TILL DEATH DO US APART
1292 Words
CHAPTER 1
The first time Ethan saw Lily, she was standing in the rain.
Not running for shelter like everyone else, not complaining or rushing just standing there, her face tilted slightly upward as the droplets fell softly against her skin. People passed her by with curious glances, but she didn’t seem to notice.
Ethan did.
There was something about her something calm, something unexplainable that made the world around her feel quieter.
“You’ll catch a cold,” he said before he could stop himself.
Lily turned, surprised, then smiled. “Or maybe I’ll catch a moment.”
Ethan blinked, unsure how to respond. Then, unexpectedly, he laughed. “That’s a strange way to look at it.”
“Not really,” she replied gently. “Moments don’t last forever. So when they come, you don’t run from them.”
That was the beginning.
They started as strangers who shared small conversations about books, about life, about dreams that felt too big and fears they didn’t often admit. Slowly, those conversations stretched longer, deeper, more meaningful.
Ethan learned that Lily loved sunsets because they reminded her that endings could still be beautiful.
Lily learned that Ethan was afraid of losing people, so he kept his heart guarded, even when he cared deeply.
“You don’t have to protect yourself from everything,” she told him one evening as they sat by a quiet lake.
Ethan stared at the water. “It’s easier that way.”
“Is it?” she asked softly.
He didn’t answer.
Instead, he looked at her and for the first time, he realized that maybe some risks were worth taking.
CHAPTER 2
Love didn’t come suddenly for them. It grew slowly, quietly, like a seed pushing through the soil.
It was in the way Ethan started saving little things that reminded him of her.
In the way Lily would call him just to hear his voice after a long day.
In the way silence between them never felt empty.
One night, under a sky full of stars, Ethan finally said it.
“I think I’m in love with you.”
Lily didn’t respond immediately. She simply looked at him, her eyes soft but searching.
“Think?” she teased gently.
Ethan smiled nervously. “Okay… I know I am.”
She stepped closer, her voice barely above a whisper. “Good. Because I’ve been in love with you for a while now.”
And just like that, everything changed.
Their love was real but it wasn’t easy.
They faced misunderstandings, moments of doubt, and the quiet fears that come with loving someone deeply.
“What if one day we stop feeling this?” Ethan asked once, his voice uncertain.
Lily took his hand. “Then we remind ourselves why we started.”
“And if that’s not enough?”
She smiled faintly. “Then we try again. Love isn’t something you give up on just because it gets hard.”
Ethan looked at her, realizing how strong she truly was.
And how much he needed her.
CHAPTER 3
Years later, dressed in white and surrounded by the people they loved, they stood face to face, ready to promise forever.
Lily’s hands trembled slightly in Ethan’s.
“Do you promise to love her,” the officiant asked, “through every joy and every sorrow, until death do you part?”
Ethan’s voice was steady. “I do.”
Lily’s eyes filled with tears as she whispered, “I do.”
As they exchanged rings, Ethan leaned closer. “I’m still afraid,” he admitted softly.
Lily smiled through her tears. “So am I.”
“But I’d choose you anyway.”
“Me too,” she said.
And in that moment, fear didn’t disappear but love became stronger than it.
Marriage brought a different kind of love.
Not just the excitement of beginnings, but the quiet strength of staying.
There were mornings filled with laughter and nights filled with exhaustion. There were arguments that left them frustrated, and apologies that brought them back together.
Through it all, they learned something important.
Love wasn’t just about feeling happy.
It was about choosing each other, again and again.
CHAPTER 4
Then came the day everything changed.
It was a normal afternoon when Lily collapsed.
At first, Ethan thought it was stress, maybe exhaustion. But the hospital visits, the tests, the waiting they all led to a truth he wasn’t ready to face.
The illness was serious.
Life-threatening.
Ethan sat beside her hospital bed, holding her hand tightly as if letting go would make it all real.
“We’ll fight this,” he said, his voice firm despite the fear inside him.
Lily smiled faintly. “Together.”
The months that followed tested them in ways they never imagined.
There were days Lily felt strong, hopeful even. And there were days she could barely lift her head.
Ethan stayed through it all.
He learned how to be strong for both of them.
But at night, when she slept, he would sit alone and let the tears fall.
Because loving someone so deeply meant facing the possibility of losing them.
“I don’t want you to see me like this,” Lily whispered one evening, her voice weak.
Ethan shook his head immediately. “I want to see you. Always. Every version of you.”
Tears slipped down her cheeks. “Even this one?”
“Especially this one,” he said softly. “Because this is where you need me most.”
She reached for his hand, holding it tightly.
“I’m scared,” she admitted.
“I know,” he replied. “So am I.”
“But I’m more scared of leaving you.”
Ethan’s heart broke at her words.
“You’re not leaving me,” he said, though his voice trembled. “You’ll always be with me.”
CHAPTER 5
One quiet night, as the world outside seemed to pause, Lily looked at Ethan with a calmness he hadn’t seen in a long time.
“Do you remember the rain?” she asked softly.
Ethan smiled through his tears. “The day we met? Of course.”
“You told me I’d catch a cold.”
“And you said you’d catch a moment.”
She smiled faintly. “I’m glad I stayed in that moment.”
Ethan squeezed her hand. “Me too.”
There was a long silence, filled with everything they didn’t need to say.
“Ethan…” her voice was barely a whisper now. “If I have to go… promise me something.”
He shook his head, already breaking. “Don’t say that.”
“Please,” she insisted gently.
He closed his eyes, then nodded. “Okay.”
“Keep living,” she said. “Don’t let this love end with me.”
“It won’t,” he whispered. “Because it never ends.”
She looked at him one last time, her eyes full of love.
And then, quietly, she slipped away.
Time moved on, as it always does.
Days turned into months. Months into years.
Ethan learned how to live again—but never how to forget.
He still visited the lake where they once sat, still watched the sunsets she loved so much.
And sometimes, when it rained, he would stand outside—just like she did.
Not to feel the cold.
But to catch a moment.
Because even though their promise had been till death do us apart—
He realized something deeper.
Death had separated their lives,
But not their love.
And in every memory, every quiet breath, every choice to keep going—
Lily was still there.
Still loved.
Still part of him.
Forever.
- Writer
