My partner and I, we were in a semi-long-distance-relationship. By that, I mean we lived at different ends of the country but we saw each other ever fortnight or so. She and her family were actually quite wealthy so most of the time it was her funding our visits and trips out together, I felt rather bad and almost as if I were freeloading off of her family's good nature - but yet, every time I was out with her and said "You shouldn't be spending all this on me, I'll get a job soon and I'll pay at least 3/4 of all our activities at least until I feel I've paid back your kindness". Every time I got the same soft smile from her, the beautiful smile that I could never get enough of seeing, with the same response of "oh, it's really nothing darling. I love you and what I spend is a mere fraction of what I'd give for you and us. Besides, my family fund most of it because they enjoy your company - in fact, if you didn't have your ill father to care for, I expect they'd pay for you to live either nearby or on the grounds in your own little house". I could never argue with her, she was always so loving and caring - I felt wrong whenever I even thought she could do something different in her life to make her feel better. Around three or four years ago, her family invested in a company which developed technology which made long-distance-relationships like our own to become more "personal" or less of a distance, if you will. It started with simple things like applications for mobile phones that only allowed two parties to contact with it so it was completely private and personal - that surprisingly took off quite well. But then it developed to things like necklaces you could plug an ear set into and listen to your partners heartbeat as long as they have it on. That progressed into a bed pillow that allowed the pillow to dimly illuminate the pillow when the other party is asleep on it, that worked in hand and eventually over-ruled their necklace because it allows a heartbeat sensor. That progressed into a bracelet that allowed one party to tap the other, hold it, warm it or chill it and the other party would feel that sensation. They were all wonderful pieces of technology.
Of course, with her family investing some large percentage of the funding for this company and their projects, they asked only one thing in return - no money, no acknowledgement, just that my partner and I were always the ones to test it and be the ones asked to suggest improvement. And the company insisted that they would have to pay something back for both providing the funding and testing, they gave it all to me. I doubt there could have been an even slightly better natured family ever.
About... A year ago, she went into a coma. I never really understood much for medical stuff, but from what I understood she got some form of parasite from her holiday (that I went on with her) earlier the month she went under. I became enraged at a lot of things, became closed off completely and turned to drink. "Why her? Why her and not me? Why does she have to be the one to get ill?! She can do so much good for this world and yet it's her to get ill?!" I cried the same things over and again, day after day. Gradually, the days turn to weeks. Weeks to months. Until there was a knock at the door. It was her family butler, who was a nice enough guy, but quite quiet and professional so I didn't really know him all too well. He came and told me her family requested my being at their property and he was to drive me there himself.
I wish I had never went, but I am glad I did all at once.
They called me there to inform me... To inform me that she had died. I broke down crying for what felt like hours. But, there was some reprieve, apparently the doctors foresaw her passing a few hours before and instead made their best effort to make sure she didn't feel a thing.
Since she was only young (only 22 years of age) she had quite expectedly an unprepared form of will or anything of the sort. However since she had a lot of property of her own already, it was all left to her parents - they in turn left it all to me.
At her funeral, a few weeks later. I made sure to place her pillow, her necklace and her bracelet on. It sounds ridiculous I know, but me and her will always be bound together - there's no escaping that. I went home, a few months later my father passed and we had his funeral, it wasn't as painful an ordeal for me because everyone around us knew it was coming, we had known for almost a decade now I sold the house, moved to live with her family for a while before finding it all too painful to live there any longer. I took a small amount of the money and put it in a bank so I wouldn't run short and get everything else I could to charities and friends I knew who needed it.
Yesterday though, when I stumbled into my small studio apartment - drunk as ever and barely able to see even large shapes with clarity - I heard a soft beating coming into my ears from the necklace, at the same time I felt my bracelet softly warm up. And then I saw the dim glow of the pillow.
They should have stopped working by now.
Hers should be long dead.
But they were there.
Working.
