Flying Away

She watched him lie down in the grass and stare up at the sky for the second time that day. She was working in her garden when he called her over.

"Darling, do you think we'll ever be able to fly?" he asked. He had to repeat himself because he mumbled the first time. It's a funny thing how fatigue can make formulating a clear thought such a difficult task.

"I don't see why not," she replied. After she finished watering her flower garden she walked over to him and lay down beside him in the grass. The sun was shining vibrant colours down on the couple, warming their bodies. The wind picked up some green leaves and sent them floating through the air.

"What about today? Do you think we could fly today?" he questioned her with intensity in his dark blue eyes. She couldn't help but notice how much paler he had gotten in the past few weeks. His eyes hadn't changed though and she found comfort in that observation.

"I don't think humans have found a way to fly without airplanes just yet," she explained. He wasn't listening and she noticed right away. "Why are you asking about this anyways?" A pensive look came over his face.

"Sweetheart, look into the sky. You see the sun and all the clouds up there? I can't help but think that if the sky is strong enough to hold up all the planets, moons and stars then it should be able to hold us up too." he said. He had clearly been thinking about the possibility for a while. "Not only that, think of all the stories. There are so many stories of people flying away to wonderful worlds and faraway lands. What if they actually did? How would they have thought up such grand adventures without experiencing them?"

"Some people are marvelous storytellers." she answered. He was getting restless next to her and eventually stood up so she did as well and began walking toward the back door of the house they had spent so long trying to pay off. "Why is all of this on your mind? You're talking about flying away to some magical place as if you want to escape. I'm trying my best to bring you joy. Are you unhappy?" She looked down at her muddy sandals as a tear rolled down her cheek and into the grass.

He walked up to her and swiftly wrapped his arms around her holding her tightly. He buried his face in her thick hair.

"You make me happier than I've ever been. Don't ever forget that," he mumbled into her ear and then pulled away to quickly kiss her lips. "It's just the things we can't control that I want to fly away from."

It was the way his eyes got glossy that made her think back to the worst sentence she had ever heard. It was said only a few weeks ago, back when he hadn't been so pale. I'm so sorry to tell you and your wife this, but we can't treat your illness, it's too rare. She had felt as if she was living in a nightmare. The news had taken a few minutes to sink in and when it did she lost control of her emotions completely. He had held her in the hospital room the same way he held her on the day he talked about flying away. He was only given three months and she was terrified of living without him.

"I do so wish we could just fly away from all our troubles," she confessed. Her hands were still muddy from the garden and she was trying to rub the dirt off of them. "Imagine flying off to some world where we could live a splendid life."

"Maybe we have to go find it, maybe it's real. There's nothing down here to keep us from trying to find it. We could go fly off the roof and search for a land where we can beat my disease and live happily ever after. A land where we can have adventures of our own, just the two of us. What do you say?" he asked.

He hadn't looked so excited since before that dreadful sentence was ever uttered. The thought of falling scared her however, the thought of living all alone in an empty house scared her more. He kept her going, made her smile and loved her the way she knew no one else ever would.

"Will you fly away with me?" he asked her and she nodded her head.

With their minds made up he set a ladder against the side of their two-story and checked to make sure it was sturdy. He held it in place at the bottom as she climbed up. She waited for him at the top and looked around at the world they would soon leave. The birds were singing sweet melodies and the wind chime they had received as a wedding gift was doing the same. The weather was still warm and her hands were almost mud-free. It took him a while to reach the top of the ladder. He was getting weaker every day.

They stood up together and faced the sun, which had just started its descent. They laced their fingers together and held their hands together tightly. He kissed her cheek and told her of the love he had for her.

"I love you too," was her reply. He counted to three and then they flew off into the sunset.