Shell

Liana

I looked ahead at the on coming traffic, carefully switching lanes to reach the next exit. It was about six o'clock on a Friday afternoon and traffic was mayhem, but that didn't matter. I'd been driving for nearly fourteen hours straight, without a wink of sleep and very little food, but that didn't matter either. All that mattered was that I was going to see you again. It had been nearly three months since you left with the army, and you where finally coming home to visit. I'd be able to run into your warm arms and tell you how much I've missed you, and how much I love you. A rush of pure happiness raced through me, as well as excitement and a flicker of anxiety. Soon, I tell myself, soon. I was so wrapped up in my thoughts of our reunion that I didn't see him coming. I turned my head just in time to see the vehicle barreling towards me, but it all happened too fast. I heard the crash an instant before my whole body was consumed in pain, and it wasn't long until everything went black.

It all started with a shell. You held it to your ear, closed your eyes, and listened. "If you listen close enough, you can hear the ocean. It's waves crashing on the shore, the seagull's crying in the air, and the swaying of palm trees from the breeze." You let out a long breath, a small smile forming on your lips. "Try it." Your hands engulfed mine as you wrapped my fingers around the shell and gently lifted it up to my own ear. "I can't hear anything." I said. "Shhh," you whispered, "Just listen, close your eyes." I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and listened. Just like that, I heard it. Faintly at first, but as I listened even closer, I was able to make out the sounds of waves hitting the shore, of birds in the air, and even the gently swaying palm trees. "I hear it now." I said. Carefully, as not to break it, I lowered the shell from my ear to place it back in your hands. But you stopped me. "No, you keep it." you said, "It's a memory that never dies."

Niall

The receptionist looked up from her computer, startled. It was nearly one o'clock in the morning, and very few people, if any, visited this hospital at such an hour. "May I help you, sir?" she asked. "I'm looking for Liana. Liana Grove." Niall said. The receptionist typed the name into her computer, and frowned. "I'm sorry sir, she's in critical care, no visitors allowed." Niall looked the receptionist in the eye, and pleaded, "Please ma'am, I must see her. She's my fiancé. I received a phone call saying she's been in a car crash, and I need to see if she's alright." The receptionist considered this for a moment, looking at the man's bloodshot eyes, and sighed. "Alright." she said, getting up from her chair, "If anyone asks, it wasn't me who let you in, okay?" Niall followed the receptionist until she stopped in front of a door labeled "Critical Care Unit". She opened the door, letting him inside. "She's in bed number five." Niall turned to the receptionist. "Thank you so much." She nodded and walked away. Niall found bed number five and pushed the curtain aside, not at all prepared for what he was about to see.

Liana

I felt your hand in mine as we ran along the shore, the waves lapping at our feet. The sun's rays soaked into my very core, filling me with warmth. I heard your laughter beside me as we both collapsed on to the brilliant white sand. I lied facing towards the water, watching it retreat back into the sea. "Look at that cloud, right there." you said. I turned onto my back and looked towards the sky. "It looks almost like... a castle. A cloud castle." I smiled, what a ridiculous thought. We watched as the cloud slowly warped and stretched until the castle disappeared. I closed my eyes, letting the sand's heat soak in. I was perfectly content. I felt your gaze as I turned towards you and looked into your eyes. "One day, we'll have our very own cloud castle." you promised.

The taste of blissfully rich chocolate coated my tongue as I ate my ice cream cone, watching the lights of the carnival dance in the night sky. I would have been chilly if not for your jacket wrapped around my shoulders and your warm body next to mine. I sneaked a glance at your ice cream covered face, barely able to contain my laughter. You must have noticed. "What's so funny?" you asked suspiciously. "You are covered in chocolate." I said. "Am I now?" you asked, lowering your face to mine. You wrapped your arms around me, trapping me to you, and met my lips with your own. It was our first kiss, and it was wonderful. After several minutes, you broke away with a smile. "Look who's covered in chocolate now." you joked.

Niall

Liana lay there, unconscious, her face paler than the fresh snow covering the streets outside the hospital's window. Her hair was sprawled messily around her, revealing a large cut on the one side of her forehead, dried with blood. She was attached to an array of different machines, their beeping creating a steady rhythm in sync with her heartbeat. She looked lifeless, fragile in a way that terrified Niall, shook him deep to his core. He approached the bed, and as he took Liana's hand, he realized it was cold. "She's in a coma." Startled, Niall looked up from the bed to see a doctor standing in the doorway, his bloodshot eyes giving away his fatigue from working so late into the night. "She came in to emergency nearly dead." he said. "Will she be okay?" Niall asked, anxious yet scared of the answer to his question. "We've done all we can do." said the doctor, "It's up to her now. At this point she could go either way." With that the doctor left, not looking back to see the expression of pure terror on Niall's face. "Liana." he begged, "Please don't die."

Liana

The sky was filled with colors; oranges, reds, pinks, and blues, as the sun began to dip bellow the sea's horizon. A gentle breeze blew off the ocean, and though it was getting late, the sand was still warm between my toes. You turned me around to face you, lifting your face to mine. You held my gaze with eyes that were as deep and blue as the ocean, starring into mine with such an intensity that you'd think you were looking right through me, directly at my soul. "Liana..." you began, "You know I have to go to war soon." I looked down, breaking your gaze. "I know." I said, watching a sprinkle of sand blow gently over my toes. I'd been trying to avoid the subject of your leaving for war, afraid of what you might do. It would be difficult, I knew, to keep such a long distance relationship. You'd be gone for months at a time. I was afraid you would decide to leave me. "I love you, Liana, and before I left I wanted to promise you that no matter what happens, I always will. I want to be with you, Liana, for the rest of our lives." you said. I watched as you reached behind you to pull something out of your pocket. My eyes widened in shock as you knelt down on one knee, opening a small box to reveal a sparkling diamond ring. "Liana. Will you marry me?"