“Do you love me?” she whispered.
“Of course I do, Annie,” he said, “We promised, remember? Forever and always.”
“Even though things are… different?”
He looked at her, trying to discern the direction of her thoughts. The moonlight shimmering in her pale blue eyes brought back all of the good memories they had shared before it happened.
“Annie…” He reached for her hand, but she pulled away.
He looked back over the ledge down at the city lights below. There, people went on with their ordinary lives, but here, so far away from civilization, things were different. He was very aware of his legs dangling off of the cliff before him.
“Annie, it’s… Do you remember when we used to pick flowers together in the park?”
“You know I can’t do that with you anymore…”
“But- Do you remember how, every time we would find a wilted one or a broken one, you would always pick it up and carry it with you for the rest of the walk? Care for it and treat it like it was the most special thing in the whole wide world?”
“Everything needs someone to love it.”
“That’s what I want to be for you, Annie. I want to be the one who will pick you up and carry you even when you’re broken.”
She looked at him with a wilted half-smile. Her silvery hair was blowing in the gentle breeze, pulled back, all but that one strand that coiled around her ear and rested on her shoulder. Just like the last time he had seen her.
“Please…” she said, “Don’t make this any harder…”
“Look, I-“
“Please. We can’t do this anymore. You can’t see me. And I think deep down in your soul, you know that.”
“For how long, Annie?”
“For the rest of your life; my condition is permanent.”
“I know that Annie; I was there when the doctor said it. But I love you. I can’t live without you.”
“Of course you can. You have to.”
“Maybe I could… I could change Annie. Maybe I could do something so we could be together again. Forever this time.”
“Please, please don’t. It wouldn’t be something you could take back. Once you make that decision…”
“But Annie, I want… I could make myself like you. In the same way. Poetic justice, that’s what they call it, right? Quick and painless.”
“Please…” She wanted to cry, but she couldn’t.
“Just a few pills and we could be together for the rest of eternity.” He turned around to look at her, but her ghost was already gone.