights on the bed beamed.
Bre ignored them all and texted: dont have much time. closin my eyes now. c ya soon.
***
“Roger!” Bre yelled into the night air, which grabbed the full moon’s attention. The big star focused its light, casting a strong glow on the reinvigorated girl. Her knees were strong, steady. Her thick almond hair spilled upon her shoulders. She was beautiful. She was young. And, she was healthy.
On the prairie, pine trees stood in two perfect rows at each side of her, like the honor guard presenting an arriving queen. The moon’s beam retracted from Bre and shone upon their backs, shading the lane and giving them the impression of kneeling soldiers.
“Are you here?” Bre called out.
The moon’s spotlight poured through spaces in the branches, searching for the missing Roger.
“I’m here, my love,” a voice said from the shadows.
The familiar tone had the same effect as an old dinner bell, bringing the youthful Bre home. She fearlessly walked down the aisle in search for her sustenance. “Baby, where are you—”
A dark silhouette appeared from the left row of trees and walked to the center of the alley. The figure stood in the shadows, just out of reach of the moon’s fractured beams. He raised a single red rose into a nearby stream of light, and it vibrantly popped with color.
Bre froze, her heart fluttered as she stared into the beautiful face of déjà vu. It was a face she’d seen a thousand times in her dreams, but a face she could see a thousand more.
“I’m here. I’m always here for you.” Roger stepped out of the darkness and into the spotlight, the rose still extended in his hand. Half of his face was shaded and as dark as his hair, but his green eyes glowed like traffic lights, signaling Bre forward without caution.
“I know, baby.” Bre rushed toward him, and in one bound, she dove into his embrace as if his body heat could warm her cold soul.
The rose fell from Roger’s hand, and it twirled to the ground, quickly forgotten like her disease. They embraced. He wrapped her in his arms, squeezed her, coating his body with her fragrance. She kicked her feet up as he swung her in the air. As they spun, the wind shook their tears free. Instead of wiping their own, they reached across and brushed away the droplet from one another.
Her voice choking, Bre said, “I’m not supposed to make it through the night.”
Roger hugged her tightly against his chest as though putting pressure on a bleeding wound. “Maybe, I can come with you.”
“Don’t you say that. Don’t you do that.” Bre backed away from his embrace and rubbed her soft palms over his prickly stubble. “I believe we’ve been in each other’s lives for many lifetimes, and we’ll be again. But, you mustn’t mess up the flow. You mustn’t mess up the order of things.”
Roger clenched his jaw, painfully grinned through the sorrow. “You’re so smart. How do you know about these things, the order of life?”
“Wikipedia.” Bre winked, smirked, but the brightness quickly faded from her cheeks. No longer plagued by pain, more so, by sincerity for what was real—her love for him. “Will you have me one last time?”
The heavy words weighed on Roger. He looked away. “How can a dream be so sad?”
Bre watched his every move. He hoped to hide his misty eyes, but she saw them building. He tried to fight the whimpers, but she heard his shaky breaths. He did his best to stand strong and be her emotional rock, but even in the dream, his eyes, body language, and attitude showed cracks in the tough surface. She grabbed his chin, forced his vision back.
Roger lost his breath. He kissed her hands, took them in his palms, and then gazed back into her wet eyes. Tears bubbled out like two crystal balls, and in them, Roger saw his fortune, his love, his kindred spirit, and as she blinked he saw his future roll away in a single tear. “Will I have you one last time…? Absolutely, baby. Absolutely.”
Bre unstrapped her thin white nightgown, and it blew away in the breeze like a fleeing ghost.
Roger undid his robe, and it crumpled to the ground behind him.
Between the trees, the moon highlighted the entwined figures as they coiled together like vines.
His arms wrapped around her, Roger gently laid her across the tall grass; it compressed in the form of an angelic crop circle.
Bre peered up at him, ran her fingers through his raven hair. For her, the dream was real, and the night was perfect. She locked her ankles around his waist, inviting him inside.
Roger looked down upon her, hesitated, paralyzed in a moment that he wished could last forever. While transfixed by the beauty beneath him, he combed a strand of hair behind her ear and leaned-in, kissing her neck. Her scent fueled his thrust.
The sensation pushed the moisture from Bre’s eyes, and she cried underneath him while enjoying every stolen minute. Death was late, and she planned on making the most of her unfinished existence.
