Angel

The following short story is not mine, but of a dear friend of mine; Mauricio Alvarez. He showed it to me about a two months ago and I thought it was really good. All due credits go to him.

She kisses me.

I can barely feel her lips against mine, but I can see her face, feel her warmth spreading through my stiff face. A tear rolls off her cheek and falls on me, although I can't feel it. Slowly she moves apart from me, her brown eyes filled with tears. I want to tell her how much I love her, I want to hold her and tell her everything is going to be fine.

But that's no longer possible. How did I end up like this, body dead and senseless, doomed to lie still in this bed until my body gives up the fight?

Even now, I don't know. I've lost track of how long I've been here, although it can't be that long. I've seen nurses come and go, a doctor, some friends, but not many, and her. She's my angel, the one who kept me safe from my inner demons. The person who always seemed to warm the air around her. And the more I knew her, the closer we got, the more I loved her. I could drown in those brown eyes and feel a warm comfort grow inside me. It was a beautiful thing.

Her hand brushes the hair off my face, while she covers her mouth with the other to drown a sob. That's when something inside me wakes up. I can't lose this fight. I owe it to her, who has done so much for me. Her company kept me sane while I saw my father dying slowly from the cancer that ate away his lungs. She was the one who stood by me in the long days hunting for a job, helping me as much as she could with what little spare money she had. I must not give up. I must fight and live.

My mind is suddenly flooded with images. My mother teaching me how to swim in my uncle's pool. My dad playing basketball with me and my brothers in the backyard. My classmates and I, dancing drunk after our last day of class in high school. Myself, walking into my college campus for the first time. The first time I saw her, the moment as vivid as if I were there. My dad's funeral. The dark days afterwards. And finally the road...I can sense cold fear around me. The road. The flashlights heading towards me. The horn blowing, cutting the air with a deep scream. And suddenly I'm staring at her again, in my hospital bed, but this time she seems to be fading away.

And I realize my fight is over.

But she kisses me. And that's all I really need.

товарищ, прочность и почетность! День принадлежит к нам!