Whatever will be, will be.

He tells me, with a tear in his eye, “She’s my sweetheart.”

She smiles weakly, and her eyes brighten.

He gently kisses her hand in a loving manner.

“No, I am ready.”

“Are you scared?”

“I think I’m dying.”

He is exhausted but is there for her whenever she needs him, day or night.

She knows that she is deteriorating and needs more help.

He feeds her but notices that she is eating less everyday.

She spends more time each day sleeping.

He is constantly by her side, and wants to look after her as well as he can, but he has health issues of his own.

Her pains are controlled but after only a few days they return even stronger.

He himself can see an ongoing decline in her overall condition, the blood results are even worse.

Her blood tests are repeated, “surely they can’t be right?” She looks too well.

“The fluid has returned even quicker than last time,” she notes, “last time it stayed away for ten days, two weeks the time before.”

Apart from their respective hospital admissions he has never been apart from her since they arrived in New Zealand.

She watches her children grow up and become adults with lives of their own.

He wants to take her somewhere safe, far, far away from their troubled history.

She knows that things will be better someday, but some days are so long and so hard.

He has to take them all away, even though it means escaping by horseback in the middle of the night, and having to navigate through bandit territory.

She has to be strong, for her husband and her children – she knows that she will likely never see her students again.

He is a leader of warriors but knows in his heart of hearts that this is a war that cannot be won and that for the sake of his loved ones he must leave the only job that he has ever had.

She is a wonderful teacher, a wonderful mother and a dutiful wife.

He has his orders and must fight for his country, even though he would much rather be at home with his wife and family.

She looks into the child’s eyes and sees a reflection of her own eyes, though he has his father’s smile.

He is back from the too long campaign and starts his married life with her.

She thinks that he is “pretty charming for a soldier.”

He spots her and everyone else in the room seems to disappear.

Her mother tells her about the chance meeting between their fathers, who had been friends long ago, but had not seen each other for 30 years.

He is a fighter pilot following many years of training.

A little girl enjoys school a lot, especially science.

A young boy has dreams of soaring high above the clouds.

Que sera, sera.