Remember Me

Epilogue

Nathan watches the numbers of the elevator go up which is the opposite of his mood. He hates going to the hospital, even if it was for the love of his life. The sound of the machinery's ascent reverberates through the facility. When he takes a step out of the elevator, the stench of death filters through his being. Of course, none of the patients situated in this section are actually dead. Yet. They're on the verge of dying, the thread of life just barely hanging from their bodies in the shape of various support systems – making hearts beat with every pulse of the machine.

The hallway is flooded in a pale light that causes color to ooze out of the walls. They are painted green to inspire hope and life; but the way the light refracts onto the cold floor only reminds him of sickness. Nathan feels sick. Every time he entered this hallway, more out of a sense of obligation than anything else, he felt sick: sick of this hallway, sick of imminent death permeating in Charlotte's body, sick of this whole situation.

Death treats all life equally, playing no favorites.

Yet somehow life keeps favoring her here. Death clings to Charlotte like a parasite, ever postponing her final moments of rest. And until that time comes, Nathan cannot rest either. He takes a deep breath before sliding down the side of Charlotte's dreary hospital room.

Nathan's face is in his hands since he is trying not to cry. He tries to think clearly, and tries to stay strong. He hears the doctor call him, no, he doesn't hear him, he hears something that sounds fuzzy and distant. He is so caught up in his thoughts he cannot process anything outside of himself.

The second time the doctor calls him, he jolts back to reality. He can't process exactly what the doctor is saying, but he sees the man nod and Nathan stands maybe a little too quickly to match the fear in his heart. Nathan walks slowly to the hospital room door. He peeks inside of the window, seeing the edge of the hospital bed and the closer half of the room. He bites his lip out of frustration, upset and worried he can't see Charlotte in the bed.

The doctor coughs awkwardly behind Nathan, making him jump slightly from nerves. He gives the doctor a small nod and slowly enters the room, looking over hesitantly at the figure in the bed and feeling his heart break at the sight.

Charlotte is lying in the bed sleeping, the hospital sheets pulled up to her shoulders, her arms over the blankets, exposing the various tubes and wires connecting the small girl to the hospital machines. Her head is laying on a stack of puffy, white, sterile pillows. Despite the fact that Charlotte has grown thin and sallow from her time in the hospital, the thing that scared Nathan the most was Charlotte's emerald green eyes that she once had were gone. They were dull as the walls in this room, but Nathan doesn't care. He just wants Charlotte in his arms once more, breathing normally. Not cold. Not shaking. Not dying. He doesn't ever want to let go of her hand.

Nathan bites his lip hard again, wiping the tears that have accumulated on his cheek. He walks into the hospital room, but immediately puts his hand over his mouth to try and compose himself. Nathan slowly walks over to the side of the bed, his eyes never leaving Charlotte's face. He blindly sits down in a chair next to the hospital bed, looking at his loved one sadly, the tears threatening to spill from his eyes once more. Nathan blinks them back, trying to stay strong for Charlotte.

Nathan reaches out hesitantly, his fingers gently touching and intertwining between Charlotte's. He sits like that for a while, holding Charlotte's shaking hand like she will disappear if he doesn't. He knows in the back of his mind that the visiting hours will be over soon, but no doctor or nurse will come to get him and lead him out of the hospital.

All he knows is that Charlotte is here, physically, and he has the opportunity to hold her hand for the last time.

Even more time passes, and Nathan doesn't stop watching Charlotte's face. He notices out of his peripheral vision that the room was getting darker as the hours pass, but he doesn't care. Nathan wants to be here when Charlotte wakes up.