That Would Be Enough~ Hamilza Oneshots

~Home~

"Is that it?"

"No, my love. But we're getting closer."

The carriage bumped and rattled along the scrabbly New England road, and Eliza's shoulder knocked against Alexander's. Reaching past his chest, she pointed out at the next house on the road, a gorgeous white home with many windows and a long, curving pathway running across its sprawling grounds.

"How about that one?"

Alex shook his head and brought her outstretched hand to his lips. "No, not that one.  It shouldn't be much longer. I promise."

Hand in hand, they spent the rest of the drive in silence. Finally, the carriage came to a stop in front of an abandoned old house, alone on a hill. Its windows were shattered, its paint faded and cracked, and a forlorn air pulsed from the location. Alexander's stomach lurched, and he weakly spoke up.

"We're here."

He felt ill as they descended from the wagon and carried their things inside. Alexander was not a wealthy man; this pathetic little thing was all he could afford. As Eliza went up to the room that would become their parlor for the very first time, slowly taking everything in, Alexander could no longer keep his worries to himself.

"Do... do you like it, my love?" he finally croaked.

Without a word, Eliza stepped farther and farther away from him and gazed out the window. When she turned around, she was glowing.

"I can see the sea."

Breaking into a grin, Alexander could feel his worries melting away. He put his arms around Eliza, and together they gazed out the window, blissfully watching the ocean. This would be the house in which he would create a life with the girl he loved.

Day after day, when Alex wasn't at his job, the two were hard at work, fixing things, cleaning things, painting things, buying furniture, and an extensive list of other chores. They were constantly working to turn the dusty old house into something beautiful. It was exhausting, but when they were together, the most tedious chores became fun. One night, after putting the parlor together, they celebrated by clasping hands and dancing the night away. Sore, barefoot, tired, yet laughing, they hummed their own tune to dance to, and the world became their ballroom. It was in moments like these that the house started to become a home.

Soon their first year together passed. The first year melted into the second, then five years went by, then decades. The time flew by, happy, warm, and peaceful.

Eliza's illness caught both of them by surprise. By the time they were aware something was wrong, the doctor said there was not much they could do except make the remainder of her days comfortable. He was heartbroken that their life together was approaching its end, but did exactly what the doctor ordered.

Taking his aged, sickly wife by the hand, Alexander would bring her to the garden everyday. Together would sit in the warmth of the sun and watch the sea. Despite all their years in this home, the wonder of their ocean view had not been lost on her. Her body might have been fading away, but she never lost her spirit. Everyday in this time, Eliza would remind him that she loved him, and tearfully he would reply in kind. They would sit here together until Eliza broke into a coughing fit or a chill, and he would dutifully help her back inside.

On the days she didn't have the strength to go outside, they would sit in the parlor, watching the ocean from their chairs and remembering when they were young and would dance barefoot around the room. Deep in his heart, Alexander longed for Eliza to be healthy enough to dance with him again.

Eliza carried herself proudly to the very end. The night she passed, Alexander was at her side, holding her hand and whispering as many words of love in her ear as she could. He wanted her to know exactly how much he loved her with what little time he had left.

"Alexander," Eliza murmured, her voice raspy with overpowering sickness, but still firm enough to make him go silent. "Please don't worry. Live your life the way you always have. We'll be dancing again before you know it."

These words fell heavily on Alexander's heart.

"I can't wait to see you again."

With those words, the light in her eyes flickered out, and the hand in his grew cold and lifeless. His wife was gone.

Suddenly, the house they had built felt empty. All the work they had put into it became meaningless. He loathed every creak his footsteps made in the floorboards. At any moment, it felt like the walls of this hollow house would collapse over him. But to his disappointment, they never did.

He tried to keep his wife's final request, but it was more than he could bear. Living as he always had felt like a lie, a disgrace to her beautiful legacy. He had no children to find company in, his work felt less important- why had he spent so much of his life working?- and he had no interest in seeing his friends. Nothing mattered, and nobody mattered. Not anymore.

Time seemed to drag on endlessly. The days didn't come and go the way they used to; every day felt like another empty lifetime. For hours at a time, he would sit in his chair, staring at the parlor wall. He couldn't stand to look out at the sea, so he had repositioned his chair so he wouldn't have to face it anymore. The wall he stared at grew increasingly dusty as time went on, as did everything else in the house. The colors he and Eliza had painted together became faint, and their garden was lost in a tangle of weeds. It was no longer the home they had built together, just a loveless building lost to time.

One day, when he sank into his chair, he felt as though he could take it no longer, and he collapsed into sobs. He hated this empty house, every room of it. He hated being alone and longed for his Eliza to return to him. The happy years they had spent together felt like a distant memory, and he desperately wanted to escape the cold desolation he found himself in.

As he hung his head and wept, he thought he heard a noise in the distance. Believing it was his brain shattered by age and grief, he didn't look up. Then the noise grew louder, sending goosebumps down his shoulders and back. It sounded like music.

When he looked up, he saw a bright, sparkling shape in the corner of his eye. When he turned to look at it, it disappeared. Then the music grew louder still- it sounded like humming-  and it was coming from behind him.

He turned around, and there was a dazzling figure prancing and twirling all around the room. She hummed a melodic tune, and she gave him a loving smile. His jaw dropping, Alexander watched her helplessly before remembering how to stand. Once he was on his feet, the figure leapt over to him and took his hands in hers. For the first time in years, Alexander smiled.

Together they danced across the floor to the tune she hummed. The familiar pain in Alexander's elderly knees and feet were gone, and he felt like he was floating around the parlor. Every good feeling he ever experienced came rushing back to him, and as they circled the parlor, he felt every corner fill with light for the first time in so long. Hugging his beautiful wife close to him, he buried his face in her long, dark hair. From her smell to the way she felt in his arms, she was just the way he remembered.

"I'm home, Eliza. I'm finally home."