Poems & Short Stories

Short Story: Hard to Let Go

The steady tempo of the monitor displayed the way her heart drummed in her chest. The IV drip gave a small, barely audible noise as the fluid dribbled down the tube. At the end of that tube was a short needle connected to her paper-white skin. A piece of tape covered the needle to hold it in place. As he held her thin hand, a silence flooded the empty room. It was so quiet he could almost hear every gentle breath that came from her pale lips. It was as if, at that moment, it was only the two of them in the entire world.

After another moment passed, he finally gained the courage to look into her eyes. She had stared at him since the moment he came in with a small grin on her face.

"I missed you. It gets lonely here very quickly." She gave a soft laugh at her words. She had genuinely missed him, and he could tell. He tried to smile back, but his eyes filled with tears as he studied her. The way her dark hair fell over her shoulders. The dimple that was only present on her left cheek. The way the skin around her eyes would tighten, and her small shoulders would bounce as she laughed. The way her bright eyes would sparkle in the sunlight that filtered through the plain curtain. He had missed her as well.

"Come on, don't do that. It's alright; it doesn't hurt." She shakily reached out to him and brushed the space beneath his eye. He placed his hand on hers to stable it and leaned into her palm.

"Does it have to be today?" He looked at her pleadingly, the tears that threatened to fall still in his eyes despite her protest.

"It had to happen sometime. We can't be waiting forever. Plus, I'd rather be ready for it." She continued to smile at him as he let out a shaky breath. "No, don't do that. If you cry, I cry. You know that." She tried to laugh, but she could already feel her tears gather.

"Please don't leave. I need you. You can't-"

"Sh, it's okay. It's okay." She brought her other hand to his face and tried to wipe the tears away, the dull shine from the gem on her ring finger reflected on his cheek. "It was my time a while ago. I can't stay here any longer, and you know it. You'll be okay. You're strong and so, so brave." She could feel her tears fall without her permission. Her weakened body didn't allow for much self-control.

"I'm not. I'm not strong. I'm not-"

"Sh, don't say that. Just believe in me as much as I believe in you. I know you'll get past this. I married you for a reason." She attempted another laugh, but all she got was a choked sob. "See? Look what you made me do. I told you I would cry." He smiled with her and let out a laugh of his own. Their hands lowered back to the bed as they continued to stare at each other. They memorized every detail of the other's face. They remembered every moment they spent together in vivid detail all in one minute.

"I'll miss you." He finally broke the silence. The grin on his face only grew as he looked at her.

"I hope so. Just don't miss me too much, alright? You'll get wrinkles." With another small chuckle from both of them, her eyelids started to flutter. The energy took to laugh and joke with him faded too quickly, in her opinion. He noticed the sudden change and did his best to hold in his panic.

"I... love you. So, so much." She struggled to form words. The fatigue hit her hard, but she tried to fight through it for merely a second longer with him.

"I love you more." He desperately clutched her small hand in his. The smile on his face grew as he waited for the response he knew would come.

"I l...love you m...most." She smiled back with all the energy she had left and let her eyelids shut for the last time. The shrill, constant tone from the heart monitor rung throughout the room. With no acknowledgment of the dreadful noise, he leaned over her and pressed a shaky kiss to her forehead. He gazed at her with a pained smile as he brushed a piece of her hair behind her ear. Unable to support his weight, he sat in the chair and laid across her legs. His entire body trembled from the force of his sobs. She is gone. He will never be able to hear her laughter again.

(Written: 1/23/20)