Roger was there every step of the way, comforting her, easing her thoughts, and bringing her bliss before their inevitable departure. With his thumb, he wiped the tear aside. With his palm, he stopped her quivering chin. And with his arms, he wrapped her tightly like a cocoon, hoping to transform her into a beautiful butterfly that could fly to safety. He wanted to feel her enjoyment. He wanted to soak in her beauty. And, he wanted to steal her disease, burdening himself with the affliction for her.
“Do you love me?” Bre asked.
“I do, baby.”
In his eyes, Bre saw anxiety, weariness, and outright fear. In his eyes, she realized he felt the disease too. “I’ve always loved you. Even before we met, I always knew you were out there.”
Roger grazed his fingertips over her round cheek. He pressed his lips against hers, kissing her with all the affection she deserved. The endearment was as heartwarming as their first, with a heartbreaking finality.
Bre glanced up at him with a warm smile. “Thank y—” Her lips continued moving, but no words came out. Her lively eyes drifted. She blinked, refocusing. The color in her face drained. Her ears rang. She realized what was happening and panicked. She became afraid and looked to Roger, her rock. He was yelling over her, shaking her, but she couldn’t hear nor feel. She concentrated on her breaths, held Roger in her sight — the last thing she’d want to see — as black dots overcame her vision. She released a sigh, head slumped to the right, and tears spilled from her vacant gaze.
“Baby!” Roger shook her, hoping to arouse her attention. “Baby, this is our dream! No one can take this away from us! Not even God himself!”
The world reacted around them: The ground quaked. The stars flickered. And, the moon dimmed, casting an ominous gloom upon their dream. The darkness hugged the couple close, squeezing the light from around them. In the far distance, a shiny doorway, acting as a dying star, signaled their exit.
Roger ignored the dimming light and reached out, caressing her peaceful face. “I love you, baby… Please! Hear me! I love—”
Bre’s body darted from underneath him, propelled toward the light at the end of the shrinking tunnel. In the blink of an eye, she disappeared into the distant twilight.
The flash of light stole Roger’s world, and the darkness consumed him. With a heavy heart, he bawled into the black void, “Breeeee!”
***
Roger awoke as though splashed with a bucket of ice water. He bolted up from his meager, twin-sized bed and brushed the covers aside, inhaling a deep breath.
The room was almost as dark as his dream, barring the red blinking light to his left. On the nightstand, the clock flashed: 3:33 am.
In snapshots, Roger saw her face, her bright eyes. He remembered her lying underneath him, recalled their conversation, the love-making, the setting. And, he remembered the end and how quickly she left.
Breanne. He turned on his lamp, snatched his phone. His fingers danced across the letters, texting an urgent message. He stopped short of sending the text, exited out. He moved to his Contacts and made his way down the list to Bre. He placed the phone to his ear, anticipating hearing her sweet voice and recalling their dream together. It rang…
And rang…
And rang…
And rang…
Under the Pine(MEL EL)
The phone buzzed on the counter next to the hospital bed, awaking Breanne. Her eyes showed life, but her appearance displayed death. Stressful lines scarred her face, and her bald head gleamed underneath the ceiling light, a few hairs reaching to the heavens for rescue. She extended her trembling hand toward the counter, but the phone was quickly taken away.
A tall woman, hair as gold as the sun, eased to the bedside and cast a shadow over Breanne. She held the iphone in her palms and looked over the text.
Breanne removed her oxygen mask. “Jenn, is it him?”
Without glancing up, Jenn nodded. Her lips moved as she quietly read over the message, like an actress reading a script in hopes of understanding the character’s motivation.
“What does he say?” Breanne asked.
“Bre, I just think you need to rest. The doctor said—”
“That I don’t have much time,” Bre shot back with more vitality than she’d shown in the last week combined. “So, what does it matter?”
Jenn massaged her baggy eyes. “Why do you care so much about a guy you never met?”
“What did he say?”
Jenn repeated his words aloud. “I’ll see you tonight, under the pine tree on our prairie.”
“No other place I’d rather be,” Bre mumbled.
“You don’t have the energy to leave this hospital. And even if you did, I wouldn’t let you,” Jenn snapped. “If he wants to see you, he can come here.”
“No.” Bre paused. “He lives too far away and doesn’t make much money.”
“I can’t, for the life of me, understand how a couple can fall in love without ever meeting.”
“Internet,” Bre joked. She flashed a smile before the pain soured her face once again.
“Without ever seeing him, touching him—”
“I’ve talked with him, seen pictures,” Bre said, “and I’ve met him plenty of times.”
“You’ve been sick all year, so where have you met him?”
