On a quiet, gloomy winter afternoon, Mark sat by the window of the loft and contemplated his whole life up until that point. He thought about being picked on as a child, being an outcast in his own family, dropping out of college, disappointing his family, and running away with Roger to be an amateur filmmaker in New York. They had no money, food, heat or decent clothes, but he didn't mind. He had Roger; their love was enough to sustain him through the hardest times.
Just then Roger entered the loft with a brown paper bag tucked under his arm, smiling widely as he greeted Mark. Mark smiled back.
"Did you bring the stuff?" asked Mark as he hugged and kissed his lover.
"Yes babe, I did", said Roger as he returned the kiss. He emptied the contents, which he bought with their last $20; two sharp razor blades and a bottle of rat poison. Roger looked at all the items, and then he looked at his lover with genuine concern. "Are you sure you want to do this?"
Mark hugged him tightly and kissed his forehead. "Yes sweetie, I am", he spoke softly. "We've been through this so many times already. We will both waste away to nothing over time, you first with your AIDS and then me with a broken heart. How am I going to live without you? And why should wego apart and miserable when we can go together and happy?"
Roger smiled slowly. "Ok love." He picked up a blade, covered it in the rat poison and handed it to Mark. "You first."
Mark took the blade, then picked up Roger's wrist, gently kissed it, then slid the blade deep into the soft flesh, making three long deep cuts in it. Then Roger took the second blade, dipped it in the poison, then gently kissed Mark's wrist and dragged the blade three times across it, severing the veins. The two of them then lay on the couch in each other's arms. A comfortable silence followed.
"Baby?"
"Yes, Roger"
"I love you". A small sob followed. "I love you so much."
"Oh darling." A pale hand gently wipes a tear away from the stubbled face. "I love you too, with all of my soul."
Another silence. "Thank you. For….always loving me…and being there with me."
A teary smile forms. "You're welcome, Marky. And…..thank you, too."
Another teary smile, followed by a loud, happy sigh. "See you on the other side."
More silence follows. It is the silence that will forever reside in the loft.
In a short while, two figures find themselves clad in soft, white clothes, standing on soft, fluffy clouds with golden rays on sunlight dancing around them. They smile widely at each other.
"I love you, Roger", one whispers.
"I love you too, sweetheart", whispers the other as they both share a warm embrace and a loving kiss. "Welcome to our new home."
Without losing their smiles or their eye contact, the two lovers join hands and enter the pearly gates to their new home.