Zara and Andy had been waiting at a red light in their car when the accident occurred. A truck driver on the opposite side of the road was fatigued and disoriented. The truck he was driving barged into their lane and barreled toward them at full speed.
They tried to swerve out of the way, but the truck was too fast. Andy barely had time to turn the car so that his side would take the brunt of the collision. Even in that moment of chaos, he instinctively shielded Zara with his body, holding her tightly beneath him.
Andy didn’t survive.
The impact was so severe that even though Zara was shielded, she still lost consciousness. Andy, on the other hand, stayed awake. Calmly, he called for an ambulance and ensured she was safely transported to the hospital.
When the nurses asked if he was injured, he simply shook his head. It wasn’t until they confirmed that Zara had been stabilized that he collapsed. He never woke up again.
Zara didn’t even get to see him one last time. By the time she awoke, the only thing waiting for her was a small urn containing his ashes.
Now, in her dream, it felt as if she were seeing him again. He stood before her. He smiled with that gentle expression that was so familiar to her as he called her name tenderly.
“Zara,” he called softly.
“Andy, I finally get to see you again,” Zara cried out with tears streaming down her face.
She reached out and wrapped her arms hesitantly around his waist. It was as though she was afraid he might vanish. Andy reached out too, but his hands hovered just short of touching her. He made the motion of patting her back. His eyes were full of affection and heartbreak.
He wanted to wipe her tears but didn’t dare to do so.
“Zara, please don’t cry anymore. We can’t be together in this life, but that’s okay. We’ll get another chance in another life. I want you to be happy. Please live for yourself and don’t be
trapped in the past anymore.
“Promise me, okay?”
His soft and gentle voice sounded in her ears. Yet, she stubbornly refused to nod.
“But I want to see you again,” she choked out.
“We have many lifetimes ahead. But most importantly, they’re not me, right?” he said patiently as he coaxed her to agree.
It was only when she finally gave a reluctant nod that he leaned down and kissed the tear- streaked side of her face. “Zara, my only wish now is for you to be happy.”
As his kiss landed, his form began to dissipate.
Zara’s sobs echoed through the empty space as she reached for him, but there was nothing to grasp. Her vision blurred with tears as she wiped furiously at her face. She was desperate to see him one last time.
In the end, she could only make out his lips moving and silently forming a few words.
“Zara, be happy.”
Zara woke with a start.
Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains and Illuminated the room. The pillow was damp with her tears.
The details of her dream faded quickly as reality reasserted itself. Zara could only remember two sentences that had become etched in her mind.
“They’re not me, right?”
“Zara, be happy.”
She wiped away the lingering tears and pulled open the curtains. Sunlight flooded the room, and she squinted against the brightness while her eyes adjusted to the light. Zara bathed in the warmth from the sun, and it chased away the last remnants of gloom that clung to her heart, No one else could ever be Andy. She needed to live her life–not just for herself, but for him as well.
Zara stepped out of the suite, and the sound of the door opening startled the man who had
“Zara!” been waiting outside. He looked up. His voice was tinged with surprise as he called out,
It was Soren.
He couldn’t sleep last night as he had been worried that his confrontational words might have hurt her. Still, he didn’t want her to keep dwelling on the past. Therefore, he kept watch outside the door and prepared to barge in at the slightest hint of things going awry.
But now, Zara walked out of the room unscathed. She wore the same indifferent and distant expression.
Before he could say anything, Zara interrupted him, “Did you tell him about Andy?”
