Mara fell asleep during the end of the play, and so when it was finished, Erik and Val had to half-carry, half-drag her out of the theater all the while trying to avoid security.
They eventually made it, and hauled her into the backseat of her car, and sat down in the front seat, starting the car and turning on the radio where Evanescence's 'My Immortal' was playing.
They were silent for a while, just listening to the mournful, soul-filled music and creeping along in bumper-to-bumper traffic, the city lights flashing on their faces.
Erik and Val talked quietly for a while, and didn't realize that Mara was merely lying down on the seat, gazing up at the sky that reflected the city lights, where the stars were so dim they could hardly be seen, and the moon looked frail and fragile, as if its light could be extinguished with a single breath of air.
A single tear traced its way down Mara's cheek, and she reached up to wipe it away and glance at it, seeing it smeared with the mascara and eyeliner that Val had forced on her. It looked as if she had wept dirt.
This thought caused a small smile to come on her face, and just as quickly vanish again. She softly turned her head against the seat, smelling the scent of peppermint and mothballs. How she had missed that smell...she thought it had been forever since she had smelled it.
And memories swept back on her...
Mara laughed as he pushed her down into a pile of leaves, and just as quickly reached up and pulled him down with her. Kaden lost his balance and nearly hit his head. They laughed together.
Mara got up, picking leaves out of her hair. "Look what you did!" she accused him. "Look at my hair!" "Sorry," Kaden said sincerely, kissing her head. Mara grinned up at him. "Mm...it's okay, I guess," she said. "But you have to buy me dinner."
"Reminder to self: never push Mara into leaves again," Kaden said. Mara laughed, and they walked slowly around the park together, talking and laughing. As they walked, Kaden started humming a soft song, 'My Immortal', by Evanescence. It was a strange song for two people to call 'their song', but it was. When they had first met, it had been at an Evanescence concert, and both had loved the song. They reached the exit and stood for a while.
"Remember to pick me up tonight," Mara said. "Or else, you'll be really sorry!" "I'll be there, then," Kaden said solemnly. Suddenly Mara felt a tingle go up her spine and cold spread through her body and she shuddered violently.
"Are you okay?" Kaden asked in concern, but Mara didn't answer. Fear pulsated through her whole body, and she clung to him in desperation, feeling that perhaps something horrible was about to happen. "Mara, are you all right?" he asked, now very concerned and alarmed by her behavior.
Mara blinked back tears of fright, and pushed away, making herself be brave. "I'm fine," she smiled, not convincingly. "Just...be careful, okay?" "Sure," Kaden said, rubbing her arm soothingly. "I won't be late." Mara smelled the comforting smell of peppermint and mothballs on Kaden's jacket, and slowly her heart-rate went down.
"Okay," Mara said, then looked at her watch and groaned. "Man, I'm late for my shift! I'll see later, okay?" "All right," Kaden said. "I love you." "And I you," Mara answered, blowing him a kiss and running down the street to the hospital.
Later that night, Mara paced the room, dressed in her faded jeans and white T-shirt, angrily awaiting Kaden's arrival. As usual, he was late.
She sighed. Oh, well, she thought, I'll just watch TV until he gets here. So, she went over to the television and switched on the news. Just as the weather finished, there was a segment showing a car wreck on the streets of New York, relatively near her house.
Mara watching with a minimal amount of interest until they zoomed in on the cars. She leaned closer, and her eyes widened. One of the wrecked cars was Kaden's!
"Oh, God, please..." Mara prayed, dashing out of the apartment, even without her jacket to warm her. She ran into the cold streets of New York, and down the street, turning the corner where the wreck was.
Her eyes started to blur with tears as she frantically scanned the scene for Kaden, praying he was standing and all right. She pushed her way to the front of the crowd, and gasped. Kaden was being loaded into the ambulance.
"Let me through!" Mara pleaded with the police. "I'm a nurse, and Kaden's girlfriend!" "Kaden?" the policeman asked in puzzlement. "The man in the ambulance!" Mara explained. "Please!"
He thought about it for a moment, and let her through. Mara dashed to the ambulance and got in before it headed for the hospital. "Mara, what are you doing here?" Beth asked in confusion. Mara clasped Kaden's hand-it was so cold, so cold-and leaned over his face, her hair brushing his eyes. "Kaden, please, wake up," she begged him.
"Mara, is that-"Beth began, but didn't have time as Kaden started to go into shock. "Mara, get out of the way!" Beth shouted, shoving her aside, and trying to revive him. Mara watched, unable to help, because her pain was too great.
"Damn it, Mara, help me!" Beth screamed at her. "If you're going to be here, help me!" Mara reached over tremblingly and helped as much as she could, eventually starting to feverishly work harder, fear of losing the only one she loved escalating to both fear and anger.
"Kaden, Kaden!" she screamed at him, over and over again. "Kaden, Kaden!" But finally, Beth and the other medical helper stopped. "It's over," the other doctor said.
Mara kept working, desperate to save him. "Mara." Beth's tone stopped her and she looked up. Beth looked back, sorrowed. "He is dead."
Mara looked at her hands, now stained with Kaden's blood. And she started weeping and sobbing , her heart feeling like it was broken forever as she watched the only one she had ever truly loved with all of her heart depart from the world, leaving her behind, alone.
Kaden was gone. And he had taken with him a part of Mara's heart, leaving her feeling empty and only half there.
"These wounds won't seem to heal... this pain is just too real...there's just too much that time cannot erase..." Val looked back, a little surprised that Mara was awake, and started to say something but stopped as she saw her friend only gazing up at the full moon and tears coursing down her cheeks in a steady flow.
"When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears...when you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears...I held your hand through all of these years...but you still have...all of me..."
Erik and Val looked at each other, a bit unsure of how to handle the pain in Mara's voice as she sang with the song.
And Mara wept for Kaden...and she wept for herself...and she wept for the love that they had both lost.
But before either of her friends could say something, there was a bright flash of light and then there was black. And there was silence, broken only with Mara's own broken voice singing 'My Immortal'.