“The same place I do every night… under the pine tree on our prairie.” Bre looked to her sister. “Text him back.”
“Why?”
“He’s always with me, and I with him,” Bre answered. “That phone is his hand, and if I don’t squeeze back, he’ll think I died.”
“Bre…” Jenn placed the iphone on Bre’s stomach. As she spoke, her chin quivered. She covered her mouth, swallowed the grief. She finally fought through the urge to cry and said, “I love you, sis. And if you need anything, I’ll be right outside.”
“Go home,” Bre urged. “Go home to your husband and kids. You’ve been up here for days on end.”
“You know I can’t.” Jenn kissed Bre on her warm forehead. “You’re my older sister and were always there for me. It’s my time to be here for you.”
The ceiling light created a thousand iridescent sparkles in Bre’s watery eyes, like the sunrise over a crystal-clear pond. She fought back the tears, flashing that fragile smile.
Jenn waved at Bre, attempted to say ‘bye’. Yet, all she could muster was a mutter. She hung her head and inhaled a shaky breath as if drowning in an ocean of sadness. She swam toward the door for safety, but before exiting, she turned back and watched as Bre struggled with the rough waves of life. With no raft to cast, she asked, “Why does this man mean so much to you?”
“I don’t know. It’s like I’ve shared a previous life with him.” Bre gazed at her sister with a light in her eyes like the light of a lamppost, shining upon a dark street and revealing the only path. “He’s my soulmate.”
Jenn arched her brow, expressing her true feelings. She didn’t seem to understand, but she didn’t judge either. With a simple nod, she flipped the light switch and closed the door behind her.
A gloom fell over the room, but many more lights brightened around Bre, like stars appearing after the fallen sun. Her heart monitors flashed. The nurses’ station blinked. And, lights on the bed beamed.
Bre ignored them all and texted: dont have much time. closin my eyes now. c ya soon.
***
“Roger!” Bre yelled into the night air, which grabbed the full moon’s attention. The big star focused its light, casting a strong glow on the reinvigorated girl. Her knees were strong, steady. Her thick almond hair spilled upon her shoulders. She was beautiful. She was young. And, she was healthy.
On the prairie, pine trees stood in two perfect rows at each side of her, like the honor guard presenting an arriving queen. The moon’s beam retracted from Bre and shone upon their backs, shading the lane and giving them the impression of kneeling soldiers.
“Are you here?” Bre called out.
The moon’s spotlight poured through spaces in the branches, searching for the missing Roger.
“I’m here, my love,” a voice said from the shadows.
The familiar tone had the same effect as an old dinner bell, bringing the youthful Bre home. She fearlessly walked down the aisle in search for her sustenance. “Baby, where are you—”
A dark silhouette appeared from the left row of trees and walked to the center of the alley. The figure stood in the shadows, just out of reach of the moon’s fractured beams. He raised a single red rose into a nearby stream of light, and it vibrantly popped with color.
Bre froze, her heart fluttered as she stared into the beautiful face of déjà vu. It was a face she’d seen a thousand times in her dreams, but a face she could see a thousand more.
“I’m here. I’m always here for you.” Roger stepped out of the darkness and into the spotlight, the rose still extended in his hand. Half of his face was shaded and as dark as his hair, but his green eyes glowed like traffic lights, signaling Bre forward without caution.
“I know, baby.” Bre rushed toward him, and in one bound, she dove into his embrace as if his body heat could warm her cold soul.
The rose fell from Roger’s hand, and it twirled to the ground, quickly forgotten like her disease. They embraced. He wrapped her in his arms, squeezed her, coating his body with her fragrance. She kicked her feet up as he swung her in the air. As they spun, the wind shook their tears free. Instead of wiping their own, they reached across and brushed away the droplet from one another.
Her voice choking, Bre said, “I’m not supposed to make it through the night.”
Roger hugged her tightly against his chest as though putting pressure on a bleeding wound. “Maybe, I can come with you.”
“Don’t you say that. Don’t you do that.” Bre backed away from his embrace and rubbed her soft palms over his prickly stubble. “I believe we’ve been in each other’s lives for many lifetimes, and we’ll be again. But, you mustn’t mess up the flow. You mustn’t mess up the order of things.”
Roger clenched his jaw, painfully grinned through the sorrow. “You’re so smart. How do you know about these things, the order of life?”
“Wikipedia.” Bre winked, smirked, but the brightness quickly faded from her cheeks. No longer plagued by pain, more so, by sincerity for what was real—her love for him. “Will you have me one last time?”
