"Everlasting Love"

Well. Something very big happened today, but I can't post about it yet. I have to find the right words first. But it's something very good, at least for me...something that I've been longing for for over nine years now. It has made my heart smile.

Anyway, since I can't post about that just yet, I'll post something that I wrote while I was a student at Georgia College and State University. It needs a little bit of work, but I just found it today and decided to share it. Let me know what you think, and if it even makes sense.

Everlasting Love
By Samantha McKinley Schuster

She trembled as she entered the room. She slowly walked to the casket containing the man she had loved for fifty years; the slower she walked the more her arthritic knees ached, but it was impossible for her to walk any faster. Never thinking anything like this would ever happen; Elaine tried to imagine how it would be later that day when she would have to put Roger, the love of her life for so long now, six feet below the ground. As she approached the edge of the room and peered over the opening inside to find the man she had known to be full of love, life, and happiness, so many memories clouded her vision.

She remembered the day they met at the animal shelter in New York fifty-two years prior to that day; it was a Saturday morning. They spent two and a half hours at the shelter arguing over who would be the better owner for the golden retriever puppy. Every weekend following that for four months, Roger would travel from his home in Bayside to hers in Union City to allegedly visit her new puppy Domino; over time, it became apparent that he was really there to see Elaine.

Her knees ached more than ever as she reached the casket. She looked at the face of the man she'd devoted her life to. The once light face with kind, blue eyes that lit up at the sight of her was now cold, gray, and lifeless. It wasn't supposed to happen like this, Elaine thought. She had always imagined it would be different. She slowly lifted her left hand and made an attempt to touch her lover's cheek. She wanted so badly to simply feel him for the last time, and she knew this was the last opportunity she'd get. She saw the band on her ring finger and remembered the day he proposed.

After playing with Domino, Roger's neighbor's dog had puppies, which Roger had managed to keep from Elaine. Six short weeks after the birth of the littler, Roger kept Sugar, the lightest and sweetest of them all. He trained her to the best of his ability and, as Elaine remembered, it wasn't the best trining job; his effort is what make it all worth the while. At the sound of the doorbell, she found Sugar on her doorstep with a gift bag in her mouth. Inside was the symbol of his love for her, which she never took off after that day.

Her hand trembled as she tried to touch her husband. Her hand dropped when she heard a faint knock on the door. It was Kevin, Roger's brother and best friend since the day Kevin was born.

"Hello, Elaine," said Kevin as calmly as he knew how. "How are you?"

"Oh, I'm hanging in there." Elaine slowly moved away from the casket. She knew how close these two brothers were and didn't want to interrupt anything.

"I never thought I'd see the day. He managed to stay so healthy. We've never had history of cancer, this is just..." his words tailed off. Elaine could see the pain in the way his body shook and voice trembled.

Kevin walked right up next to the casket and placed his hand on the side. He reached out slowly and attempted to be discreet about it, but Elaine knew exactly what was going through his head. He reached and at the last second, raised his hand to his own cheeks to wipe the tears. Elaine walked up behind him and gently grabbed his arm.

"I know how you feel, Kevin. I couldn't do it either."

Kevin tried to act collected, as collected as he could for losing his best friend, because he knew that before him stood the woman that had put so much into his life. He turned to face her and their eyes met. Both people loved this man with their whole hearts.

As he walked towards the door, he said "Everything is in place and ready. We're all just sitting around and waiting for the service to start. Are you going to home out now or do you need a few more minutes?"

Elaine looked at Kevin, then back at the casket. "Just a few more minuted would be nice."

"Okay, Elaine. He's in a better place, just know that." With that, it was just the two lovers in the room again.

Elaine walked back to the casket and tried to get the strength to just touch her husband one last time. After a few moments of tears and building up the courage, she lifted her hand off the edge. The closer her hand got to his body, the more afraid she became. Her knees hurt her more than they ever had before. I don't know how to do this. How can I ever learn to live without my Roger? she thought.

When she finally touched her husband's body, the arthritis was at its worst and her knees gave out on her. She fell to the ground and felt a hand grab hers. She heard Roger say: "You don't have to, Elaine."
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