I grab my car key and help my wife down the stairs of our house and to our car.
"Be careful love." I say as I put my hand above her head so that she doesn't get hurt from the roof of our car, carefully put on the seatbelt for her and drive hospital. We reach in ten minutes so I wake my wife up and guide her inside the hospital and to the ultrasound room holding her hand firmly.
"The baby is quite healthy and we are expecting delivery in a week or so."
The gynecologist says as I hold Lily's hand and walk out thanking the doctor. All of a sudden, my wife requests me, "Babe I wanna take the stairs."
Lily is a very adamant person and won't let anything get in the way if she decides on something but I am worried she will get hurt this time. Even though I don't want to let her go, I know that I need to trust her and her decisions more.
"Okay, but under one condition. You will hold my hand throughout." I say as she smiles nodding her head and I hold out my hand to her as if asking for a dance to which she agrees, proudly claiming me as her man.
We slowly take a few steps hand in hand laughing with each step but, she loses her balance and her hand slips out of mine. I watch her fall, helpless.....frozen in time. Her head bleeds a pool of blood staining her favorite sweater, marking her clothes as they go. I rush to pick her up in my arms and open the door to the second floor. Her blood leaves a trail and her pants turn a deep red colour.
I rush to the emergency carrying her in my arms coloured red by her blood. As two nurses pull her onto a stretcher, two surgeons rush toward Lily's limp body and take her inside the emergency OT.
Fifteen minutes later, a doctor comes out and asks, "Are you the husband of Lily Hart?"
"Yes doctor I am her husband, how is my wife?" I ask tears pooling up in my eyes.
"Your wife is in a very critical condition and so is your baby as they both fell on their side. I am afraid you have to choose to save either one of them." He says.
Stunned, speechless and heartbroken, I let the tears roll down my face. The thought of losing any of them scared me. I look at my hands covered in Lily's blood, as her face filled with the happiness of seeing our unborn child, flashes before my eyes. Trying to calm myself down, I make the hard decision. I want to save my wife...the one who I chose to spend my whole life with...the one who I want to love my whole life no matter what obstacles come my way.....the one who I swore to never leave... till death did us apart...
"Please save my wife...do anything but save my wife." I say wiping off my tears and gathering myself up. The doctor goes back inside with a reassuring nod. I sit back down on the waiting chair, tapping nervously.
After a couple of minutes, I see the doctor come out of the OT. Hurriedly I stand up opening my mouth to ask about my wife but the doctor opens his mask and shakes his head slowly.
"I am sorry we could not save your baby or wife."
My world stopped. I can only hear my heart beating fast as I cover my face with my blood-covered hands and break down bawling my eyes out. The love of my life has left me....my unborn baby has left me without even letting me see her face. Everything hit harder than a truck. I feel the time fly as my vision gets blurred by my unstoppable tears. I slowly get up stumbling towards the doctor and ask him, "Can I see my wife for the last time?"
My feet feel like jelly as tears keep running down my face turning red from the blood. The doctor nods guilt-ridden, he leads me to the Operation table where my wife lay with a single teardrop falling from her left eye. I hold her cold hand and keep kissing it.
"I love you." I whisper in her ears as my heart that once started beating for her stops...beside her....once and forever.