He walked through the cold, pouring rain, unaware of his location and unsure of his destination. He no longer cared for such unimportant matters, and now believed that his thoughts should be reserved only for things that resembled importance in life. Things like Elizabeth.
Henry longed to hold her in his arms once again; to feel her heart beat and to hear her say his name, deeply engraved into her memory. But, no matter how much he longed and willed for it to come true, his mind forced him to accept what was now his reality, dark and lonely.
He’d felt like he had lost her long before, when she had been diagnosed by Alzheimer’s disease, but it was too much to bear to lose her again. It had been years since Elizabeth had remembered Henry’s name, or even recognized his face, and it had broken his heart, but he had always gotten by with the hope that she may someday remember him and everything they had been through together. But, with the passing of this unexpected nightmare, Henry was left to live with nothing: no Elizabeth to love, no hope for her memory, only emptiness.
On that warm summer’s night, so long ago, that Henry had wed Elizabeth, it seemed as though their future together would stretch on forever, never dying or breaking. He hadn’t even considered the possibility that someday down the road, something strong and horrible would have the ability to keep them apart.
They had married very young, growing older and closer together as each year passed. The life they built was everything he had ever wished for, the mere presence of Elizabeth in his life keeping him happy.
He had relied on her so deeply that the day she could no longer live at home with Henry was the hardest to endure, before now. The rain felt like ice as drop after drop fell upon him, freezing and numbing his skin. It was falling so quickly now that he could not see far ahead of him, much as he felt without Elizabeth by his side.
He continued walking, aiming for nowhere but a place to seek happiness, although only half-heartedly, as he believed that no place on earth could achieve such a thing.
Henry walked as far as his old legs could carry his heavy heart, until he found a bench to sit down. The wedding ring he wore on his finger, binding his heart to Elizabeth’s, suddenly felt warm against his skin, and he removed it to hold closer to his heart.
He sat there, in the dark night and cold rain, for what seemed like eternity, his empty heart slowing, and his eyes no longer able to stay open.
Elizabeth was gone forever, the other half of Henry’s heart missing. He could no longer go on. He laid his back on the seat, releasing the pain from his heart.
Slowly, the rain disappeared, the cold drifted away, the bench was no longer beneath him. Elizabeth was in his heart as it took it’s last beat, allowing Henry to join her. He could not live without her.
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