The Quiet Between

Theme song:Forever by Lweis Capaldi"

"Love is not loud. Sometimes, it's just staying. Even when everything inside you wants to run from the pain."

— Mira

---

We stayed in the hospital for three more days.

I started learning the names of the nurses. They began calling me "his person" even before I realized what that meant.

Every time someone asked if I was family, I said yes.

Because love makes you family in ways blood never can.

---

Elian's body was failing quietly.

No violent collapse. No dramatic seizures.

Just... slipping.

Like watching color fade from a painting one layer at a time.

His voice turned softer. His skin colder. But his eyes—

They still found mine like they were looking for home.

---

On the second night, we watched the rain through the window.

It wasn't storming. Just soft, like the sky didn't want to scare us.

"Do you think," he asked suddenly, "there's more after this?"

I shrugged, wiping at a silent tear.

"I don't know."

"I'd like to believe there is. That all the love we gave doesn't just disappear."

He reached for my hand.

"If there is more, Mira... I'll find you again. I promise. Even if it takes me lifetimes."

I couldn't reply.

My mouth opened, but the words choked in my throat like they were afraid to make it real.

---

That night, he asked for music.

Something soft.

So I played that song he liked—"The Night We Met."

His eyes closed. A small smile pulled at the corner of his mouth.

"I wish we had met earlier," I whispered.

"I wish I had loved you sooner," he replied. "But even if this was all we had… I'd still choose you."

---

It was in that quiet—between rain and music and the steady beeping of his monitor—that I realized love is not about how long you have.

It's about how deep it cuts when it's gone.