Tina was in their room with him… He was sick for a long time now and old… Paviche had once said that he'd rather die young than being forced to get old and sick. Since he married her, his only dream was to grow old with her. Just like her own dream was. And now it was happening…
Tina was by his side the whole time, holding his hand throughout everything. Her teary eyes were always upon him, looking and watching lovingly, as if they were looking at him for the last time… Pavi was breathing so slowly one would think he wasn't breathing at all at times, something that scared her until he would squeeze her hand holding his to show that he was still there. They weren't even that old to begin with… She was now thirty seven and he was forty eight years of age. Not old at all… But he had gotten so ill and discovered it really late. Now he was dying on their own bed. The bed they shared for years now.
He coughed and she jumped. She brought a trembling hand on his forehead. He had fever. He had high fever for a few days straight now… The surGENS had said his organism couldn't take it anymore… They gave him only a few hours to live… They were right.. A gasp from him made Tina's eyes open wide in horror. She squeezed his hand and he pulled her closer a bit, asking for her lips. She let a tear roll down her cheek as she blinked a few times leaning slowly close to him, their lips touching for the last time. The kiss lasted for a minute before Pavi muttered against them. "T-ti amo, bella… My-a bella Tina… I love you, my love…" His accent was gone with his last sentence before his heart finally stopped…
Tina panted, eyes wide, looking at him as if waiting for him to finally wake up… He didn't though. His eyes were closed forever. She squeezed his hand but he didn't respond… Tears run freely down her cheeks and she rested her head on his side, sobbing there for hours, not letting him go as their children, their beloved family, stood around them, crying in misery. Normally, the surGENS would take the body within an hour to prepare it, but they let her be next to him for twelve hours. When she had to leave him, only Luigi was able to gently take her to another room until he was taken away and the room was cleaned for her. But their own room, which was Pavi's own bedroom until they got married, was not the one she returned to… But her own bedroom, the one of her childhood, that now was owned by their daughter, Marni. Tina refused to enter their own bedroom now that Pavi was gone… She got to her room and lay down on her bed, closing her eyes, not moving, not eating anything and not drinking a single drop of anything. Much like a dead doll. Her dress, one that Sergio had given her, made her look much like a doll, with her curls helping also. Despite her children's efforts to make her react, she wouldn't. She felt ill, very ill… As if she had a fever, and she must had… She wouldn't survive… It was like life had drained from her. As if Paviche had taken her own life along with his.
Pavi wouldn't want this… She didn't want this either, she should get up and fight for life and their children. But she had no soul anymore. Her brain wouldn't allow her to get up, no matter how much it screamed for her to do so… It was only after hours, twenty two hours after his death, when she got up, much like a robot: not understanding why, not thinking before moving her arms, legs and fingers. She walked to the woredrobe and picked up a dress… A pink and white one with ribbons and tiny feathers on her shoulders that made her look like an angel when she wore it. It was the very first dress Pavi had give her when they had stared dating, years ago, when she was twenty. She got the other one off and wore the one she picked up, not minding changing anything else. Her curls were falling freely on her shoulders, and she was barefoot, but she didn't mind it. The dress hid half her feet without heels. And then, she blinked a few times, looking into the mirror. Her eyes widened lightly and she started running. She run out of the room, out on the corridor, and up the stairs to the roof… It was ten floors up but she run, not minding taking the elevator. She just run…
There she was. She stopped suddenly as she opened the door to it. Her eyes were fixed on the edge of the roof as she let the door behind her close slowly. She took very slow steps, moving to the edge, while tears prickled in her eyes and voice filled her head. Memories and happy times, sad times… Anything they had lived. "Bella! Tina, come here-a, the Pavi will-a do your hair for the prom night-a!" Then giggles that echoed in her head made her cringe a bit and close her eyes tightly, turning her head to the side, as if something had suddenly bugged her. "My Pavi… Ti amo, bambino…" "You know-a, I never thought I'd-a fall for my cugina, but-a…" And more giggles that made her sob for a few seconds until she gasped, her eyes opening, reaching the end of the floor beneath her… She could barely tell the figures of people down on the street. She could see all Sanitarium from there. But it meant nothing for her anymore. Not without him alive…
"Just look into the mirror, like you always do, and you will see why I love you so much!" The voices in her head didn't stop, no… She was now giggling in her thoughts as the memory kept going and she mentally saw her beloved Pavi jumping on the bed with her, snuggling her while grinning and kissing her lips. "You-a know what to-a tell a womanizer like me-a!" He laughed as they joked. She felt a tiny smile forming before it faded away and tears took its place on her face. She moved her pupils and looked down, gasping lightly, eyes widening gently in fear. She wished he would somehow come from behind her and pull her back… Make her see that he is alive and his death was a mistake. She wished he had waken up some time later, proving the surGENS that confirmed his death wrong…
She sniffled and looked ahead of her into the cloudy and dark night. She hadn't uttered a single word for hours, not to her children, not to herself even… Not to anyone… But right then, her voice was heard, trembling and breaking. "My Pavi… I'm coming, love of my dreams… Love of my life… I'm coming, amore, wait for me, per favore…" She said in a mix of English and Italian, her favorite way of speaking. The voices had calmed down, only some happy giggles coming sometimes until three words were heard again in her head. It was her voice, that talked cheerfully and happily to her husband. "I love you…!" Before it faded away along with all the other sounds of laughs and giggles. Complete silence. One more violent shake of her shoulders and a louder sob falling from her lips and she took another trembling step into the air… Just 24 hours since he died... She fell… She sobbed and squeezed her eyes closed as she was falling from the GeneCo Tower, the tallest building in Sanitarium in an attempt to find her love again. She only whispered two words before all went black and no pain and suffering were felt anymore… "My Pavi…"