One by One

Chapter 17- Oblivion

They say what we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal. I was starting to believe it with all my heart. There was no destined journey that God or anyone leads us to. It's us or no one at all. The thing that scared me the most was not the fear of dying but the fear of not doing enough while I was alive.

Devon's point of view

There are times I question my sanity; and there are times I question myself. During those times, I think of no one but the girl I loved. The girl that was shot before my bare eyes. The girl that took the bullet for all of us. The girl that put everyone before her. The girl that knew deep down how this would end but decided to go with it anyway. The girl that hid from the real world so she wouldn't have to hurt anyone. What that girl didn't know was that she wasn't lost nor confused. She had paths in front of her. Right ones. She was just reluctant on taking one because stepping into oblivion scared her. It made her doubt everything she ever believed in.

There used to be a story of two lovers in Greece. They loved each other deeply and would do anything for each other. What they couldn't do was be with each other because of the girl's parents who were Gods. He was a mortal. She was not. They were separated but that didn't keep them from writing letters to each other every day until one day the letters stopped. He sent her letter after letter but all that he got back were the letters he sent. Until one day, he got a letter saying she didn't love him anymore. That she had moved on and that he should do the same. It crushed him, broke him. He knew she was lying, that she was keeping something from him but because he loved her and knew that whatever it was that she was doing had great reasons behind them. With that; he let go. The truth was that her parents had found out of their letters that they had been exchanging and threatened to kill him if she didn't drop this love she had for him. With a heavy heart she did what every lover would do.

Give up something for the love you shared with someone.

Today was the day I saw the love of my life give up everything for me.

I sat on the hospital chair with my head in my hands. 8 hours of surgery and still no news. Before she closed her eyes all I saw was the light in her eyes diminish and fade. The thought of her dying in my arms made me break. I couldn't bare the sight of her lifeless body in my arms.

Another hour went by before I saw the doctor emerge from the emergency ward. He took of his spectacles and pinched his bridge clearly tired from the surgery. The next words he was about to say would change my life forever. I was afraid, I was petrified, and I was truly scared. The thought of never seeing her smile, of never hearing her laugh, of never having the opportunity to graduate together, to never move into an apartment together, or to never get a pet just as how she had always wanted or how she always said my name; that was enough to kill me.

He looked at me in the eyes and I couldn't tell what he was about to say by his face. His expressionless face made it hard for me to read. "Well, all I can say is that we removed the bullet successfully. She will have to undergo another surgery for three broken ribs, a broken vein and other severe injuries. Had that bullet been a millimeter higher, she would have died instantaneously. We will be keeping her here for further observation and surgeries. She's lucky and so are you."

All I felt was relief. All I felt was gratefulness. Her being alive was enough for me. "When can I see her?"

"I'm afraid not anytime soon. She is still in a critical condition and well, she's still recovering. So, we can't take in any visitors right now. Maybe tomorrow would be a better day as she is also still recovering from trauma. I'm afraid if she sees you, she will relieve them. Just steer clear of her for a while and let her recover."