Even after more than 50 years together saying goodbye was hard. They had lived a long and happy relationship, and now it was the end. Mei wiped away her tears while she said goodbye to Lars for the last time. She couldn't hear what her sons and her daughter were telling her, not even the condolences from other people.
She couldn't talk either; none of them could understand her sorrow. Her pain was almost physical, she felt that her heart was broken in a thousand pieces and it had been buried with him. How she was supposed to live without him? She wondered.
Days passed each one more difficult than the last. She missed his body laying next to her in bed, the comfort of his arms, his voice, the warmth of his hands. Everything about him. She couldn't stand staying in that house, because everything reminded her of him. The last flowers he gave her were withering in the vase of the living room. Tulips, his favorite, Mei thought, caressing their already dry petals.
The garden was messy, just as he hated it. She hadn't had the courage of being near it. She asked her youngest son, Willem, to take care of it as his father would have wished. Willem had decided to be with her and not letting her alone. He was worried for his mother who spent all day looking at the window, as if she was waiting for his father.
Mei cried in silence, there weren't words to express what she was feeling. She couldn't accept the fact that Lars wasn't there anymore. One night, she had one of those strange dreams she used to have. She saw him, surrounded by flowers; he seemed to be waiting for her.
"Lars?" she said.
Willem woke up frightened. He found his mother sitting on the floor, crying and repeating the name of his father.
"Lars, I want to see you. I miss you" she sobbed.
"Mom, please, calm down" he said, hugging her.
This happened a few times more. She thought that all the suffering was consuming her, but she couldn't just live with that pain. That wasn't life; it was like being dead inside, but it was true, one part of her died with him.
She continued dreaming of him. He seemed so calm, happy. Maybe he was calling her in her dreams. But when she tried to run after him, she woke up. She waited a little more until it was her time to rest and meet with the love of her life again. She was sure he was waiting for her.
Finally, one night, not much later, she felt calm for the very first time in those days. She went to bed in a good mood. She wasn't tired; she was at peace, thinking that after all she had had a wonderful life.
She closed her eyes to never open them again.
In that eternal dream, Lars was waiting for her. He smiled and offered her his hand. Mei knew what was happening and she wasn't afraid. Both of them looked young just like when they met. She took his hand; she knew they wouldn't be separated again.
Death is a natural process. The flowers of their garden died, but they could bloom again. They seemed to have another chance. Maybe their love was like those flowers.