Never Let You Go

They were walking home, just the two of them, after a dazzling night. She was wearing a sapphire Gown that shimmered as she walked. He looked so charming in his neatly pressed shirt and brand new tie; she could hardly keep herself from blushing every time he looked at her. He smiled, took her hand, and for a moment squeezed it tight. She squeezed it back, taking a step closer towards him. I never want to let you go, she thoUght.

Suddenly, as they turned the corner, they were greeted by a pair of blinding headlights and the frantic screeching of car tires. She remembered screaming, panicking, tripping over her silver high heels and tumbling off the sidewalk onto a pAtch of grass. Everything went black. The next thing she knew, she was bent over his limp body, covered in his blood, sobbing her eyes out.

“Excuse me miss,” said a gentle voice. She snapped out of her trance and looked up to see a young nurse in front of her. “The gentleman in room 201 is ready to see you.” Numbly, she Rose to her feet. What time was it? How long had she been waiting in the hospital for? It didn't matter. He was ready to see her, which meant... he was alive. With a small breath of hope, she silently followed the nurse to his room. She took a breath, and gingerly opened the door. There he was, motionless with his eyes closed on the beD. His hair was still streaked with blood, and he had burn marks on hIs face, accentuated by the paleness of his skin and the whiteness of the sheets. He looked like a ghost. No. She turned towards the window, where the first streAks of dawn peeked over the horizon and into the room. His eyelashes fluttered and slowly opened. Her heart melted. He looked like an angel. New tears sprung to her eyes as she flew to his bedside, caressing his bruised face and kissing his swollen lips. Shakily, he brought his haNd to her cheek and held it there. For as long as I live, I will never let you go, he thought. She stayed with him for two days and two nights, then went home. She visited him every single day, and prayed that he would make it out of the hospital.

One day, on her usual trip up to his hospital room, she was stopped by one of his nurses. Quietly, the nurse gAve her a small box and an envelope, and told her to go home and rest. No, she thought, heart racing in terror, this can’t be possible. As soon as she got home she cried. She cried more than she’d ever cried in her entire life, eveN more than she cried when she was holding his weak, almost lifeless body on the street that night. Wiping away the last tear, she picked up the box and the envelope. The box was small, just small enough to fit inside the palm of her hand. She wrapped her fingers around it. The box was soft, velvety to the touch. Carefully, she lifted the lid. Inside the box was a silver ring, studded with a small blue gem. A sapphire, one whose shade matched perfectly the colour of the dress she wore that night. She opened the envelope. It contained only one small sLip of paper, with only one handwritten line on it.

I will never let you go.