I rolled over in bed, looking up at Aileen as she pulled her clothes back on. "Stay with me..?"

   Her shoulders slumped, her back turned to me. "I shouldn't have done that..."

   I sat up, holding the covers to my chest. "Why not..?"

   She pulled her shirt on with a shake of her head. "Carla... I like you... And I haven't felt like this about anyone in a thousand years... But, it can never work... If I let you choose me... You'd be forfeiting your life..."

   I slowly stood out of bed, resting my hand on her shoulder. "Aileen... I've already chosen you..."

   She finally faced me, but refused to look into my eyes. "I can't let you do that..."

   I watched as she raised her finger, a light glow emanating from her fingertip. "What're you doing..?"

   "I'm going to erase this part of your memory..."

   I grabbed her wrist, her eyes finally landing on mine. "Don't..."

   "Carla... If you choose me, then you're choosing death..."

   I lowered my hand, my eyes dropping to the floor. "So what if I do..? So much of my life has already been wasted... I have nothing to live for... and I never did..."

   Aileen lowered her hand, interlacing it with mine, causing me to look up at her. "Carla, that's not true... You have a long life ahead of you... You just need to live it..."

   I felt a tear slip past my eye. "I don't know how..."

   She cupped my cheek with her free hand. "Do you trust me..?"

   I nodded, squeezing her hand lightly. "Yes..."

   "Get dressed... I'm gonna show you what you've been missing..."

After getting dressed, I stood on my front porch, watching cars drive by, neighbors milling about in their yards.

My chest tightened at the sight. My body refusing to move any further.

Aileen stood in my front yard, lifting her hand towards me. "C'mon, I can't show you anything if you don't come with me."

My heartbeat sped up, my breathing becoming labored. "Aileen... I'm scared..."

She joined me on the porch, looking down into my eyes. "You said you trusted me... I won't let anything happen to you, I promise..."

My heartbeat evened, my breathing steadying. "Ok..."

Aileen flashed me a little smile, taking my hand, leading down to the grass.

My eyes darted in every direction, Aileen helping me towards the sidewalk. "Uh, where are we going..?"

"For a walk. It's a beautiful day. Just breath."

I did what she said, taking in a few deep breaths, allowing myself to calm.

We stepped onto the sidewalk, making our way past my neighbors house. They waved as we passed.

I waved back, forcing a smile.

"See, so far so good, right?" Aileen asked, walking backwards in front of me.

The smile became more genuine the longer I looked at her. "Yeah... So far so good..."

Before I knew it, Aileen had led me into town. The sidewalks bustled with people, cars passing by on their separate commutes. It was a lot to take in. The most public I've been in a very long time. I felt afraid. Vulnerable. But, then Aileen would look at me and I felt safe.

"What do you say we grab some lunch?" She asked.

"Y-yeah... That's sounds good..." I replied, swerving past people as they walked.

"What sounds good?"

"Pizza... I love pizza..."

"My kinda gal."

I chuckled a little as Aileen led me into a nearby pizza parlor.

Everyone's eyes seemed to be on us as we entered. I felt myself shrinking down, my eyes trained on the floor.

Then, Aileen took my hand. "Hey, just ignore them... Now, what toppings do you want?"

"I'm more of a plain cheese kinda gal." I replied.

She nudged me. "You lost some points with that one."

I giggled, nudging her back. "Whatever..."

After ordering a couple slices, we found seats at a picnic table outside.

I absentmindedly started digging my fingernail into the wooden tabletop.

"Can I ask you something?" Aileen asked.

My attention snapped to her. "Yes, uh, what's up?"

She gestured to my hand. "Why do you do that?"

I looked down at the splintered wood. "Oh, um, I don't know... It keeps me grounded I guess... Force of habit..."

She took that hand in hers. "Focus on me instead... Don't think about whatever's going on around us... Just focus on the moment..."

I took a bite of my pizza, pushing our surroundings to the back of my mind. "Ok, tell me then, what did you do before you became an angel?"

Aileen set her pizza down, focusing on me. "Honestly? I don't even remember at this point."

I flashed her a smile. "Alright... What made you want to be an angel then?"

She laced her fingers under her chin. "Well, it was more of an offer than a choice... But, I guess I liked the idea of helping people... it gave me purpose..."

My smile grew at the thought. "That sounds amazing... I'd love the opportunity to help people like me... No one was ever really there to help me... Until you came along. I think it would be amazing to be that person for someone else..."

Aileen studied me, seemingly deep in thought.

"What's on your mind?" I asked.

She smiled a little. "Nothing important... At least for the time being..."

After lunch, Aileen led me to a local park. We took a seat on a bench, watching the people pass us by.

"How're you doing?" Aileen asked.

I took in a deep breath. "So far so good..."

She smiled, giving my hand a squeeze. "Im glad..."

Aileen grew quiet after that, looking down at the ground.

"Are you doing ok?" I asked.

She let out a sigh. "Carla... I have to tell you something... But, it's not easy..."

I looked to her. "You can tell me anything..."

She leaned back, picking at her fingernails. "Remember what I told you when we first met?"

"You told me a lot..." I replied.

"I told you that while you were in that coma, you weren't in any danger up until that point..."

I nodded slowly. "Right... And?"

"Someone was going to pull the plug... Two years is a long time. The doctors were convinced you weren't going to wake up... This person was given a choice... They could either let you continue to suffer... Or put you out of your misery..."

I took in a tight breath. "And... They chose the latter..?"

Aileen just nodded.

I looked down, already knowing who this person was. But, I needed to hear her say it. "Who made that choice..?"

"Carla-"

I raised my hand, cutting her off. "Please, Aileen... I need to know..."

"It was... Your sister..."