A Second Chance at Forever ( Eleanor Shultz )

Now, as she gazed down at the gaunt face before her, a face devoid of life's breath, tears streamed down uncontrollably, pattering madly on Chase's lifeless visage, failing to stir even the slightest ripple... He was gone, his life slipping away amidst bitter words that Sigrid swore she could never forgive, extinguished by the cold rejections she dealt him time and time again, snuffed out by the agony of her infidelity and the regret of never having made her his wife...

Sigrid, debilitated by grief, was pushed aside by the officers. As they draped the white sheet over him and wheeled him away, the closing of the van's door marked her collapse. She crouched on the ground, clutching her chilling body, watching the van disappear from her sight...

Just like Chase had vanished from her life, silently departing, leaving behind a love that spread through her memories like a relentless virus...

He had said that after the trial, there would be no more ties between them. It wasn't that he planned to let her go; he simply had no more time left...

The scent of blood she had smelled on the day of his court appearance wasn't from some decay in the restroom; it was the blood Chase had coughed up...

His emaciated silhouette wasn't due to overwork; it was the cancer eating at his stomach, preventing him from eating, that had whittled him down...

His kiss, wet with tears, wasn't borne of sorrow for her lack of forgiveness, but of his own heartache at having to leave her...

And after that kiss, when he lingered outside the door, waiting for her-it wasn't to create a chance encounter. He only wanted... just to be near her a little while longer before his life flickered out... Sigrid had wandered in search of a pure love, never looking back at Chase, who stood steadfast with an unwavering love, waiting for her...

Even at life's end, he had whispered 'I love you,' but he wasn't able to wait for her response before departing from this world...

Sigrid, like a child abandoned, crouched and wept long and hard. She followed the hearse to the crematorium, heedless of everything else... The McCall family would never sign off for a forsaken kin, so Chase's body lay in the crematorium's morgue, frozen stiff when Sigrid arrived.

She slid open the morgue drawer to find Chase, unclothed and still. Her breakdown was immediate and heart-wrenching...

Her warm fingers traced his cheek with the delicacy of touching a priceless treasure, every cold, rigid sensation screaming the truth to Sigrid: the man who had loved her so fiercely was indeed dead. Bowing her head, she cradled Chase's body, pressing her tear-streaked face against his chest, "Chase, wake up. Let's start over, okay?"

Beneath her, the heart that had longed for such an answer was stilled forever, never to flutter with excitement again...

In the world Chase had lived, he waited a lifetime without her turning back, missing even a final goodbye.

Did he leave with regrets? Yes. He departed with sorrow, silently

leaving this world, releasing his net

regrets and pain, free from the torment of love and illness. S

So, was there still regret? Not for Chase after death.

He was gone, leaving only Sigrid to bear the remorse...

She lay atop him, crying until it seemed her tears might bring him back, until the crematorium staff, with soothing words, forcibly led her away...

She didn't leave, just sat against a pillar outside the crematorium, knees to her chest, on the cold floor, staring into the night...

Her mind was filled with memories of Chase doting on her, especially of the time he took knife wounds to save her.

Chase might have thought she'd forgotten, but she remembered. It was that memory that made her love him with all her life.

Now she longed to love Chase as

she once did, but he was truly gone.

All she could do was feel to net

brush her cheek and whisper,

"Chase, if you are still here, become

the breeze and caress my face, will

you?"

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Obediently, the wind swept gently across her, letting her feel as if Chase was still there, silently watching over her in another form.

Sigrid cleaned her tears, chuckled, and said, "Chase, can you come back to life, just once, back to your body?"

But the wind stilled, signaling his eternal absence. Realizing this, Sigrid's grief overwhelmed her once more.

She regretted not seeing Chase that last night, she thought that if she had, he might have lived a little longer, might have heard her suggest starting anew.

But she didn't, never once looking back or yielding to his approaches. She didn't know if she was too callous or afraid of falling for him again. Regardless, her resolve had been absolute.