Chapter 3 "What are you talking about? Are you sick?" How could he be losing her already, after he just found her?

Sitting back down, Melissa revealed her loss of hope. "I can't take it anymore. I don't know what else to do."

It was then that Michael realized that Melissa was sick, but not in the way he had thought. "Melissa please, talk to me."

"It's too hard.I just want to stay here and never come down."

"No. You have to." He didn't know how to stop her.

"I have it all planned." Melissa said, uncovering a bottle of pills.

Now his suspicions were confirmed. "No Melissa, you don't mean it."

"I do." She insisted, opening the bottle.

"No please!" Michael shouted, hitting the pills out of her hand. " I love you.please don't do this."

"Why did you do that?" Melissa screamed.

"I won't let you kill yourself. It's not the answer."

"It is for me."

"It doesn't have to be."

"Yes it does.it's for the best."

"The best for whom?"

"For me." Melissa claimed.

"You think it's best that you die? Where will that get you?"

"Away from here!"

"You said you loved it here." Michael countered.

Melissa's eyes became distant. "It's so peaceful." She mused.

"Then why would you want to leave?"

"That's just it Michael! I don't! That's why I'm doing this. If I die here, I'll never have to leave."

"What's so special about this spot? High on top of a mountain?"

"I don't know.It just feels like home."

"Melissa please come down.we'll make a home together.you don't have to be alone anymore."

"Who said I was alone?"

"You did.on the train.you said you hated being alone, but you always were."

"Well maybe I lied!"

But Michael knew different. "You didn't."

"I did." Melissa insisted. "I love being alone."

"You don't."

"Who are you to tell me what I like and do not like?"

"I know we've only known each other for a short time." Michael began, "But I've seen into your soul.I am in your soul.I love you.

"No one has ever loved me."

"I do.I love you.how many times must I say it? I love, I love you, I love you!"

When Michael finished telling the tale, he looked over at Melissa. There were tears in her eyes yet again, only this time, there was a hollowness that wasn't there earlier. It was the same emptiness Michael had seen up on that mountain. "Melissa?"

"I remember that." She revealed. "I remember wanting to die."

"Seeing you like that.I wanted to die with you."

"You gave me the strength to stay alive."

"I was so scared.that it was too late."

"I remember coming down with you. You held my hand the entire way. But after that."

"You don't remember any more?"

"Was there a car? A red one?" Melissa asked questionably.

"Yes.I called a friend of mine and he met us at the bottom. He took us to a motel."

"Not a hospital?"

"We went there later." Michael assured. "There was no way I wouldn't get someone to help you."

"I hated it there."

"You only hated it at first."

"Michael?" Melissa perused.

"Yea?"

She hoped to god he knew. "Did I ever tell you why I wanted to die?"

"No. I asked many times.but you wouldn't ever say."

Disappointed, Melissa slumped back down in her bed. "I don't know either."

"That's ok.maybe it's better that you don't."

"Maybe.tell me something happy?"

"Do you remember anything after you got out of the hospital?"

"No.nothing."

"The day they released you, we went looking for an apartment."

"You told me you'd take care of me."

"And you said you needed to stay in Colorado."

"But we weren't engaged yet." Melissa was sure of that.

"No we weren't. Asking you to marry me would have been too much."

"But you wanted to." Melissa knew.

"More then anything." Michael agreed.

"So we found an apartment?"

"Not exactly.we found a house."

"Out in the country."

Michael was hopeful. "How'd you know?"

"I dreamed of it."

"That's what you said when we saw it.you said you dreamed that you lived there so we had to buy it."

"We bought it?"

"Yea.we couldn't move in yet because it was being cleaned and refurnished.but we bought it."

"It was old." Melissa said, recalling her dream.

"Very."

"How old?"

Michael thought for a moment. "Well let's see.it was built around 1869 and we bought it in 2002 so 133 years I guess. 135 now."

"That's pretty old."

"Yes.but it was beautiful.and in wonderful condition."

"And we could see Pike's Peak from the front lawn." Melissa tried to picture the view, hoping more of her memory would return.

Michael wanted to tell her more.hoping her memory would continue to be sparked. "The realtor said that there used to be a barn and corral out there.but they've been gone for some years now."

"When did we move in?"

"We didn't."

"Why?"

"You disappeared."