Three days of Forever

Theme song:"Saturn by Sleeping at Last "

"Some memories don't need a lifetime. Just the right heartbeat to be eternal."

— Mira

---

We left before sunrise.

I signed the discharge forms with shaking hands and helped him into the cab while the world still slept.

Elian wore a knitted navy sweater and that boyish grin I'd fallen in love with.

His oxygen tank was tucked beside him, and a backpack filled with medicine clinked softly.

But we didn't talk about the illness. Not once.

That morning, we were just two people escaping.

---

We drove until the city faded behind us and all that remained were winding roads and skies that stretched out forever.

The cottage was tiny, hidden in the hills by the sea.

I'd found it online, a quiet place no one knew.

It smelled like salt and old books, and Elian said it reminded him of his childhood.

He sat near the window for hours, watching waves crash in their endless rhythm.

I made tea. We didn't speak.

But there was no silence between us—only peace.

---

On the second day, we went to the beach.

I pushed his wheelchair over the sand until we found a spot where the wind wasn't so cruel.

The sunset bled across the ocean like the sky was letting go.

"This is what I imagined," he said softly. "If I had to die, I wanted it to be after seeing one last sunset with you."

"Don't," I whispered.

But he reached for my hand and smiled.

"Mira... if this was all we got, I'd still call it a lifetime."

---

That night, we laid under the stars.

I rested my head on his chest, listening to the slowing beat of his heart.

The sky above us felt impossibly large.

"Elian?"

"Mm?"

"Promise me something."

"Anything."

"Find me again. In another life. In another morning. Just... find me."

He kissed the top of my head.

"I will. Even if the stars forget your name—I won't."

---

We stayed awake until the stars began to disappear.

And I didn't know it then...

But that would be our last night beneath them.