Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Tolkien's work
The sun fails to shine this morning, and everything around you feels grey. When you look at the bed beside you, you realize it's appropriate. How can there be light in life when the life before your eyes drains away? Your friend, your brother, fights a losing battle. What can you say when someone you care for is dying? The weak, wheezing breaths tell you it won't be much longer now.
His ashen face contorts in pain. He quickly attempts to hide it, not for his own sake, but for your sake. He doesn't want to cause you additional pain and make his passing harder than it already is.
Yet, that's impossible because you love him. Your heart aches so hard, and you can't breathe past the burning lump in your throat. You feel like you are drowning in a sea of sorrow. Tears sting your eyes as you look at his broken body. You shake your head. How? How did this happen?
From the moment you met him, he was hail and full of life. He laughed at you and with you. His eyes twinkled with light, and a big smile constantly graced his face. Strength exuded from him as you worked and fought side by side. More importantly, he was there for you. He called you out when you deserved it, and supported you when you needed it. He was the friend, the one, you could always count on.
It all crumbled in an instant. One moment he was fine, and the next moment he was down. You rushed to his side, silently willing him to get back up. But one look confirmed your worst fear. This time there would be no recovery. He would not be one of the lucky ones who healed and got better. It was too much for him to survive; his body would eventually succumb.
Still, you fought anyway, and urged him to fight as well. You tried to save him even though you knew all your efforts were futile. Now, there is nothing more you can do. Nothing, except wait for death to take him.
You sit with him. Emotions rage hot inside of you. It's not fair! He shouldn't be the one laying here dying. He has so much life left to live. He should at least get the opportunity to live another day and love on his family, but he won't. If only there was a way to save him, or at the very least take away his pain. It kills you that there isn't.
There is so much you want to say. You open your mouth, but only a choked sound comes out. Slowly, he turns his head to face you. A tear slips from his dimming eyes as he peers into your own. You see understanding in their depths. He knows. He reaches out a hand, and you grasp it tightly, as if you could tether him to this life. A single squeeze communicates a lifetime's worth of conversation.
You continue to hold his hand as time passes. Neither of you have the will or the strength to let go. It seems like both a lifetime and only a few seconds before his hand goes slack. It jerks you into frantic action. You shake him and shout his name. Yet, his eyes no longer see you. His skin is cold to the touch. The lack of a pulse only reinforces the fact that he's gone.
You can't hold it back anymore. Your chest heaves as your heart shatters into a million pieces. You want to scream until your lungs give out. Tears stream down your cheeks, and sobs wrack your body. You bury your head in his unmoving chest. Unbearable pain engulfs you, and you cry for the loss of a beautiful life, the loss of a friend, the loss of a brother.
In loving memory of Rick.