The heavy words weighed on Roger. He looked away. “How can a dream be so sad?”
Bre watched his every move. He hoped to hide his misty eyes, but she saw them building. He tried to fight the whimpers, but she heard his shaky breaths. He did his best to stand strong and be her emotional rock, but even in the dream, his eyes, body language, and attitude showed cracks in the tough surface. She grabbed his chin, forced his vision back.
Roger lost his breath. He kissed her hands, took them in his palms, and then gazed back into her wet eyes. Tears bubbled out like two crystal balls, and in them, Roger saw his fortune, his love, his kindred spirit, and as she blinked he saw his future roll away in a single tear. “Will I have you one last time…? Absolutely, baby. Absolutely.”
Bre unstrapped her thin white nightgown, and it blew away in the breeze like a fleeing ghost.
Roger undid his robe, and it crumpled to the ground behind him.
Between the trees, the moon highlighted the entwined figures as they coiled together like vines.
His arms wrapped around her, Roger gently laid her across the tall grass; it compressed in the form of an angelic crop circle.
Bre peered up at him, ran her fingers through his raven hair. For her, the dream was real, and the night was perfect. She locked her ankles around his waist, inviting him inside.
Roger looked down upon her, hesitated, paralyzed in a moment that he wished could last forever. While transfixed by the beauty beneath him, he combed a strand of hair behind her ear and leaned-in, kissing her neck. Her scent fueled his thrust.
The sensation pushed the moisture from Bre’s eyes, and she cried underneath him while enjoying every stolen minute. Death was late, and she planned on making the most of her unfinished existence.
Roger was there every step of the way, comforting her, easing her thoughts, and bringing her bliss before their inevitable departure. With his thumb, he wiped the tear aside. With his palm, he stopped her quivering chin. And with his arms, he wrapped her tightly like a cocoon, hoping to transform her into a beautiful butterfly that could fly to safety. He wanted to feel her enjoyment. He wanted to soak in her beauty. And, he wanted to steal her disease, burdening himself with the affliction for her.
“Do you love me?” Bre asked.
“I do, baby.”
In his eyes, Bre saw anxiety, weariness, and outright fear. In his eyes, she realized he felt the disease too. “I’ve always loved you. Even before we met, I always knew you were out there.”
Roger grazed his fingertips over her round cheek. He pressed his lips against hers, kissing her with all the affection she deserved. The endearment was as heartwarming as their first, with a heartbreaking finality.
Bre glanced up at him with a warm smile. “Thank y—” Her lips continued moving, but no words came out. Her lively eyes drifted. She blinked, refocusing. The color in her face drained. Her ears rang. She realized what was happening and panicked. She became afraid and looked to Roger, her rock. He was yelling over her, shaking her, but she couldn’t hear nor feel. She concentrated on her breaths, held Roger in her sight — the last thing she’d want to see — as black dots overcame her vision. She released a sigh, head slumped to the right, and tears spilled from her vacant gaze.
“Baby!” Roger shook her, hoping to arouse her attention. “Baby, this is our dream! No one can take this away from us! Not even God himself!”
The world reacted around them: The ground quaked. The stars flickered. And, the moon dimmed, casting an ominous gloom upon their dream. The darkness hugged the couple close, squeezing the light from around them. In the far distance, a shiny doorway, acting as a dying star, signaled their exit.
Roger ignored the dimming light and reached out, caressing her peaceful face. “I love you, baby… Please! Hear me! I love—”
Bre’s body darted from underneath him, propelled toward the light at the end of the shrinking tunnel. In the blink of an eye, she disappeared into the distant twilight.
The flash of light stole Roger’s world, and the darkness consumed him. With a heavy heart, he bawled into the black void, “Breeeee!”
***
Roger awoke as though splashed with a bucket of ice water. He bolted up from his meager, twin-sized bed and brushed the covers aside, inhaling a deep breath.
The room was almost as dark as his dream, barring the red blinking light to his left. On the nightstand, the clock flashed: 3:33 am.
In snapshots, Roger saw her face, her bright eyes. He remembered her lying underneath him, recalled their conversation, the love-making, the setting. And, he remembered the end and how quickly she left.
Breanne. He turned on his lamp, snatched his phone. His fingers danced across the letters, texting an urgent message. He stopped short of sending the text, exited out. He moved to his Contacts and made his way down the list to Bre. He placed the phone to his ear, anticipating hearing her sweet voice and recalling their dream together. It rang…
And rang…
And rang…
And rang…
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