Hi, guys!

This is the last chapter of Heartbeat! Thank you to those who have followed me and the story! It's not as well-written as I'd hope it would be but I'm glad that some of you have enjoyed it. This is the ending I chose due to personal reasons and reflections that I have learned in the past. Do leave me a comment! I hope that you all still would like this though the ending was like this.

I have a treat for all of those who wish to participate in my One-shot Challenge. Details are posted in my profile so do be kind enough to check it out!

Spread the love! And enjoy your Holy Week. :)

~dancedaze

Epilogue

Toga hats, diplomas, and flowers were thrown into the air. Everyone I knew—and more that knew me than I did them—ran towards their mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, and other relatives that attended our celebration of high school's end. Though there remained an empty seat, all that mattered knew that Mikan had graduated with us. In our heads, she finished her high school years the same we did. Although this was only a means of convincing ourselves of a happier outcome, we also believed in a miracle.

It was the spring of that year when we took our vows, held each other's hands, and kissed before a congregation. It's rather embarrassing, now that I'm talking about it, but it was only her eyes that mattered in that very moment. While her body grew weak and her skin paler by the second, the brightness and the beautiful swirls of caramel in her eyes never ceased. I remember when her father walked her down the aisle; she had refused to sit on that wheel chair. She lifted her weight and slowly walked towards me. She endured the pain and used every ounce of strength to reach the altar. Her long white gown treaded behind her and her veil swayed gently with every step. She was so gorgeous and ethereal; I thought I was going to cry. Well, maybe I did.

And on our wedding night—

Let's not go there.

Though the clock stops once more and moves time faster. The second hand, minute hand, and hour hand speeds up to the present—twelve and a half years later—and I still have my Magnolias in hand. I walk past the school and into a very familiar place – a place that I had seen more times than my fingers and toes could count. The smell of medicine, rushing doctors, and the same faces of visitors plague this hospital. I stand in front of a white door and inhaled once more (as if I wasn't used to this at all). I enter and placed the Magnolias in the new vase Hotaru bought and dragged a chair to the hospital bedside. I take her hand and wait. I wait for a response. I wait for a miracle.

It has been three years since I last saw her move. It has been three years since I last saw her smile. Her eyes remain wide open, but I questioned her awareness and stability. A machine acted as her heart and we all refused to have it removed. We, her family, believed in her revival.

I fiddle with the wedding ring on her left finger and I would never regret putting it there.

I will always believe that she would someday gain the energy to move once more, to have the life she had. I know that she will be able to smile once again and tell me how much she loves me.

I believe that I will hear her heartbeat once more.