The Last Chapter

I never thought that this day would come. You see it in movies, and you hear stories about it, but you never think that it will happen to you. Everything around me was dead silent. The only thing that I could hear was my heart pacing fast. My palms were so sweaty, but she wanted to hold my hand tightly for comfort. Tears were rolling down from her eyes as she tried to crack a smile. I sighed loudly, but the words just couldn't come out of my mouth.

The sounds of heavy footsteps were booming loudly on the floor, as people were pacing up and down the corridor. I felt emotionless; she saw that the spark in my eyes were gone and that I had lost all hope. She stroked my hand and squeezed it tightly, wanting me to react.

I closed my eyes and tried to cancel out all of the noise around me. I didn't want to see her face.

But I do remember when I first saw her face. There I was, sitting in the library, hooked onto a story and refusing to put the book down. She tapped me on the shoulder and asked me about the book. I was mesmerized by her eyes, and the story was suddenly boring to me. We didn't stop talking, and I remember how nervous I was to ask her out. So she asked me out instead.

It was on Christmas Eve when I plucked up the courage to propose. I took her to our usual spot, a small Italian restaurant that was a block away from our apartment. She had tortellini pasta, and I had steak. That was the last time when my hands were sweaty; when I was fumbling around, trying to find the ring in the pockets of my blazer and her giggling at me.

I never wanted to let her go, and when she gave birth to our first child, I knew everything in my life was complete. When I was given our first child to hold, all those worries and fears of being a father suddenly disappeared. Her cute button nose, big brown eyes and little smile made my heart melt. I had never held anything so precious before in my life. She was a little bundle of joy but she did come with some challenges.

Those sleepless nights, pointless arguments and added stress is what came with our first child. But we were strong enough to pull through and find our way to raise her. I can proudly say that I was there to see her walk for the first time, to see her reaction when she first tried grapes, to watch her shout with happiness when she learnt how to ride a bike.

We watched our baby grow into a teenager, and once our teenager was ready to leave the bird's nest, it was one of the hardest goodbyes. I didn't want to let her go. I was proud of the young woman that she had become, but the world was still a scary place for her.

But she needed to spread her own wings. That's the circle of life, I guess.

My eyes opened again as I felt her strong grip on my arm. She was staring at me with worry. I looked back at her, and caved in. I hugged her tightly. She cried even more. We both sat there in silence as we heard the monitors beeping around us.

My phone vibrated and it was a message from a friend. We both sat there and read it. 'I heard the news. Are you okay?' It said. I couldn't hold it in anymore; I broke down. I started crying as I held onto her tightly. We were in a crowded room, and the atmosphere felt dark and heavy. Everyone had their own problems, their own worries and families to take care of. But all that mattered to me was that our baby girl would wake up. She needed to wake up. She still has her whole life ahead of her. She cannot leave us so quickly. This cannot be her last chapter.