𝑯𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒈𝒊𝒇𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔.
Elizabeth Reid learned, at seventeen, that she was going to die. Diagnosed with terminal cancer, she's faced with a question that no one should have to answer.
How do you leave a mark on a wo...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The sun was peeking through the clouds as Nathan and I strolled through the park, hand in hand. It was one of those rare, perfect autumn days - not too cold, not too hot, with a gentle breeze rustling the colourful leaves above us.
"Fancy a go on the swings?" Nathan asked, nodding towards the empty playground.
I grinned. "Race you there!"
We took off, laughing like kids. Nathan, with his long legs, reached the swings first, but he graciously let me have the better one - the one that didn't squeak quite as much.
As we swung back and forth, I closed my eyes, enjoying the rush of air on my face. For a moment, I could almost forget about the hospital visits, the treatments, the constant worry. Here, with Nathan, I was just a normal teenager enjoying a day out with her boyfriend.
"What are you thinking about?" Nathan's voice broke through my reverie.
I opened my eyes to find him watching me, a soft smile on his face. "Just how nice this is," I said. "Being here with you, doing normal stuff."
He reached out, catching my hand as our swings synchronized. "Yeah, it is nice, isn't it?" He paused, then added with a cheeky grin, "Even if you are a bit slow."
I laughed, letting go of his hand to give him a playful shove. "Oi! I'll have you know I can be fast. You just have unfairly long legs."
We swung in comfortable silence for a while, the rhythmic creak of the chains oddly soothing. Then Nathan spoke again, his voice softer this time. "Hey, Beth? Can I ask you something?"
I slowed my swing, looking over at him. "Course you can. What's up?"
He was staring at his feet, scuffing them in the woodchips below. "Do you ever think about... you know, the future?"
My heart did a little flip. The future was a tricky subject for me these days. But looking at Nathan, his face all earnest and a bit nervous, I couldn't bring myself to brush off the question.
"Sometimes," I admitted. "Do you?"
He nodded, finally meeting my eyes. "Yeah. Quite a lot, actually." He took a deep breath. "I think about us, you know? What we could have."
I felt a lump forming in my throat, but I swallowed it down. "Oh yeah? What do you see?"
A slow smile spread across his face. "Well, for starters, I reckon we'd move to the countryside. Get away from all the noise."
I found myself smiling too, caught up in his vision. "That sounds nice. We could have a little cottage with a garden."
"Exactly!" Nathan's eyes lit up. "And we'd have a dog, of course. A big, friendly one that likes long walks."
"And cuddles on the sofa," I added, warming to the idea.
Nathan nodded enthusiastically. "Definitely. And maybe... maybe we'd have a couple of kids?" He said it like a question, watching my face carefully.
