When his wife was discharged from the hospital, William hired a car, and with the help of a neighbor, carried her into their cottage. “Everything will be all right,” he comforted her, “just stay with me. Even if you can only sit and talk, thats enough. Just stay alive. Ill manage everything. Dont leave me, my darling!”
At thirty-five, Evelyn had given up on ever finding happiness, but fate had other plans. They met when both were nearing fortyWilliam had been a widower for three years, while Evelyn had never married, though she had a son. As the saying goes, shed “had a child for herself.” In her youth, shed fallen for a handsome, dark-haired man named Oliver, who promised marriage and swept her off her feet. But those promises proved emptyOliver was already married. His wife even came to Evelyn, pleading with her not to break up their family. Young and inexperienced, Evelyn gave inbut she kept the child.
And so it was. Evelyn gave birth to Daniel, who became her only joy and comfort. He grew up well-mannered and did well in school, later studying economics at university. William visited Evelyn several times, suggesting they build a life together. Though she liked him, she hesitated, partly out of shame about her past and partly because she feared happiness might slip away again.
One evening, Daniel sat her down. “Mum, I dont mind,” he said. “I wont be living at home much longer anyway. Uncle Williams a good man. Just make sure he treats you right. All I want is for you to be happy.” Williams son felt the same.
They married quietly, with a small celebration. Evelyn worked in the village library while William was an agricultural advisor. They did everything togethertending the garden, raising livestock, keeping house. They loved and respected each other deeply, though theyd always regret not having children of their own.
Both sons married, and grandchildren followed. Every holiday, the couple prepared giftsfresh eggs, milk, cream, pork, and chicken. Their cottage overflowed with guests, and William and Evelyn would sit at the table, content, grateful to have family around them.
Yet at night, as they lay in bed, each quietly wished to be the first to goso neither would ever be left alone.
Time passed, and one morning, disaster struck. Evelyn collapsed while making soup in the kitchen. William, with the neighbors help, called an ambulance. The doctors said shed had a strokeshe could still think and speak, but shed never walk again. Daniel and his wife visited, left money for medicine, then left.
William hired a car to bring her home, carrying her inside with their neighbors help. “Everything will be fine,” he whispered. “Just stay with me. Talk to me. Thats all I need. Just dont leave me, my love”
He cared for her devotedly. Within a month, she could sit in a chair, helping peel potatoes and carrots, sorting beans, even baking bread. In the evenings, theyd discuss the futurewinter was coming, and William no longer had the strength to chop firewood. Maybe the children would take them in for the colder months, then they could manage on their own come spring.
That weekend, Daniel and his wife visited. After a glance around the cottage, his wife, Helen, announced, “Well have to separate you. Well take Mum next weekIll prepare a room for her.”
“And what about me?” William asked faintly. “Weve never been apart. How can this be?”
“That was before,” Helen said. “When you could manage the house and look after yourselves. Now its different. Your son can take you in, but no one will take you both together.”
After they left, William and Evelyn sighed bitterly, wondering what to do. Each night, they wished not to wake upjust to escape the heartbreak.
The next weekend, both sons arrived to pack their parents things. William sat by Evelyns bed, gazing at her, remembering their younger days. Tears fell as he pressed his forehead to hers. “Forgive me, Evelyn,” he whispered. “Somewhere, we failed in raising them. Now theyre splitting us up like unwanted strays. Forgive me. I love you”
Evelyn wanted to stroke his cheek, but she no longer had the strength. William left, wiping his eyes, but by the time he reached the car, hed stopped bothering.
Then Daniel, his wife, and a neighbor wrapped Evelyn in a blanket and carried her outfeet first. The frail woman thought it bitterly symbolic. She didnt resist. By the time Williams car pulled away, she was gone. All shed wanted was not to see the end of that day.
A week later, on a crisp autumn afternoonjust as the first frost settledtheir wish came true. Evelyn and William were reunited in another world.
