A cool wind blew through the damp, dark room. In the single king-sized canopy bed, a figure coughed wetly, turning over in their troubled sleep. They knew that death was making its slow, painful approach. A different figure appeared in the room, seeming to glow a ghostly white color. The new being was translucent, and very attractive. Faint brown hair and green eyes could be made out along with tanned skin.
"Bella…" the translucent one whispered, reaching out a single hand to touch the other's head. The hand merely slipped through uselessly.
Bella slowly opened one green eye, sitting up in the giant bed. "Who's there?" she called out softly, her voice raspy from the deadly disease she was inflicted with.
The translucent figure murmured, "Bella, don't forget me. Even though I can no longer be with you in the physical world…"
The sickly female coughed again, the action making her frail body shudder. "A-Antonio, is that you?" she croaked, reaching a trembling hand out to the glowing figure.
"Si," he replied with a painful smile spreading across his handsome features. He didn't want her to know how much it hurt to not be able to embrace her.
"H-how are you here?" Bella's once-bright green eyes, now dulled by illness and misery, began to fill with long overdue tears. The pain of losing him was relieved every single day, permanently etched into her memories….
iThe ominous creaking of the deck made Bella bite her plump lip in anxiety, tucking a stray piece of blonde hair behind one ear. Next to her, Antonio's emerald eyes were hard with determination to get them both out safely.
"Bella, the ship is sinking. We have to get out of here," he told her softly, stroking her cheek in a loving manner.
"I can't go without my brother. I just can't leave him behind!" she wailed, tears slipping out of her light green orbs and trickling down her fair cheeks.
Antonio couldn't bear to see his beloved fiancée cry, so he hugged her tightly and murmured against her ear, "Lovi and I will make an exit somehow. Keep on living; we'll meet up above."
Bella nodded mutely, flashing a quick glance at Lovi, their best friend. Lifting up her heavy skirts, she began to search for her brother. "Abel? Abel, where are you?" her voice rang out through the freezing sea air, smothered by the panicked screams of other passengers, all frantically trying to escape the ship. A passing crew member noticed her and briskly began shoving her onto a small wooden lifeboat.
"No!" she protested, struggling out of his grip. "I have to find my brother!"
"Women and children first," was the only reply she received from him.
Much to her dismay, her brother was nowhere to be found. A hand on her shoulder made Bella turn around in surprise.
Lovi stood there, his dark brown bangs covering his eyes. "Bella…" he whimpered with shaking shoulders. "Antonio…h-he's dead."
She stared at him, unable to comprehend what he had just said. "What? That can't be possible," she mumbled in disbelief. Her heart seemed to stop beating for a moment, telling her brain that his words were the truth. The Belgian girl's mind refused to acknowledge that fact as she sank slowly to her knees. "No….it can't be."
Lovi wiped away his tears with his shirt sleeve and sniffled. "It's true, he got shot. He's really d-dead. But we have to live on. It's what Antonio would have wanted."
The world seemed to spin as Bella tried to make sense of the terrible news. It was just too much for her. Everything went black as she collapsed from shock and distress…/i
Bella had to shake her head in order to clear the fog in it. iWhy did I just remember that time again?/i she asked herself. She was snapped out of her thoughts when Antonio opened his mouth to speak once more.
"I'm not actually physically here," he replied, his beautiful green eyes filled with a deep sadness. "I'm a ghost. I can't even stay that long."
She coughed, a dark red stain beginning to form on the snow white bed sheets. He gasped in alarm, floating over to her side and wishing more than ever, that he could embrace her.
"Bella, I really just came here to say that I love you, and no matter how long it takes, I'll wait for you forever." Antonio told her, closing his eyes.
Light green eyes met orbs of darker color as she smiled through bloody lips. "No need to worry, I'll be joining you in Heaven soon. Just let me…rest a bit," she laid back down onto the mattress, shutting her eyelids. Her breathing began slowing down, and Antonio felt panic rising up in his chest as he realized his beloved was dying right before his very eyes.
"No, Bella! Stay with me!" he cried, beginning to cry. This was the last thing he wanted.
Her chest stopped moving; her body was perfectly still, just like a stone. It would seem as if she was merely sleeping, but Antonio knew that she was dead. Floating over to her body, he hung his head and let the tears flow freely.
"Don't cry," his ears picked up the sound of her sweet melodic voice. Whirling around, he gasped as she stood before him, translucent and glowing a bright white, just like him.
She made her way towards him, and he pulled her close to his strong chest, relieved to be able to touch her again. "Bella…" he mumbled into her soft blonde hair.
"I love you," she smiled, tilting her head to one side and lacing her fingers with his.
"Now we can be together again."