Tears streamed down his face, and his shoulders shook with the force of his sobs. To everyone watching, it seemed as if his very soul was being torn apart. He pleaded with the doctors, his voice barely above a whisper, begging for just a little more time to say goodbye, to express all the things that had gone unsaid.

They granted his request, and Michael found himself alone in the room with Emily. He took her cold hand in his, its warmth long since gone, and traced the lines of her palm with his thumb. His heart ached with every beat, the thought of a future without her almost too much to bear.