Entry #86

A Promise Kept
By RiverSoul


I rushed to the ICU ward of the Hospital as fast as my legs could carry me. It was almost daybreak. Twenty minutes ago, I had received the doctor’s call, confirming that the time had now come. That which I had been dreading; that which I had hoped would never happen; had now come to pass.

Like the dog afraid of his own shadow, I ran towards her.

The ward came to view. Like a pale ghost, I slowed down to a standstill. The door was ajar. She was looking right at me.

She seemed to be looking right through me, as though she knew of every thought and emotion tormenting my mind. She had that smile on her face; that carefree smile that even months of chemotherapy had failed to wipe out. Her smile seemed to be telling me something.

But I just couldn’t place it.

The doctor came out just then. With an apologetic voice, he said “I’m so sorry, son. She succumbed just a few minutes ago. A brave fighter. God rest her soul.”

He walked away.

Terror tore at me and my insides seemed to shrivel up.

“That means . . . . . her eyes . . . . . Oh God!”

She knew I’d come. She kept waiting for me till the very end. Tears leaked out of my eyes. But I held strong. I kept her promise. I never cried.

And I realized that she knew it.

Her smile told me that.