Second Chances

Andrew was the kind of boyfriend I knew I would spend the rest of my life with. Everyone thought so too, so I imagined our deaths to be together, when we were old and graying with grandchildren.

There was never a time when I thought we would be apart.

But when he was diagnosed with leukemia I rethought everything, but eventually I convinced myself that he would survive.

The day I drove drunk and crashed, I thought we would die together, and even then we would still be happy.

Yesterday, when the beep deafened my ears, I knew the end was inevitable. And we were apart, just like the worst of my nightmares and that was the end of it all, of all my dreams and our life together.

I wanted to say one last goodbye before they would encase him in a coffin to be sealed away forever. Grabbing my keys, I was sure that no one knew of my escapade due to my probation because of the accident. I drove to the hospital as safely and fast as humanely possible.

By the time I got to the hospital, I knew the prison white walls with my eyes closed. Walking the familiar corridors with the familiar odors of human waste and chlorox bleach I finally found Andrew’s room. I drew a deep long breathe opening the door slowly.

There he was, sleeping peacefully in his bed, all the IV wires and tubes detached from his body and a crooked smile set on his mouth.

I walked closer to him, holding his hand in mine, trying not to falter into tears. I glanced at the alarm clock that read 11:11 in a glowing red numbers.

Make a wish

If you could make a wish, you could talk to the dead, right?

“Andrew, come back to me, I’m sorry, forgive me. It’s all my fault. I love you so much Andrew, I love you,” I whispered into his ear.

I kissed him one last time, still tasting the dry saltiness on his lips from my tears. I felt a little resolved as I started to walk out the room.

I cursed my mind for playing tricks with my head when I heard a slow steady beep simulated in my mind. I stopped in my tracks trying to rid the notion of him alive out of my mind. Love couldn’t transcend the power of death. Could it?

Still hearing the constant beeping, I reached for the doorknob, feeling the rusty gold knob shock me. I head a ruffle of sheets coming from the bed. Was there a nurse I somehow neglected to see? I turned around, my vision scanning the room for a nurse cleaning sheets.

But I gasped, collapsing to the floor when I saw him.

I shake my head, staring at the clock that now read 11:13.

I see Andrew’s body leaning against the headrest, a smile emblazoned on his malnourished face. He brusquely gets on his feet, walks toward me and kneels down with me.

I never want this dream to end, hoping my alarm would not ever go off.

But when Andrew kissed me, I felt it all the way down to my pinky toe, that’s when I knew it wasn’t a dream.

“I love you too Katie,” he speaks without strain and his words flowed like honey.

I smile, because it’s all I can do, and think about how our love just bypassed the inevitability of death itself.