Eternity

Andrew looks the doctor's way. He is an young yet experienced young man who looks like he has been a doctor his entire life.

"So, Miss Oakes, you are his friend, correct?" The doctor asks Sarah.

"I am." Sarah responds.

"And you are sure there is no one else in his family, besides his sister?"

"I am completely sure. There was no one I could trace back to Andrew." Sarah answers.

[No uncles or nephews and nieces either? So our family tree is basically at its end… I don't think Melissa is going to have children at her age. I was the last…]

"Well then, if Andrew agrees with it, I want you to make the decisions. Together with him, of course, but I require a representative for the procedure." The doctor explains. Sarah nods and Andrew blinks twice. "Okay then. Let me explain something first, Andrew." He looks at Sarah for confirmation, and she nods.

"He can take it." She says.

The doctor nods again. "I am sorry to say that we, the hospital and medical staff, will not be able to fix your body. You will be in this state forever." He explains.

[He seems tense… and… well… I expected that from how I am. I can't move a thing and can't even breathe on my own.]

"There is one thing we can do, and that is to euthanize you. As harsh as it may sound, I think that is the best move we can make right now, and Sarah and other doctor's agreed with me." Sarah tilts her face towards the ground, and Andrew lays there, processing what he just heard.

"If you comply, it will be done here in your bed, and without anyone near you." The doctor further adds. "It is completely up to you to make your decision of course, but take your current state into consideration."

[My current state… there is really no way out, huh? As much as I want to chuckle… I can't.]

The doctor whispers something to Sarah and leaves the room. Andrew is facing the ceiling.

"He said I need to call him once you've made your decision." She says. Andrew looks at her for a second, and then looks back at the ceiling.

[Euthanization. Getting euthanized… is basically killing myself. I can't move… or talk, nor will I ever be able to again. So it seems like the most logical option… but, what about Sarah? And… Mei? Does she know about this? How long have I been in the hospital? There isn't a calendar around, only a clock. It's four in the afternoon, so whichever day it is, Mei should be up. Mei… May… their names are too similar, and the voice in my head can't even tell them apart. Or is that me. Is that voice me? My voice? Or just what I think my voice sounds like… I have no idea… I don't want to know. There is no way I can tell Sarah about Mei, she couldn't make that out with just yes-no questions. But she will find out… some day. Hopefully…]

Andrew changes his focus to Sarah on his left, and blinks twice.

"So you want to do it?"

He blinks twice again.

A different doctor fills up a needle with liquid from a small tank. His face is hazy, and unrecognizable.

[Only a few minutes have passed since I complied, and yet… it's already starting. Mei and Sarah will remember me, and I hope nobody else does. Nobody else should know about what is happening right here, right now. Not Helen, not Chris, not Mike, not Joe, not Wilhelm, or any of the other people I've met. Keil, Lin, Rajib, Robert, Erd… all of the others I have ever known, are already in the place where I am headed. My teachers, parents, Connor…]

"I am ready." The doctor says. His voice is lower than that of the previous doctor in the room. Andrew takes a glance at Sarah, who looks like she wants to say something.

[What is it… what do you want to tell me? Whatever it is, I don't mind. I won't remember it in just a few minutes… so tell me.]

"Andrew." Sarah giggles, while letting a tear roll down her cheek. "Do you know what day it is today? It's August 17th. My birthday." Andrew remains silent in his mind. He glares at her, without taking notice of the doctor. Sarah stands up from her chair, and walks to the back of the bed, before going to the head side and placing her hand in his hair. The doctor remains silent.

"Seeing you again is the best birthday gift I could have wished for. I mean it. All these years, I wanted to see you again, and I told myself it didn't matter in what state. Alive, injured, below the ground. I just wanted to see you once more, since I couldn't do that on that day."

Her eyes well up with tears and they roll down her face and chin, before falling onto her hands. A strong, grateful smile is on her face. One that is not forced.

[Thank you, Sarah… you are the only one, the only one that has been with me from the start until the end.]

"Thank you, Andrew." Sarah says, before placing her nose onto his. Andrew's mouth forms a slight smile, but one that Sarah is not able to see.

Sarah lifts her head up and moves her hand down to his, before holding it thoroughly.

"Goodnight… and until we meet again in the next world." Sarah tells him, in a calm, sweet voice. Sarah heads towards the door, and waves one last time.

[See you, Sarah, in the next world, where we can live together in peace, because…]

Sarah leaves the room and closes the door behind her. Andrew looks at the doctor and blinks twice, before closing his eyes. A single tear gently rolls down his left cheek.

[Because that is what I have wanted all this time, a peaceful life, with no unnatural deaths, resurrections, and all that other stuff that has happened. All that bothersome stuff, making our lives complicated as hell. So I want to move to heaven…]

A needle enters his body, and the liquid is pushed in. The doctor pulls out the empty needle and does not say anything to Andrew, as he has already accepted it. His death. His final death.

[And to get to that heaven, my heaven, I have to sleep for a long time. You were right, Melissa, May, and all the others who told me so… My sleep should not have been for just thirty-seven years… it should have been…]

[For an eternity.]