I Will Follow You Into the Dark

The beep of the heart monitor was the only thing to break the silence that filled the bland white room. I sat in a plastic chair next to Sarah’s bed, neither of us speaking. We just sat and stared into space. A yawn escaped Sarah’s lips and her eyes closed for several seconds in a long blink.
“Are you tired?” I asked her. She nodded and lay her head back on the pillow “Well you should get some rest then.”
“I don’t want to.” She muttered.
“Why not?” I asked.
“What if I never wake up?” She now whispered her voice cracking a bit as tears began to fill in her eyes.
“We’ve discussed this before. We both knew it was coming. The doctors warned us.”
“I know, but I’m scared. I don’t want to die.” She said tears now escaping her eyes and sliding down her once rosy cheeks.
As she spoke the word, it made the situation all more real, and I took her hand in mine squeezing it lightly. “No one wants to, but when it’s our time, it’s our time. That may sound scary but it’s true, and you’ll be alright.”
She smiled at me through her tears, and then laid her head back on the pillows. Her breathing eventually evened out, telling me that she had fallen asleep. I soon drifted off to sleep too.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I had a very strange dream. I was standing in what I assumed was a pitch black room. All around me was nothing but darkness. I heard a voice off in the distance I heard it approach me, and I ran towards it. Out of the darkness a familiar face appeared. “Sarah,” I breathed, knowing instantly what was going on.
She smiled at me, but then said “you shouldn’t be here.”
“I love you Sarah, I will follow you anywhere.”
She didn’t reply, just smiled at me. We walked for a while. We didn’t really know where we were going seeing as there was no light. But suddenly in the distance we saw two dots of light parallel to each other. As we drew closer we realized they were signs for what looked like motels.
One sign was lit with neon white lights and it said “Heaven” and “No” under it. Across from this was another building sign with neon red lights that said “Hell” and below it “No”
In the distance I heard a steady beep. “Do you hear that?” I asked.
“Hear what?”She asked.
“That beeping,”
“No, I don’t hear anything.” Then the beeping turned into a constant drone as if a heart monitor was flat lining.
Then, it hit me. Sarah’s face began to blur. “Sarah!” I yelled, her hand slipping from mine.
She just smiled and I could see her mouth form the words “I love you.”
I woke with a start; the room was full of doctors and nurses. They surrounded Sarah’s bed. I knew what was going on, and I knew that they wouldn’t be able to save her. It was her time after all, even if she was so young. So I got up from my seat and went outside to the waiting room.
Several minutes passed before one of the doctors came out of Sarah’s room and said “I’m very sorry, but we weren’t able to revive Ms. Walker.”
I nodded and replied “Thank you for trying. I understand.”
The doctor walked back into the room, and I just sat there lost in my thoughts.