Five Days

Prologue

"What is love?
Love isn't a burst of trumpets and a flock of doves descending out of the Heavens to roost on your heads. It's sharing a cup of tea by the hearth. It's the ache in your heart when you watch the light in his eyes dim for the last time, and know a part of you has gone out of this world with him."

-Teresa Medeiros

*******ALDUBPARIN****************

This is a story of a girl who loved life, laughter, lattes, beaches and me.
She loved me the way I don't think I deserved to be loved, with such passion, conviction and sureness in her heart.
I saw it in her eyes. I heard it in her voice. I felt it in her touch.
And now she's gone, taking away with her the sunny days, the sounds of tinkling bells that was her laughter and the love she cloaked me with.
I faced a lifetime of dark days and cold lonely nights. She's gone. My Maine is gone.

~~~~

Even in death her face looked achingly beautiful, serene, calm. I touched her pale lips with a fingertip, I ran my hand on her cheek and drew back in surprise. She was still warm to the touch. I always held the belief that once a person ceased to breathe he immediately turned ice cold. Apparently not.

I took a chance and held her hand in mine. Her warm, soft hands will soon be cold. I couldn't bear the thought.
The room spun around, everything seemed to move in slow motion, I ceased to hear the incessant whirring of machines as well as all the noises surrounding me. The sudden realization she wouldn't smile or laugh again hit me like a swift kick in the gut.

Outside, through the glass windows of the hopital room I saw Diane screaming, attempting to get out of Rodjun's arms around her. Her hair were askew, tears ran down her face. She looked pitiful. Silence reigned in my head, deceitful, unnerving silence. I could make out Diane's angry words. "Maine! She's not dead! Stop lying! Why won't you let me see her! Rodjun, let me go, I have to go to her!" I closed my eyes hoping to block her  from my mind. The darkness only made everything worse for me. I couldn't find the light. Maine was gone.

Could it have been only this afternoon when she laughingly kissed my cheek and told me to take care?
It felt like a lifetime.

Someone came into the room. Not Diane. If it was, her sobs of anguish would've penetrated even my muddled brain.
If it was a nurse or a doctor, I'd fight them before they could take her away from me.

"Alden.. " Kristoff began, his voice sounded odd, a cross between a choked sob and a hoarse plea. "Alden, they need to take her. We have a lot to do, call her parents, make the arrangements, --I.. Alden.."

I looked at him blankly. "I can't let her go. Not yet." My gaze drifted back to her still figure. "She laughed a lot today, teased me too, said she wasn't getting any younger, she can't wait for me forever. She wanted to have coffee at the house, I said no, told her we should meet at Cafe Dreams." I looked back at Kristoff and tried to smile through the overwhelming tears threatening to come out.

"Alden we have to go." Kristoff begged.

"NO! I swear I'll kill you if you don't leave!" A part of me winced at the words that came out of my mouth, yet another part firmly believed I'd do exactly what I just said.

"I'll come back." Kristoff wisely retreated from the room.

"The flowers in the garden are yellow roses, white gardenias, purple posies and white hyacinths." She always teased me that I've become so cynical, even my outlook on life had become dismal. She said I wouldn't know the colors of the flowers surrounding the house if they all bit me in the ass.