Death's Kiss

Sole Chapter

    There's something about watching the sun sink below the horizon that brings you a deep sense of tranquility. Perhaps it was the way the colors leaked into the cloudless sky. Or the way time seemed to slow down and all your problems disappeared for a moment.

  Whatever it was, all Beatriz knew was that she never wanted this day to end. She knew her days were numbered, and it was only a matter of time before the cancer took over completely...

  She had been diagnosed with Leukemia when she was six years old. The doctors said she wouldn't make it past three months from the day of her diagnosis. Yet, here she was almost twelve years later; surviving- but not actually living.

  Beatriz knew her parents took pity on her, which is why they liked to bring her to the beach a lot. She didn't mind, however, since it was her favorite place to be.

  "Bea!" said her mom. "You almost ready?"

  "Yeah, mom!" she yelled back.

  As Beatriz stood up from her seat and looked out towards the horizon, where the sun was just a moment ago, she wondered if this would be her last sunset... or her last trip to the beach.

'Better make it count,' she thought to herself as she walked towards the shore once more.

  She loved to swim and even had her goggles with her. She put them back over her face and slowly made her way into the darkening sea. The water was colder than it had been 30 minutes ago, but she didn't seem to mind. She just wanted to feel it engulf her one last time. To feel the weightlessness of her body floating in the saltwater.

  Is this what death felt like? She wondered. Just floating forever, alone in this vast emptiness. Or maybe there would be other lost souls there too. Still searching for a purpose, even after life.

  Suddenly, Beatriz felt the waves pushing against her, getting rougher and more aggressive. She lifted her head from the floating position and looked around, seeing nothing but darkness. Both the sky and the ocean were pitch-black.

  She looked towards the shore, but it was no longer there. Instead it was replaced by more saltwater, more ferocious waves coming toward her. She kept her legs kicking, arms swinging, pushing- trying to stay afloat, trying to find the shore, or a way to safety.

  But for what? She thought. What was she fighting for? To survive this just to die in a couple of days or weeks by something much more atrocious. She wished the cancer would come out and fight her like these waves. At least then she would have a fighting chance.

  Instead the cancer hid inside her, like a coward. Killing her from the inside-out. Just a time bomb ticking and everyday she waited for the detonation.

  Beatriz was tired of waiting, tired of fighting. Exhaustion took over and she didn't see the point of trying to fight for a life she didn't even want. And just like that, she gave up. Let the waves inundate her completely and opened her lungs to the salty water.

•••

 
Beatriz awoke to the familiar sound of a heart monitor next to her. It was giving off one long, endless beep. The sound it gave off when a heart was no longer beating. She realized then that she was sitting in her dearest chemo-chair, an armchair she had sat in, day in and day out, for the past 10 months.

  She was never at the beach. She hadn't been to the beach in years. Hadn't left this hospital in months. Pain was all she knew, but as she laid there in this light state of unconsciousness she felt great peace.

   She could hear the nurses and doctors frantically grabbing anything they could to keep her soul anchored to her frail, thin body.

  "CLEAR!" yelled Dr. Kenshaw. Beatriz felt the shock of the defibrillator but all she could focus on was this feeling of serenity. It felt good to not feel anything for once. To give into the darkness that was surrounding her...
 
  "CLEAR!!" Dr. Kenshaw shouted once more. But this time Beatriz didn't feel a thing. She was too far gone, chasing the darkness at the other end of the tunnel.

  She had a triumphant smile on her face because for once she could experience true comfort. Sure, she had lost a lifelong battle, but what she gained was much more worthwhile: eternal peace.

The End