Evan

His gaze was cast aimlessly toward the brilliant horizon in front of them. The sun was setting and was casting luminous oranges, purples, blues, pinks, and reds into the clouds that hung so lazily in the sky. The ocean just underneath them was dazzling with light from the reflected rays of the sun, swimming with life that was beyond anyone’s imagination. They sat perched on his deck, sitting in an old wooden lounge chair with a wool blanket thrown over their laps. Her eyes drifted over to him and she couldn’t help but take in his features.

Wild green eyes that could take you prisoner with the way they always radiated with that special spark were now ghostly dim and barely held that irresistible spark. His cheekbones that were so prominent and accentuated his nose and jaw were sunken deep into his face, making him appear skeletal; his smile that gleamed and painted your soul with happiness was hardly at its full potential. And what would have been his luscious charcoal black hair that slung over his eyes, was now replaced with vacancy and emptiness.

The oxygen tank’s beep broke her away from her thoughts. She looked over to where it slumped against the wall and realized that the green light was now a dark yellow. The oxygen was running low. She began to get up to make a call to the hospice, but he grasped her wrist with a weak effort and pulled her back down to the chair, only closer to him. “Don’t, I want you to just stay right here with me.” His voice was ragged, and was losing audibility. His time was close.

“Evan, what do you mean? I am right here with you and always will be. But if I don’t tell the nurse that we need a replacement tank soon, you’ll lose enough oxygen and then we—“

“Exactly. Then they’ll have to take me to the hospital where they’ll only hook me up to countless tubes and disgusting bags to only give the illusion that there is still time for me on this Earth. Anna, we both know that I’ve past my time to be saved. I would much rather stay here where I can view the heavens and be with the only one person that matters to me.”

He let out a heavy sigh and she realized that he took an immense effort to say what could have been said in a quick intake of breath. He looked down at her just then and gave her a smile, only it didn’t wrinkle the corners of his eyes like how it used to, and planted a kiss atop her forehead. She was still uneasy about not having a second tank handy. She had no idea how much more oxygen was left in that tank, even though the light was only a dark yellow. She couldn’t bear to think about it anymore so she looked upon the horizon to see the last bits of ray slowly disappearing, and dusk finally entering with its blue tint. She huddled deeper into his side, and wrapped the blanket tighter around the both of them.

She placed herself carefully around his body and laid her head on his shoulders. She could feel his chest rise and fall irregularly and the hushed rasp of his breath entering and exiting from the thin tube that entered his nose. She placed her head deeper into his shoulders and began to wish for time to move backward when he asked, “What’s wrong, my love?” He brought her face so she could face him eye to eye, so she could see those diminishing eyes of his. He waited patiently while she searched for the right words.

“Evan, we’ve been together for four years and I’ve loved you more and more as each passed. When you told me that day in the park, that you were sick, I’ve just been—“

He placed his frail finger on her warm lips to silence her, shaking his head all the while. “Anna, my dear, I don’t want you to say your goodbyes and declare to me how much you loved the time we spent together. I enjoy every minute I spend with you, whether it be bad or good. So right now, I would like to just watch the stars with you. How does that sound?” He brushed away a stray hair that found its way on her face, and held her close. The tank’s beep gave her a jolt, and when she looked over to where it was, she found the light was now a dim yellow. His oxygen was going fast… he was leaving soon.

“Anna?” Hearing his struggle for breath and quiet tone now made her on edge.

“Yes, Evan? Do you need anything? I can still call the nurse if you’d like.” She was just about to race for the phone when he gave a weakened laugh.

“Anna, I don’t need foolish medical attention now. What I do need is a story.” She watched him as he smiled at this while he settled them both deeper into the lounge chair. He closed his eyes and awaited her story. So considering that is was nightfall, she chose to tell the story of the moon goddess.

She told him how the goddess would be perched on her moon throne, casting the moon aglow so all the humans on the planet Earth could see its divine light, and her people on the moon could enjoy its beauty as well. But one night, as she watched the humans with envy, her eyes came upon a beautiful man who sat under a fruit tree, gazing up at the moon. She smiled vividly at this, seeing as he was actually gazing at her, he just didn’t know it yet. So each night, she would watch him, gazing at all his perfections and wondering what it would be like to be his arms. One night, she decided to do the most radical of things. She stood up from her throne and began to slowly drift away from her people and her moon.

Each day that passed as she made her way to the planet Earth, she realized that her moon would grow darker and darker the further she was from it. She promised herself, though, that she wouldn’t be long. So when she finally found this mysterious wonder, her moon was completely black. She gazed in wonder at this new moon that took the place of her own moon, the one filled with illumination. So as she kept her visits frequent to this man that she loved, so did the continuation of this cycle, a moon cycle.

“And to this day, the moon goddess continues to visit her beloved here on Earth. The only way you can tell she made the trip is when there is a New Moon; unfortunately, she still must keep up her duties and take care of her people. So when she arrives, there is a Full Moon, in honor of her return and the magic that seeps from her and into the moon.”

The oxygen tank beeped its ominous sound, only to alert her that the light had gone down to a dim red. She quickly looked over at Evan to find his eyes still closed, and his breathing only coming at a slower pace. Before she realized it, her eyes stung from the held tears that she now possessed and a soft sob broke away from her throat. She buried her head into his chest, and although embarrassed at how she was releasing her emotions, she found herself far from stopping. All she wanted to was to keep on bawling, hoping that maybe her tears could bring him to a miraculous recovery.

She felt a limp hand bring her head up, and she gazed into those diminishing green eyes of his. “My moon goddess has returned to me tonight.” And with that said, he turned her head toward the evening sky, only to find that there was indeed a New Moon. The stars twinkled while casting an uncanny glow on the ocean in front of them. She heard the roar of the waves crashing against one another, and she finally realized what a beautiful night tonight seemed. She turned her head back toward Evan, and he merely wiped away the remaining of her tears from her face. “Indeed she has returned,” was all she could muster back to him. She leaned into him and placed her lips gently on his. Finding them cold and almost lifeless did not stop her from expressing what she truly felt.

The tank beeped once more, and as she looked she found the red light slowly growing dark, until there was no light left at all. She looked toward him to see his chest fall steadily, and with his last remaining breath, he uttered, “Goodbye, my dear Anna.”