The last semester

The Last Semester

Emma and Noah met during their first semester at university. Emma was a quiet literature major who spent most of her time in the library, her nose buried in books. Noah was studying architecture, always sketching designs in the margins of his notebooks. They were paired together for a campus event, tasked with organizing the annual cultural festival.

At first, they clashed—Emma’s love for detailed planning didn’t mesh with Noah’s spontaneous nature. But as they worked late nights in the student union, sharing coffee and ideas, they found themselves opening up to one another. Emma admired Noah’s creativity, while he was enchanted by her passion for storytelling.

By the time the festival ended, their friendship had grown into something deeper. They became inseparable, spending nights exploring the city, watching films, and dreaming about their futures.

But during their final year, everything changed.

Emma started feeling unusually fatigued and dizzy. After several hospital visits, she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of heart disease. The doctors warned her that without a transplant, her time was limited. Terrified of becoming a burden, Emma withdrew from Noah, refusing to tell him the truth.

Noah, confused and hurt, tried to reach her, but she pushed him away. “You deserve someone who isn’t broken,” she said, tears in her eyes.

But Noah wouldn’t give up. One night, he showed up outside her dorm with a bouquet of wildflowers and a hand-drawn sketch of them sitting on a park bench, surrounded by stars. “I don’t care how much time we have,” he said. “You’re my person, Emma. Let me be here for you.”

From that moment on, they faced her illness together. Noah attended every doctor’s appointment and stayed up late researching treatments. He sketched plans for a small, cozy house they could one day share, even though they both knew it might never happen.

Despite her failing health, Emma insisted on graduating with her class. She poured herself into her thesis—a collection of short stories inspired by her love for Noah. Each story celebrated a moment they had shared: their first kiss in the rain, late-night drives to nowhere, and their whispered dreams of the future.

On graduation day, Emma walked across the stage, frail but radiant. Noah cheered the loudest, holding a sign that read, “Forever proud of you.” After the ceremony, he surprised her by taking her to the university garden. There, beneath a canopy of fairy lights, he knelt and handed her a small box. Inside was a silver ring, simple yet beautiful.

“I don’t need a lifetime,” Noah said, his voice trembling. “Just whatever time we have. Will you marry me?”

Emma, tears streaming down her face, whispered yes.

Their wedding was small, held in the university chapel with their closest friends and family. Emma wore a simple white dress, and Noah couldn’t stop smiling as they exchanged vows.

Emma passed away six months later, peacefully in Noah’s arms, surrounded by the books and sketches they had created together.

Years later, Noah became a renowned architect. He designed a library on campus and dedicated it to Emma. At the center of the library was a quiet reading room, named Emma’s Haven. On the wall hung one of her short stories, framed and surrounded by wildflowers.

Every year on her birthday, Noah would visit, sitting in the room and reading her stories, his heart still full of the love they had shared.

After their small wedding, Emma and Noah vowed to live each day as if it were their last. They didn’t dwell on her illness; instead, they filled their days with laughter, adventure, and love. They created a bucket list of simple joys: stargazing, dancing in the rain, baking cookies, and reading their favorite books together.

Emma, though weak, refused to let her illness define her. She continued writing, often spending hours crafting stories inspired by her time with Noah. “Stories are how we live forever,” she told him one night as they sat by the window, the moonlight casting a soft glow over her face.

Noah took her words to heart. He began sketching designs for a library, a place where her stories could live on long after she was gone. He wanted the library to feel like Emma—a space filled with warmth, beauty, and quiet inspiration.

One day, as winter set in, Emma surprised Noah with a gift: a leather-bound journal. On the first page, she had written, “For Noah, to hold our dreams and memories. Fill it with the life we’ve shared.”

Noah began writing in it every night. He captured their moments together—her smile as she tasted their burnt cookies, the sound of her laughter echoing in the quiet of their tiny apartment, the way she lit up when he read her favorite poetry.

As her condition worsened, their friends and family rallied around them. The university students organized a fundraiser to help with Emma’s medical bills. Professors visited, bringing books and letters of encouragement. Emma’s strength and determination inspired everyone who met her.