A Song To Remember

For as long as he could remember, Samuel had viewed life to a melody. The day he could speak, he sang. His voice was a gift, a soothing balm that he poured into the small crowds of people that gathered at local gigs, and his dreams were expansive as the skies he sang about. One day, huge concert halls would be filled by his voice, but now his stage was the tiny café at the corner of 5th and Elm, where each night he poured his heart out to a room of strangers and friends. Lucy was the type who strayed very little as she walked in purpose and precision through life. Being a doctor, she was used to picking at the intricacies of human frailty and gluing together shattered fragments that were once her patients' lives. Her days were filled with the cadence of the hospital, and her nights almost always found her nose-deep in books or volunteering at free clinics. Though in her high-demanding schedule, somewhere she saved a spot for music, a carryover from childhood when she wanted to be a concert pianist.

Their worlds collided on one of those cold autumn evenings when Samuel played one of his passionate ballads in the café and Lucy strayed into that place, exhausted by a long shift in the hospital. From the first lines of the song, when Samuel's voice twisted around the notes, Lucy felt something strange, like comfort. It was like the melody sewed her soul with gaps, which tiredness had left.

By the time the performance came to an end, Lucy was lingering there alone; she turned out to be the last. Realizing her loneliness, Samuel approached her to initiate conversation in the impeccable style of his charm. They were talking about their passions, dreams, and the twisting roads which brought them into this little café. For Samuel, it was the brilliant mind of Lucy and tender compassion, while for Lucy, it was the sincerity of the man and how his eyes sparkled while he was talking about music.

Their meetings became frequent. Lucy would come to listen to Samuel's performances, and sometimes Samuel stopped by at the hospital, bearing flowers or cookies which lightened Lucy's heavy days. Over cups of steaming coffee, they shared their stories and each week their attachment for each other grew. Samuel often sang his fresh compositions only for Lucy who in her turn voiced the burden of her hardest cases with him. Together, they achieved a delicate balance of light and shadow, of joy and sorrow.

But life, as often is the case, had different plans. Lucy started falling ill with an illness she could no longer brush off—that relentless fatigue that was not fixed by rest, no matter how much. After so many years of education on the human body, she could not turn a blind eye to the fact that something was really wrong. She underwent many tests and consulted with many experts, only to be slapped in the face with reality: she had a rare, progressive illness that would eventually take her mobility and independence away.

It came on Samuel like a clap of thunder. The world he had imagined building with Lucy was suddenly plunged into uncertainty. Their conversations were laced with depth neither had anticipated, and through their fingers, like sand, slid the future they envisioned. Wanting to be strong for Lucy but feeling helpless himself, Samuel struggled to cope.

With Lucy's health deteriorating, their day of parting was drawing near. They drenched every second of the remaining time in an intensity that was at once bitter and sweet. It was then that Samuel wrote his last song: a hauntingly beautiful piece for Lucy. That was to be his way of immortalizing his love for her—the love that blossomed amidst all the cacophony of their lives to end up eternally in silence.

In the last days they had together, Samuel and Lucy laughed and cried tenderly. They talked about their dreams and regrets—the way that, day after day, their love was changing them. Even in her struggle with the ever-growing limitations brought about by her illness, Lucy's strength inspired Samuel. The music became a refuge for Samuel and a witness to their love and the indelible stamp she had left in his heart.

That night finally came, which marked the end of Lucy's struggle. It was a serene moment, pained yet peaceful—the last breath she took, holding Samuel's hand. Ensuing this was deafening silence. Samuel's heart was in tatters but was filled to the brim with thanksgiving for those many years shared.

The singer in Samuel picked up again, though his music would never sound the same without his beloved Lucy. He sang about the beauty and fragility that life held, Lucy's memory carried in every note. He never fully moved on, for how could he? Lucy had been his muse, his confidante, and his greatest love.

Thus, their story became a melody that played on and on—biting into the consciousness like the beauty of a love that was never meant to last.

"Some loves are fleeting but unforgettable”