Smiling, Adele said "You know me too well". Dan smiled back and tugged a lock of her hair behind her ear, kissed her forehead and whispered "I want to continue knowing you the rest of my life".
In that moment, that memory of Dan faded into the back drop of the graveyard. One hand against her chest, she tried to feel for her heartbeat. She was alive and well, her heart beating, but she knew that she no longer needed to live for her soul had been ripped out earlier that week.
Dan had been the love of her life when he walked in 5 years ago. Adele wasn't looking for a relationship to blossom as she just had her heart broken 2 months ago, but being with Dan made her life perfect. She learnt to be herself with him, accepted people for who they are, acknowledging that we cannot go into a relationship changing people. Dan loved her for who and how she was, not with a perception to change and obtain her for himself.
To her friends, she could not stop gushing about Dan...I adore everything about Dan. He is the most amazing person, whom gives me the security and freedom which I crave. It doesn't hurt that he is good looking, well to do for himself, generous and that we love the same things.
Ah, wait this is him calling me right now.
"Hey, Dan. Where are you? Did you just begin work? Well, that's nice. I currently in class and pondering on where I should be heading for lunch. Seriously, you are too generous. You don't really have to do that for me. Okay, I'll speak to you tonight. Miss you."
"Okay guys, Dan mentioned that we could head over to that restaurant we mentioned and he'll pick up the tab. But I don't think that would be a good idea. Seriously guys, I like him for who he is, not because he is picking up my lunch tabs."
Every evening at 7pm, he'll call her without fail. No matter where he is, which state, which country he is - just to check up on if she has had her dinner. This evening was different. He asked how is it he never fails to call, but she has never called him once, and that it would be nice to know she cared with a simple phone call. It's true, Adele has not once picked up the phone to ring him. That moment of realisation was so important for she knew he loved her.....and that she did love him in return.
The past years had been so beautiful till the wretched car accident. Both Dan and Adele had had the passion for fast cars and speed. This was the very reason they had begun noticing one another. When he purchased his car, the number he wanted to pick coincided with their birthday dates - 22 June and 23 June. It was always fun and games with Dan and Adele. They made it a promise to get their favorite cars and that the other person would be the first one in the car with them.
The car accident had ripped Adele into pieces by losing the love she has always known. Adele came out lucky with injuries, but emotionally she was as much as a wreck as the car. She tried to pull Dan from the wreck, but all that she could do was to hold his hands while he inhaled and exhaled, what was to be his last breaths.
"Dan, don't quit on me. I love you so much I cannot live without you. Oh god, please. Don't say another word, just hang on for us. Dan, Dan, answer me. Dan........don't you dare"
He held on to her hand and said "Please be strong. I love you". That was all she heard and then silence overcame her.
The emergency crew found her lying on the ground with her holding on to his hands. They thought they had recovered two bodies that night, until they tried to move Adele away but sensed that she was warm and that the injuries were still bleeding. Overhead, people were shouting "We got a bleeder. She's still breathing and alive Excuse me, miss, if you can hear me, we got to get you out of there to the hospital where you can be treated for your injuries sustained".
Adele lay motionless but allowed herself to be carried away to the ambulance. She felt no pain nor the need to cry. However, as soon as she got the opportunity, she calmly was seeking the answers from the doctor with a question - "How is Dan doing?". It was a question in which she was clear on the answer. But she needed the answer to come from a medical practitioner. The doctor was left speechless for a moment to gain some composure. He hated the delivery of such news, but understood that Adele needed closure. "Adele, Dan did not make it". Calmly, Adele said "I understand, can I get some rest?".
She lay in bed, eyes wide open but this time the tears formed underneath her eyes, rolling down the side of her eyes, dripping on to the pillow beneath her. Over the course of the few days, both her family and Dan's stopped by. Dan had always been close to his mother, and so was Adele. She was heartbroken that her only son did not make it. Adele felt that she was in no position to comfort her, but teared up whenever his mother was there.
At the graveyard, Adele had donned her black dress with a single white rose in her hands. She had declined the invitation to provide an eulogy for Dan. She only opted to place the white rose on his coffin as symbol of their love.
Lying on the pier, she cried and whispered "Dan, I love you, I'll love you always". Without any hesitation this round, she dipped her toes to feel the coolness of the water. At the blink of an eye, she found herself under the water fighting the gush of water flooding her lungs. All that was in her mind was that she would be with the person whom had truly loved her for her and she loving him in return.
The tragedy of two lives for one could not live her life losing the person she regarded as her life.
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