The End

The worn steps of the old wood deck brought back memories of his childhood sitting on the sun-worn boards he had grown up playing on in the summertime.

Memories of breaking the kitchen window one afternoon while playing ball with his brother, and another of helping his dad decorate the outside of the house for Halloween made him smile.

He and his brother had lined the steps of the deck with freshly carved pumpkins that each had a candle in them. Wrapping Christmas tinsel and lights around the deck railing was one of his favorite memories.

Back then he never could have imagined that one day it would all just be a memory. Childhood doesn't prepare you for the pain that comes with realizing you have eaten your last ice cream cone while sitting cross legged on that old worn-out deck, or that you have visited a loved one for the very last time.

The doctor's prognosis was bleak. It had metastasized to other organs and all they could do now was keep him comfortable. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, inhaling the smell of the fresh cut hay from a nearby field. It mingled with the sweet scent of the strawberry shampoo she used to wash her hair.

She sat one step below him on the stairs of the deck resting her head in the crease of his elbow letting her hair fall down past his leg. She intertwined her arms and her legs around his until they found themselves locked into each other, his head resting gently on hers.

Lifting his head, he kissed the top of hers. With his lips still touching her hair, he whispered just loud enough for her to hear "I love you."

Hours passed in the darkness. In the distance they could hear the hoot of an owl and the song played by crickets in the tall grass. "Sing to me?" He gently asked.

It was one thing he had asked her to do for years until the day she finally gave in. Then it became his favorite request of her. "Sing to me?" He asked her at a restaurant having dinner one night. He would shamlessly request it of her anywhere; in the car, at a theater before the movie played, at a friend's wedding reception even.

"Why do you try to embarrass me like that all the time?" She asked him angrily one afternoon, almost growling it. "It's not meant to embarrass or hurt you." He stepped toward where she was leaning against the kitchen counter. "Your voice brings me peace." He said smiling as he took a step toward her, wrapping his arms around her, placing a kiss on her forehead. "It's the prettiest thing I've ever heard, and I'm not alone in that, I promise."

There on the steps of the deck, locked in a loving embrace in the early hours before dawn, with her head on his arm and his head resting on hers, she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, found the right note and began to softly hum a tune she had reserved only for him.

Once in a while a small cloud drifted in blocking out the moon and a few stars until it made its way across the sky revealing the distant starlight once again. Her sweet voice seemed to bring the entire world to silence as creatures large and small stopped to hear her sing his song.

Eventually the distant horizon began to glow as the sun's first rays shot into the sky. Flocks of birds took flight from the treetops in search of rodents, frogs, worms and other critters who ventured out in the cover darkness and cool night air but hadn't returned to shelter just yet.

"Thank you for loving me," he whispered softly. Her body tensed as she squeezed his with every bit of strength she had. "Don't," she said aloud, a tinge of hurt in her voice. "Not yet." "The sunrise is..." his soft whisper trailed off as a tear rolled down her cheek. As he let out a breath the weight of his body shifted and the warm embrace he held her in relaxed...