“You shouldn’t have done that, running all the way here in your condition!”

“What does it matter? You know I won’t make it either way.”

“Yes, I know that, but look at you; you can’t even stand up now.”

She always worried about him; he never thought of his own safety. How could he when all he thought of was her, and how much he loved her? Maybe that reckless streak was why she wanted to stay close to him, to protect him. Sure, it wasn’t the typical role of a girlfriend, but she wasn’t a typical girl. She was eternal, while he had far less time than you or I.

He shivered in pain for a moment before looking up at her, “I don’t need to stand, not anymore. All that matters is that I’m here. I can see you, talk to you one last time.”

She didn’t like it when he talked that way. She had no reason to fear death, but the thought of it was still unpleasant to her. “How do you know that? How do you know this is the last time? You said you wouldn’t die like this; that you’d go on your own terms.”

“And today is the right day. I wasn’t planning on it, but when I woke up this morning I just… I just  knew.”  He was getting short of breath. He had known this day was coming for a while, it should have come months ago, but he was too stubborn to die so easily.

She was trying to hold herself back, to not cry, but he saw anyway. “Please don’t cry, I hate it when you cry.”

She couldn’t hold the tears back anymore. They welled up from her eyes and ran down her face. In the poorly lit room they seemed to glow. It scared him, her crying eyes. She was crying when they first met, and he had done all he could to make sure she never cried again.

“This isn’t fair, why do you have to die now? What’s the point of living at all? This sucks. Dammit life-“

“DON’T YOU DARE FINISH THAT SENTENCE!” his outburst scared her; she didn’t think he had the strength left to yell, but the strain showed on his face. He was gasping for breath, and it took nearly half a minute before he could speak again. “Maybe it’s not all good, but you can’t say life isn’t worth living. It seems bad now, but someday you’ll see how lucky you are. As short as my life is I’m glad I had the opportunity to-uck!”

He had stopped moving entirely. If it wasn’t for the blood dripping from his mouth, one would think he was frozen in time.

“Oh my god! Say something, anything. Tell me you’re okay!”

He turned away from her. The one thing he could say to stop her crying was the only thing he couldn’t say. “You know I’d be lying if I said so. Come on, don’t look so sad; I’m still here for now.”

“What are they?”

“Huh?”

“You said you wanted to die on your own terms. What are they?”

He met her teary gaze and smiled, “I should have said term. I only have one; the last thing I want to see is your smiling face.”

Now it was her face that was frozen in time. He had said the wrong thing, he knew it. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. I shouldn’t have put so much pressure on you. I shouldn’t-“

He stopped when he felt her hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see her, still teary eyed but smiling. “Don’t be sorry, there’s no reason to go feeling like that.”

“Thank you.” now he was the one crying. “You really should smile more often; you look so beautiful when you do.”

“What about the rest of the time?”

“You look pretty good then too.”

“A real sweetheart to the end, huh?”

“There’s the girl I know.” His eyes were becoming glazed over, and his pupils dilated. “I hope you’re still smiling, I’m afraid my eyes have failed me.”

She knew the moment was drawing close, and it terrified her, but she dismissed it and kept on smiling, “Are you sure you don’t have any more terms?”

“No, just help me up.” With her aid, he struggled to his feet. His legs were trembling with weakness, and she had to support the majority of his sleight frame. “There we go, am I too heavy?” she shook her head, and although he couldn’t see, he understood. “Just hold onto me, at least until it’s over.”

“I’d hold on for a thousand years.”

“Only a thousand? You’ve got forever to live, why not longer?”

He expected her to get mad, but she only laughed. To him, the laugh was better than heaven’s orchestra. “Are you sure you’re dying?”

“Gimme a minute, you’ll get your answer.

“I won’t ever forget you.”

“You couldn’t forget… me if… you… tried.”

And so he died there in her arms. She lived on forever, but she never forgot him, and she never forgot to keep smiling.