Elisabeth

Chapter 21

Chapter 21

After 34 days

He  opened his eyes, showing a lot of blonde hair. Who was this hair from? Was the first thought that entered his mind. And why was it so cold? Did he take a girl home last night? He couldn't remember her name, or how she ended up in bed with him. He closed his eyes and buried his nose in her hair. It smelled so familiar, he must've met her before. Was she one of those girls that he had more than once slept with? He opened his eyes again, feeling her spine with his hand. None of his flings had such a bony back. Suddenly everything dawned on him again. 

He was on a raft, floating on one of the few oceans on the earth. They had spent the past month on it, paddling and sailing in search of land. At first they aimed on the mainland, but after five days without food they would have accepted any land. Even another desert island. They had been without food for four weeks. Elisa was weak, terribly weak, and he had no idea what kept her going. He remembered he had kissed Elisa, but he was too exhausted to think too much. 

Every morning, or every time he woke up, he was glad to feel Elisa's heart beating against his chest. He held her every night, praying to God it wasn't the last one. Because to be honest; he thought every one of them had been his last. Her end came closer and closer, it was all a matter of time.

He smelled her hair again. It smelt so good, how did she do that? Surely she had washed it every now and then with seawater, but seawater didn't smell that good. He reached to take one of her curls and twisted it around his finger. It was soft and it looked like gold. He put it back again, looking at the ocean surrounding them. 

'Elisa?' He asked, shaking her body gently. She opened her eyes, looking worn, exhausted and fragile.

'Hmm?' She said, not opening her eyes further than needed. She was so tired, so hungry. Any spark of vitality had been long gone from her body and her skin hugged her bones. Any muscles, any fat she had ever had was gone, just like that. Gone. Will was a mess, he wasn't giving up though. He was the only thing that had kept her going for so long. His sweet gestures, his soft kisses, his save arms. She really wanted there to be a future for them. Elisa would have gone back to the island if that was the price they had to pay to be together. She would do anything at this moment to just be able to kiss him back.

Life wasn't fair. Was God blaming her for cheating during that game of hide and seek? Was it such a sin that this was her punishment? And why was Will involved? Was the only person that could hold her and tell her he loved her doomed? The thinking was too much for her, she shouldn't think so much. She tried to focus on what Will had woken her up for. 

'There is... there is land!' He said, trying to pull her up into sitting position. Too bad he had lost a lot of strength and Elisa wasn't working with him. 'Elisa we have to get there.' He tried to sound loud and joyous, but it was nothing more than a tired whisper.

'I know.' Elisa whispered, barely audible. Her eyes closed again. She just wanted to rest, to sleep. She wanted to end this nightmare. She wanted to fall asleep and wake upafterwards; realizing it was all a terrible dream. Was this a dream? She closed her eyes. She couldn't do a lot of other things anyway. The lack of food took it's toll. Her body couldn't do it anymore. Any movement made her go short on breath. She just needed the rest. She heard Will whisper things, and shake her body.

Sometimes love wasn't enough. When she was young, she used to think love could conquer all. That's what the television had told her. That's what her mother had kept telling her. And she wanted to believe it so badly. She just couldn't anymore. All this time she had made efforts to stay alive, to not let Will alone on the raft with a dead girl. To keep their love alive.

But now that she knew Will would be okay, she just couldn't push herself anymore. Will was back, probably finding a new girl as soon as he got home. He had told her a lot on the raft. He had said he wasn't proud of it, but who could know for sure? Maybe he just tried to break the tension that developed between them when he talked about it. He would find his way back to his old life. He would find a pretty fiancé and inherit the bussiness he wanted from his father. He would get cute little children, tiny Williams with enchanting smiles.

Everything was okay now. 

'Elisa? Keep your eyes open. We are going home.' He shook her very carefully. Her eyes opened for a second, to close again slowly. 'Elisa? You can't leave me right now! We are almost home!' He repeated. He took the paddles and somehow managed to row with the little power he had left. She couldn't die now. They hadn't spent more than a month on a small raft to eventually die with their goal in sight.  He rowed like crazy, as far as that was possible in his condition, and felt his heart beat faster as he neared the land. It was cold, terribly cold. He missed the warmth of the island. He let the raft float the last twenty meters and held Elisa close to him, knowing she couldn't maintain her body temperature. He stepped into the water, that was a tad bit warmer than the air.

He lifted Elisa of the raft and held her in his arms bridal style. He managed to walk to the shore, and tried to walk to the village. Why did Elisa feel so heavy? Why couldn't his feet hold him up anymore? He crashed down onto the ground, in a small street just outside the town. He pressed Elisa against his bare chest, hoping she would stay warm. But he couldn't fool himself, he got colder every minute. There was only one thing he could do. Their last chance. Of course he could leave her and use his last strength for something else than carrying her, but he couldn't. He just couldn't. He would never forgive himself if she died. After everything they had been trough together, after all the times Elisa had taken care of his wounds and after every caring touch of her, he couldn't. It was not really an option. It was the most inhuman thing he could do. He settled for his only option left.

'HELP!' He yelled at the top of his lungs, putting all energy in his body in it. 'Please.' He whispered. If he had had tears, he would have cried, but he had given Elisa the last drops of fresh water yesterday and he was dried out. He felt so lifeless. Like he was already dead. All energy was gone, but he needed it to keep Elisa warm. He felt her heartbeat, which was slow. Too slow. No one came to save them. Or no one had yet. Why wasn't anyone coming? They were not that far away from the village. When it started snowing, he realized it was all over.

'I am so sorry Elisa, I am so sorry for everything. I apologize for every time I teased you, everytime I asked you too much. If only you knew how much I loved you. Let me tell you; I love you like hell, Elisa. I love you more than anything.' Will whispered. He pressed his lips against her forehead. She was white and lifeless. Only her low heartbeat told that she was theoretically alive. He rubbed her back, trying to keep her warm. Somewhere deep inside him he knew it was useless. He shook, his chest moving irregulary. Somehow he managed to cry. Tears rolled down his cheeks. Elisa's moveless and calm face was partially pressed against his cheek, and the tears touched her porcelain skin. He wanted to wipe them away, he wanted to brush the snow out of her hair, but he couldn't. The simple movement would cost him his last gram of energy, and he needed it to warm Elisa.

Then a thought struck his mind. It was now or never. He was her last hope. He could warm her body and let her live for another minute, or he could scream his head off so they could possibly be found. They were both important. But he chose the latter. 

'HELP! HELP ME FOR GOD'S SAKE!' He panted. 'PLEASE!' His last word, he thought before he closed his eyes. His last word had been please. It had been all of his desperation that had made him scream that last word. Anyone who wouldn't know how he died, or why he died would have thought that he was a gentleman. Please could have been a very respectful thing to say when you were on the edge of dying. But his hadn't been polite, he had just been desperate.

Why was no one rushing over to help? Why had no one heard him? The love of life was dying in his own arms. He was dying himself. And yet no one came over to help. No one brought them to a hospital, a home, nothing. They were just left to die on the streets of a village he didn't even know the name of. The snow was dancing in the cold sky, his breath was visibly white. He held Elisa close in his arms, while he slowly lost conscience of everything that happened around them, and all he saw was nothing. The last thing on his mind was her.

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 Hello, liked this chapter? Nah. Too sad.

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xx Suzanne