She was quite lovely, reminiscent of his favourite vocalist. He had nicknamed her accordingly.
He knelt by her, realizing these were their final moments together.
Holding her flaccid hand encouragingly, he fixated on her glossy eyes and emotively murmured:
“My love, we’ve shared a lifetime – I knew you had no guarantees, but still you …” he involuntarily swallowed his words. She too was speechless; not once did she blink, only stared slightly beyond his inclined head into the nothingness. His eyes welled up …
“Remember that day I took you fishing; the canoe sprung a leak, I panicked, but you … you were the one who kept us afloat!”
He giggled faintly, then uncontrollably, the humorous oddities from the past seemed to lighten the dire atmosphere.
“We met in college, feels like a lifetime ago. I was a clueless aspiring psychology major. My friends…” he frowned, “…my classmates, they said I deserved better, that you were an airhead – clearly those jerks were envious, could’ve been your Japanese roots. You sure showed them my love.”
He caught a glimpse in the mirror atop the bedside table – the face of a startled old fool. Framed pictures of his lonesome faint desperate smiles decorated the wall behind. She seemed to gasp for air. He softly put his hand where her heart would be and slightly, affectionately pressed thereon, almost as if keeping it intact.
“I’ve learnt so much from you… so much!!!” he sobbed. “Please don’t go!” a whisper accidentally escaped. “I wanted you to know, I know the few times you snapped under pressure was becuse of me. I’m sorry my precious, can you ever forgive me?”
His cries escalated as he knew the inevitable moment had drawn closer: “My precious, my soul mate, my rap-a-jap!”
She exhaled her last ounces of life … raw emotion flooded his heart. What vivacious soul would even dare to replace her?
He lay her down at her final resting place – she had spent most of her days there anyway. Abruptly he shoved the drawer shut and muttered: “I’ll miss you Patchy…”
He dropped the pump in the waste bin and turned off the lights.
R.M.
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