Abe astonished me by stepping up to be the priest, he stood under the decorated tree, our supposed altar. I walked down the paved path from my house to the garden, the aisle. We were in Baia. Surrounded by the closest of friends and family.

I noticed Janine, stand by the farthest end, what surprised me was the fact that she had a somber smile on her face .Whereas Lissa stood by Christian, near the 'altar' with a huge welcoming grin.

Adrian and Eddie stood offering polite smiles, the support was overwhelming. Paul on the other hand wasn't as happy as Katya .

Mama stood alone, aloof from all, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

Karo, Sonja and Vika weren't far from crying themselves .

He, stood fidgeting under the tree. I was late. Seeing me enter he looked up to meet my gaze offering me a smile, that not only expressed his joy but also his understanding.

Vows were exchanged, not rings. Her's was the sole one that would ever grace my being. The sense of deja-vu almost knocked the breathe out of me, as I heard him speak, 'I do'.

It was her voice that echoed in my mind. It was her smile, I saw mirrored in his. They were alike, in a lot of ways, different in many others. He had a lot more patience than her, but nothing would ever compare to her mesmerizing aura.

It was weird having to re-experience this phase of life . I hadn't thought that I'd even have a reason to smile, after seeing her lie pale, cold and still as a stone, in the hospital morgue.

Mass encounters. Huh. She had gone to investigate a case, being a cop had duties, didn't it?

Our third wedding anniversary was to come up and I'd be lying if I said I hadn't planned a couple more decades to bask in her ever-heartening presence.

She has now been gone for seven years. Four of which, I had been dead on the inside, a walking caricature of flesh and bone, no more. All I did was mourn, letting her memories drown me.

It changed the day, I found her dairies . It was as if she knew what I'd need if she ever had to go.

It was always her voice in my mind, loud and clear when I read her words. By now I have all four of it memorized. A detailed memoir of our limited time together.

It was heart breaking to see that the last words written in there were, '... never forget to love. Yours forever, Roza. :)'.

A year and a half , that's how much it took me to get back to normal and not shut the world out, on the mention of mere things related to her.

Over these years, I have changed. I am no longer the Dimitri she had once loved, for of what use was he when she were no more.

This changed man took a while to open up to affection. It was him, Daniel who knocked some sense into me. Made me realize what I'd been doing and how disappointed she'd be with me.

His words, his reasoning were a soothing balm to my damaged self. On realizing what was happening, I'd beaten myself for months over the fact that I was betraying her.

But she came to rescue when a gust of wind from the window knocked over one of her journals from the table. Her words clear as day-

'... I certainly wouldn't ever like the idea of sharing my man. He is exclusively mine, for as long as I live. But if I cease to exist, it wouldn't mean that he would too, and then I'd like him to move on and discover the various other things life had to offer, even love again, if the opportunity presented itself.

Like he loves to tell me, that he would never try to hold me back, so would I.

I'd probably like him to celebrate, remember and treasure the time we have had and live on. Never have I liked seeing him in pain, nor will I like to be its source, I'd like to be the reason he loved his life, the reason for him to succeed, his reason to be the best, his reason to smile every morning when he woke up .

But all of this is talk for another day, because I yet have tomorrow to make it through and make every moment count.

Roza Belikova..: * '

It was her second dairy, from the time we had been newly married and she had been appointed an officer in the region.

And now here we were, separated by realms of the living and the dead.

Daniel understood that no one could ever replace her, even looking at women that way felt wrong .

All he asked for was a separate corner in my heart, and offered comfort, understanding and love in return.

Gazing at his pleased self , I repeat his words, replying in affirmative , which is followed by a polite round of applause and greetings from all.

A giggle all too familiar catches my attention as I excuse myself and sped in its direction.

I end up in my own room. On the desk is one of Roza's journals, with something peeking out from between its pages. On opening it, I find a beautiful, dried red rose. Beside it, on the page are the words in her writing -

'From the day he said ' I do' '. :D

Love Roza.'