A Chance Meeting

Part 13

Loud, rapid beeping woke Chance up to the sight of Sara watching him, lips pressed tightly into a pained grimace. He abruptly stood up and threw the stuff on the bottom of the bed, then shoved the door open and wheeled her into the hall, pushing past the hurrying nurses. They weren't laughing this time, and a few visitors looked worriedly after the pair as they rushed down the hall, bewildered nurses and doctors left spinning in their wake.

It was as if Sara's ears had popped after those years, and she was finally able to hear again. Yelling and screaming behind her, the nurses's anxious yells were background noise compared to the violent beating of her heart and shallow panting breaths she was taking, each one painful and sharper than a knife.

Chance was yelling at her even though he didn't know she could hear him now. She focused on his desperate pleas for her to stay awake, to keep breathing and listening and living. One breath in, one breath out. One breath in, one breath out.

She turned her attention to that, trying to stay calm while Chance was rushing through the halls, trying to get her outside. His voice, the nurse's voices, everything else faded into a blur until the cold wind caressed her face, and Sara was jolted into reality, where she could see the grey gravel and cloudy sky, just starting to turn a navy blue from the midnight black. She held back the tears as the wind whipped over her eyes.

"Thank you," she said, almost sobbing with joy at being outside one last time. "Thank you so much."

She pushed herself up, and a squeal of pain escaped before she could stop it. She was almost able to see the shrapnel moving deeper into her heart.

"Sara, don't let go, not just yet. Hold on for a little longer, please Sara, please don't leave me yet." Chance was begging her now.

She began to try to lever her legs off the bed, only being somewhat successful, getting them close to the edge, but unable to fully remove them from the sheets. Chance, understanding what she wanted, moved over and lifted her off of that hated, starchy bed, then set her on the slightly wet grass. He knelt next to her and put one of her hands in his. The heart-monitor jumped as the cold dew soaked into her hospital gown and brushed against her bare skin.

The sun began to rise above the distant horizon and shone through the dark clouds, the sky lightening with hues of yellows and oranges and pinks and reds. A stray strand of light lit up Chance's wild hair, gently circling around the crown of his head. It looked like a halo.

Sara gently smiled and began to speak. Her heart-monitor was beginning to beat at an insane tempo.

"Chance- thank you for being my guardian angel, guiding me back to the light before my own meager spark fades. If not for you, I would have died miserable and feeling alone, but I know that you will always be with me, and so now I will always be with you."

Tears began to slip out of his eyes. Angrily, he brushed them out of the way and responded. "It's not fair, Sara; you shouldn't have to die so early." His voice broke about halfway through. "And although you can't hear me, I think I-"

She quietly interrupted him, "Chance, I can hear again. It's a blessing to be able to hear your voice, just one time before I transcend to whatever lies in the next world, if there is one. I am just so happy to be out here one more time with someone that I love."

Chance didn't miss that phrase, 'with someone that I love.' He looked over at her, but her eyes were fastened upon the sky, a raw look of admiration and enjoyment, and he didn't want to ruin that, so he just tenderly smiled at her. The tears paused on their march down his face as he lay down on the grass next to her, adjusting his grip on her hand, entwining his fingers with hers.

"Look," he said, pointing at the sky with his free hand. "The sun even rises for you."

She glanced over at him, knowingly smiling and about to gently explain something.

"No, Chance. The sky does not lighten for any one person, it lightens for the entire world, just as the sun does not rise for one, but rises for all- be they human or bug or fish or squid. Never get so lost in the part that you forget the whole."

He looked up at the colorful sky and listened to her voice, trying to tune out her heart monitor, beeping to the march to death.

A rustle of the grass, and then Chance turned to face her, all too conscious of the heartrate monitor spiking, almost rocking the bed. He soaked in the sight of her peaceful face, and, although the rest of her body was stiffened, he was still amazed by her utter tranquility. Tears pricked the back of his eyes at her courageous beauty- how brave she was being even in the face of death.

He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again, not wanting to ruin the moment.

It all went downhill from that moment.

The heart monitor started to beep too rapidly for Chance to follow, and Sara squeezed his hand until her knuckles turned white. Chance started to reassure her, his sole focus on helping her through that moment. There would be time for crying afterward. He knew it was time, although that didn't help him with his grief.

As the monitor's beeps dropped from whirlwind to sluggish, he felt an inexplicable urge to just lean over (so he did)...

And kiss her.

Hovering next to her, he hesitated just a moment before he pressed his lips to hers. The remnants of his salty tears and her more recent ones mixed together on their lips. She closed her eyes and melted into him.

This only lasted for a couple seconds before her body gave a violent shudder and her eyes flew open, wide with surprise. The monitor slowed down even more. He choked back tears and pressed his lips more firmly against hers.

She let out a soft sigh and closed her eyes, the vibrant sky beginning to cloud over.

The monitor flatlined.

Chance pulled away, squeezing her hand for the final time. He raised his head up to the sky and began to cry, releasing his grief where no one could blame him for being weak. His tears mingled with the raindrops that coursed down his face. He had no clue when the rain had started, only that it was a little ironic.

"Sara," he sobbed, his voice cracking uncontrollably, "I loved you and I never mustered up enough courage to tell you. But it was so very, very nice to know you."