366 Days and A Forever

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The Christmas tree looked gorgeous. It was breath-takingly beautiful; with all the lights shining along its length, '...they are twinkling like stars.' I thought, as I held onto my husband's hand. We had been married for exactly one year and one day. It had been our first anniversary the previous day; the 24th of December, a day prior to Christmas.

It was the evening of Christmas, and Australia was attempting to break a Guinness World Record, for the most number of artificial lights on a Christmas tree. As we gathered around the tree, admiring it, the sound of a gunshot was heard. There was confusion everywhere. Children clung to the parents. The old tried in vain to hobble away from the peril. The crowd was surrounded; a crowd which rapidly turned into a mob.

I clung to my husband, not wanting to be separated from him for the briefest moment. It saddened me to know that this was where one of us might leave this world, or perhaps... Both of us might meet our end here. My feelings were conflicted, we had had an amazing experience.. the day.. the year.. our year.. but was this all there would be.. a year?

We moved through the panicked civilians as one body, holding on to each other. It gave me comfort to know that we did not leave each other's side even at a time like this. It made me see a single sliver of hope, that maybe, just maybe, if we made it out alive, our marriage would be the best.

We had reached the edge of the crowd. For a brief moment, I thought we had reached safety. That was when it hit me; we were out of the crowd! We were easy targets! Just as realisation hit me, a bullet hit my husband. Time seemed to slow down. I could feel every minute that passed. Then, all of a sudden, everything happened all at once. My husband was on the ground, gasping, bleeding to death. I fell to my knees, tears streaming down my face. He uttered that he loved me. His grasp on my hand went slack. The paramedics arrived, but I knew he was death. Then there was pitch black darkness.. and even the Christmas tree with the greatest number of artificial lights couldn't change that.

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