Forever
Monday, September 26th, 2005She stood under the clock tower as they had agreed upon. Waiting for him until the clock struck two in the afternoon. For the past few weeks, the routine repeated itself. Every Sunday she would wait for him to arrive and they would stroll along the sandy beach. They would tell each other how their week passed with her hand in his, and his in hers. Occassionally they would find a shady place under the big tree and would sit facing the sea enjoying each other’s company. She would let the sound of breaking waves soothe her and forget all her worries.
The loud booming sound of the clock tower jerked her out of her trance. She looked quickly away from the path he would always come from, knowing that he would never walk up that path again. A drop of water fell on her hand. Was it raining? She looked up at the clear blue sky. Another drop fell, this time, she knew where it came from. She bent her head quickly and wiped away the tears, letting her long hair hide her face. When she was done, she steered herself towards the beach along the path they normally took.
Normally the beach would be full of people, from couples strolling along it to families who decided to have a picnic to escape the hustle and bustle of city-life. Escape. A word that held much more meaning to her. A word that brought tears to her eyes. However, today, the beach was deserted and empty. It was as if the shore reflected her mood. But unlike her, the sand and sea would find new company the following day, or the day after. Whereas she, who has devoted herself entirely to him, will remain forever lonely. Wandering around like a lost child, calling out desperately, only to hear a deafening silence. She pulled herself together and walked along a path which brought her away from the past.
Before she knew it, she was standing at the mangled mess of what used to be the town’s hospital, which had been blackened by the fire that razed it to the ground three weeks ago. Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably as she involuntary recalled that fateful day.
It had been a Monday. She was performing her daily duties as a nurse while he was at the firestation, cleaning one of the many fire engines, keeping them clean and shiny. One of the children in the children’s ward was playing with a box of matches when he accidentally set alight the curtains beside his bed. The fire spread quickly with the help of several bottles of bottled oxygen which were stored along the sides of the ward. The children in that ward and the neighbouring ward did not even stand a chance as the explosions incinerated whatever was within its reach. Even before the fire alarm rang, the fire had spead across three floors and due to the old funiture that encumbered the fire escape, evacuation was slowed.
By the time the firefighters arrived, the whole hospital was in flames and half of its staff were still trapped inside by the towering walls of fire. Without hesistation, water was sprayed at the fire while a small group of brave firefighters rushed into the infernoto rescue who ever was still trapped inside. She felt relieved when the firefighters reached them and even more so when he removed his masked and pulled her into an embrace. The remaining staff were escorted quickly out of the building until the two of them were left. With her in his arms, they made their way swifty towards the exit. All seemed well until a sudden explosion knocked them off their feet and flung them away from the exit.
Before she opened her eyes, she could feel the heat making her eyes water. And when she did open them, the intensity of the flames appeared to have increased. She felt stunned but otherwise unhurt. She looked wildly around and spotted him lying down, his face screwed up in pain. When she neared him did she realise what was causing the pain.
A large piece of glass, most probably from the many windows around the building, had pierced through his right thigh and his left leg and torso were pinned down by a burning support pillar that cause the air around him to smell sickly sweet. The sickly sweet smell of burning flesh. She tried pulling him free of the rubble, but it was no use. When his eyes refocused and landed on her, he removed his gas mask and fire resistant jacket and pushed it to her. She stared blankly at them for a moment before she realised what he meant. Horrified at the thought of leaving him alone in the burning furnance to die, she stubbonly shook her head.
"Go! Before its too late!" He managed to croak out as the smoky air burned his throat and lungs. "Its too late for me anyway."
When he saw that she still stubbonly shook her head, he forced her fas mask over her face and drapped the jacket over he fragile body. But whatever he tried, she still refused to budge an inch. He desperately grabbed a sharp peice of metal and held it against his throat.
"If you don’t go, I will have no choice but to do it."
"Why are you doing this?" She moaned through the mask, staring helplessly as the sharp metal drew a trickle of blood down his neck.
"Because I love you!" He shouted, desperate for her to leave the burning building safely before it collasped down on them. "Because I do not want to see you die because of me. Because your happiness and safety is all that matters to me."
Somewhere, another support beam collasped and the whole floor tilted and caused her to fall backwards. Seizing the chance, he gave her an addtional push towards the exit. The smooth, canted floor caused her to slide continuously until she hit the exit door. Mustering all her will power, she wrenched open the door and ran towards safety, her tears condensing on the screen of the mast, clouding her vision as she blundered her way into the awaiting arms of the firefighters.
A sea breeze played with her hair as she stood silently weeping for the man who had given up his life for her. A man who cared not for himself and did everything to protect her until he lost the ability to do so. A man who will always remain in her heart. A man who she will forever be in debt to.
She remembered her reason of visiting the burnt hospital that day. From the plastic bag in her hand. she withdrew a gas mask and a blackened, torn jacket. These were the only things left of him. She placed the items where the entrance used to me, mask on top of jacket. She stepped back a couple of steps and looked sadly at them. She recalled his laughter in her head and knew that he would want her to forget him and move on with her life. To find another man that will love her as much as she loved him. A man who is willing to sacrifice everything for her. Even his life.
But what ever happens, he will always be in her heart until she walks no more on the surface of the Earth.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
have a heart that never hardens, a temper that never tires, a touch that never hurts
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
