"Are you sure you want to do this?" I asked, tears brimming in my eyes. Seeing my wife like this was, effectively, my own personal hell. "They could help you..."
Alexandra smiled softly; her brilliant smile always seemed to light up her face, but this time, it was just weighing it down. "I'm finished, Mike."
The tears started to flow, now. "Oh God..." I choked out, bending my neck. Alexandra reached up and gently stroked my cheek with a trembling hand. "None of this now..." she whispered. "We both agreed life support wasn't a choice."
Again, I played over what she would be saying to me right now in my mind, were she conscious. The car crash had left her hanging onto life by a thread, but her mind and personality were gone. She was just a shell.
Dr. Cox entered the room, his head bent down solemnly. "You need to decide now. Do we let her live, or end it?" he asked gently. I turned to Alexandra and bent down, brushing some hair away from her forehead. I kissed her gently, drinking in her beautiful features for the last time.
"End it..." I said. Strangely, I was still almost expecting her to wake up, pull the tubes from her throat, and start dancing around the room.
"Why is everyone so sad?" she'd say; from there, we would venture home to our wonderful son, and live happily ever after.
No such luck. Dr. Cox shut off the machines, then; I heard the whine of their power as they stopped keeping Alexandra alive. When she finally died, I knew nothing would ever be done about the gaping hole that was now filling my chest.
I was and will always be truly alone.
Let me know how this went.
Comments
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Alexandra...
..is one of my names
Finally, I've read a story where they kill "me" ^_^
This is very emotional for its length - it tackles the real issue of artificial means of living... and pulling the plug IS one thing a lot of people have dealt with. People CAN get through comas, but.. not everyone could. THERE is a chance to wake up from one, but if it takes to long, perhaps, it would be best to really pull the plug?
I.. wouldn't want to be kept alive by a machine. For me, to live would be to... do the things I would LOVE to do while I am awake OR dreaming (this kind of sleep would be one where I would wake up from, and NOT a coma). But being a shell is... well, for me, it's not called "living" but rather "existing." If I was in Alexandra's place, I would like my loved ones to do the same thing that you did in this story.
Thanks for sharing this - you made me think A LOT.
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you really described this well. you invisioned on what she would want you to do, even though you didnt want to do it. well, i mean, your character. i liked it! good work.
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Tears in my eyes...
Damnit! Sad!
very, very well written!
I love those imagined lines from Alexandra as she was not even awake...
Extremely good story! It was short, but worked very good, and I immediately felt for the main character, and you described the setting very well!
Very good job!
beginning: 5, language: 5, plot: 5, ending: 5, dialog: 4, characters: 5.
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It was well written. And sad. But good. Really good, I loved it. The endind line I loved. Not sure why, but I did. Good work.
-J_E_N_N-
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