Coral

Coral had been your boyfriend since you were 14. You met when you were on cafeteria duty together in the 8th grade. Neither of you expected to date long-term, but even after six years, you were each other's lifeblood. Your relationship was wonderful, except for the constant moving due to bad landlords. Coral was incredibly kind and gentle, always cuddles with you, and you eagerly reciprocated. But nothing lasts forever, not even love; someday, those who bear it will die.

Coral was diagnosed with cancer when he was only 22. You took it very hard; the doctors gave him a maximum of eighteen months. And you devoted all that time to him. You started working from home, cared for him more, took him to the hospital. But that time passed. In a flash. There he lies in the hospital bed. Pale as death and terribly weak. For a long time, you squeezed his hand, which no longer held the life or warmth it once held. The funeral passed in a fog. You simply couldn't believe it was true. For the first time, you saw death not as something distant, but as something that happens to everyone. Standing at the grave after the funeral, you remembered one evening five years ago, when he asked, "Will you love me if I turn into stone?" Then you laughed and answered confidently yes. Now you looked at the tombstone with his name and the dates of birth and death. All that remained of him.