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Last Smile

Summary:

I cried while writing this.

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- Are you sure he told you not to notify anyone? - Hannah looked almost pleadingly at Rita, the senior nurse who was assigned to care for the man they were both currently looking at through the glass. The other woman merely shook her head, and tears involuntarily gathered in her eyes. The sight of such a young man was overwhelming in itself. And when he still asked not to call anyone with the information that he was practically on the verge of death? I guess even the loneliest people had someone they wanted to have beside them in these final moments.
- Call Diana and Vivi, they liked Evan very much, I'm sure they will want to be here. - Rita recommended briefly and, without waiting for the younger nurse's reaction, entered her patient's room. The weather outside the window was glorious, so first thing in the morning the woman opened the window at Evan's, letting in plenty of fresh air and the smell of cherry blossoms into the room. With a sad smile, the nurse approached the bed and gently improved the quilt covering the young man. She was not too surprised when, after a moment, she felt the gaze of pale blue eyes on her.
- Good morning darling. How are you feeling? - She asked in the affectionate tone she almost always had in Evan's presence. This boy was simply impossible not to love. He had leukemia, which was probably hereditary in his family, and he didn't want any donor that could save him. She didn't know what he had been through in his life that he didn't want to keep trying, but she wasn't going to ask, even if she really wanted to. That was not her job here. Her main task was to make sure her patients recovered or left this world in peace.
- Just like this morning, Rita. I feel it will be today. - The man replied in his softly snarling voice. And if only Rita could, tears would run down her cheeks. She really had never seen anyone so resigned to life. She only smiled a little wider in response. - Did I ever tell you about Eddie? - Asked Evan after a while, to which she was honestly surprised, because the man rarely said anything more than answers to the nurses' questions.
- No darling, I would love to know who Eddie is.

- Eddie is... he was the man I loved more than life. He was the first to give me a reason that I could be loved unconditionally. He and his son, Christopher. Chris is the best child in the world. Despite his CP, he didn't let anyone stop him from trying new things. He was not afraid of anyone or anything. I love him as my son. I would so much like to see him grow up and become a man. But... Eddie met Ana and it was with her that he planned his life. It was her that his parents accepted. And eventually Chris will have to accept her as a stepmother. Even though I was the one who built him that skateboard to ride, even though I was the one who saved him during the tsu...unami... Chris... Eddie... I love you-....

As Hannah finally reached the room with Diana and Vivi, the heart monitor made a shrill sound, indicating that the patient's heart had stopped beating. However, none of the nurses moved toward the man to try to bring him back to life. All they could do now was silently sob and wipe away tears as they looked at this innocent and young face that could still experience so much.
- Please try to find this Eddie. I think Evan would be happy to know that Eddie and Chris knew of his love for them... - These were Rita's last words to her colleagues before she became a nurse again, in whose hands other people's lives rested.