99 days
749 Words
The hospital smelled of antiseptic and fresh linen.
Luna had never liked hospitals. There was something about the endless white walls and quiet hallways that made her chest feel tight. It was as if every room held someone's fear, someone's hope, or someone's goodbye.
She stood outside the entrance, gripping the strap of her bag.
Noah had texted her that morning.
Noah: Meet me at St. Gabriel Medical Center. I'll explain everything.
She had read the message dozens of times before gathering the courage to come.
Taking a deep breath, she stepped inside.
She found Noah sitting alone in the hospital garden.
The garden was beautiful, filled with blooming flowers and small wooden benches. Patients walked slowly along the stone paths, while children chased bubbles blown by a volunteer nearby.
It looked like a place built to make people forget they were in a hospital.
Noah smiled when he saw her.
"You came."
"You asked me to."
She sat beside him.
For a while, neither of them spoke.
The wind gently rustled the leaves above them.
Finally, Noah broke the silence.
"I've been thinking about how to tell you."
"You don't have to rush."
He laughed quietly.
"I've been saying that to myself for months."
He reached into his backpack and pulled out a thick envelope.
Without a word, he handed it to her.
Luna slowly opened it.
Inside were medical reports.
Test results.
Scans.
Her eyes skimmed over unfamiliar medical terms until they landed on the words written in bold.
Terminal Heart Failure
Her breathing stopped.
She looked at Noah.
He wasn't smiling anymore.
"The doctors found it last year."
His voice was calm.
"At first, they thought medicine would help."
He looked toward the flowers.
"But my heart kept getting weaker."
Luna felt her hands trembling.
"No..."
"They've tried everything."
"There has to be another treatment."
He slowly shook his head.
"They said... unless a miracle happens..."
His sentence faded into silence.
Luna's vision blurred with tears.
"You knew..."
"I did."
"And you never told me?"
"I didn't want your first memory of me to be pity."
Her tears finally escaped.
"I wasn't going to pity you."
"I know."
"I would've stayed."
"I know."
She clenched the medical papers tightly.
"Then why?"
Noah looked up at the sky.
"Because when I met you..."
A gentle smile appeared on his face.
"...you were already carrying enough sadness."
"I didn't want to add mine."
Those words shattered something inside her.
For weeks, Noah had spent every day trying to help her smile.
All while silently fighting a battle of his own.
Luna lowered her head, unable to stop crying.
"I'm sorry."
Noah looked at her with confusion.
"Why are you apologizing?"
"Because I kept thinking you were hiding things from me."
"I was."
"And I was upset..."
She wiped her tears.
"...when all this time you were trying to protect me."
Noah gently took the papers from her hands.
"I wasn't protecting you."
He smiled sadly.
"I was protecting the time we had."
The sentence hung between them.
Time.
Something neither of them could control.
After a long silence, Noah reached into his jacket pocket.
He unfolded a small piece of paper.
It was a calendar.
Several dates had been crossed out with black ink.
Only 99 empty squares remained.
"The doctors estimated..." he whispered, "...that I have about ninety-nine days left."
Luna stared at the calendar.
The world around her seemed to stop.
The children were still laughing.
The flowers still swayed in the breeze.
The sun still shone warmly above them.
Yet everything suddenly felt unbearably cold.
"No..."
Her voice broke.
"No..."
She looked at Noah, hoping he would tell her it was all a terrible joke.
Instead, he quietly folded the calendar.
"I'm not afraid of dying anymore."
He looked at her with gentle eyes.
"I'm only afraid of leaving before I get to see you truly happy."
Luna couldn't hold back any longer.
She threw her arms around him, crying against his shoulder.
"I don't care about tomorrow," she sobbed.
"I don't care if it's ninety-nine days or nine thousand..."
She tightened her embrace.
"...Just don't leave me yet."
Noah slowly wrapped his arms around her.
His eyes closed.
A single tear slipped down his cheek.
For the first time since his diagnosis...
He allowed himself to cry.
Because no matter how hard he had tried to be brave...
Hearing someone beg him to stay made him realize just how desperately he wanted to live.
- Writer
