Love After Death [Lesbian Short]

The Beginning of the End

She brought the car to a stop, but her frizz of dark curls continued to blow freely in the warm wind that night. I glanced over at the murky sea green eyes as she hummed to our song on the radio. Her alto-pitch voice started to sing to me. I swore I had the strongest cheeks ever from the smiling she had me doing. I'm going to marry this woman.

Technically, it wasn't marriage; it was a civil union, but we were more than ecstatic either way. Who would have known that we would live to see the day same-sex civil unions would be recognized by the courts? That's why we were driving up there anyway.

Lina Lewis was an activist of all sorts. Our wedding was going to be a celebration of our love ,as well as a political statement. For me, it was also an in your face to my father, who would likely read about it in the paper the day after seeing as it would be the very first same-sex civil union in the state of Massachusetts. After my father disowned me, I lived with Lina for the first six years of my adulthood.

"I'm going to marry you," she said quietly and smiled.

"I know," I smiled back.

The light turned green and we started to move again. Bright lights came through her side of the windows and blinded me. I opened my mouth to scream but a thud thundered into the metal of our car and I felt myself become one with my side of the door. I felt my body get shoved and pulled over and over again against the seat belt. My stomach lurched as the car bounced into the air over and over again, landing on different sides. Lina's scream etched into me.

I heard more glass shatter and we finally came to a stop. My seatbelt was the only thing that held me from falling onto Lina and crushing her.

Lina. I turned my neck and felt my neck rip into shreds that continued across my shoulders. I winced in pain as I stared at the love of my life. Her head was pressed into the glass and I saw dark pools of blood against her beautiful skin. It trickled down her neck fast. That's when I noticed the large tree that saved us from rolling down the valley. I gasped when my eyes caught one of its thick branches that became one with the back of her head. She was impaled.

"N-no..." I begged her.

"I love y-," Her mouth hung open as her lips quivered and her last breath was pulled out of her in the form of a sigh before she could finish.

"Lina!" I shrieked.

I used the the brick-like cell phone between us and dialed 9-1-1. The rest was a blur; the sirens, the bright lights, and the stretchers blended in time, but all I could remember clearly were the words that echoed in my mind.

"She's passed," A man's voice had said quietly.

The small town's emergency room smelled like Lina's favorite dessert, lemon meringue pie.

"I need to see Angelina." I begged the nurse that was tending to my injuries for the fiftieth time.

The nurse let out a long sigh and crossed her arms, "I already said ya can't because you're not her family."

"I am her family," my voice managed to scrape out, "She is the only family I have."

My mind raced. I should have given into Lina when she wanted to have the wedding a day earlier. The papers would have been signed and this would have never happened.

I took in a deep breath and stated as firmly as I could with the little might that was left in me, "I have the right to see my partner."

She looked at me as if I were a flea on a dog and snapped, "According to law, you are not registered as her civil partner."

My stomach sunk and I hunched over, covering my face, "Please," I cried, "Please, just let me see her one more time."

A clean shaven doctor stepped into the conversation. He tipped his rectangular shaped spectacles and peered over them to look at me curiously.

"Hi, did you arrive with Angelina Lewis?" He asked.

"Yes, she's my life partner. We came to Massachusetts to get a civil union," I looked at him and then my voice squeaked, "I just want to see her."

The doctor's sad eyes met mine and then he adjusted the dark blue handkerchief in the pocket of his white coat. I knew that was code. He's gay.

"Of course. Right this way..." He grabbed the clipboard off of the counter and looked down the form I filled out when I had arrived at the hospital.

"Mrs. Lewis." He glared at the nurse before he made a quick come-here gesture to me.

The nurse muttered to the doctor, "By the way, your wife called for the eighth time. I'd suggest you call her back so she stop calling our emergency number."

The doctor acknowledged the nurse with a curt nod, turned around, and led me down a dimly lit hallway.

"Thank you... did you tend to her?" I asked quietly as my hands and feet turned cold.

"Yes," he said.

"Oh," I whispered.

"I'm sorry for your loss," He placed a hand on my shoulder.

I didn't respond and continued down the hallway. It was surreal. One moment we were in the car the next we were in the hospital. When i got to the door, the doctor spoke again, "I have to warn you, she is still covered in blood Mrs. Lewis..." He creaked the door open and left.

I rushed to her side and fell onto my knees beside the metal tray. She was still in the same brown cardigan and worn jeans. Her hair and neck was covered with dried blood and her full lips still formed an unfinished sentence. My hand shook in front of me as I lowered it onto her beautiful face. The moment my pale yellow hand touched her skin, I burst out in a series of sobs.

"I love you," I said desperately like if I pleaded hard enough, that she would to come back to me.

I quickly wiped my eyes and nose before I pulled out a small sheet of lined paper and read to her, "I, Jennifer Tran take you Lina Lewis, as my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish..." my voice shook with my entire body as a tsunami of tears flooded my face when I looked up at her and she didn't move.

I was breathing through my mouth because I couldn't breath anymore. I leaned in and kissed her blue lips. I looked into her sea green eyes for the last time and I pressed my lips together as firm as I could and brushed her eyelids closed.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang as the door flew open and Lina's sister swooped in. Her eyebrows were furrowed as she stared with her mouth open at her lifeless sister.

She turned her attention to me with her nose scrunched and her upper lip lifted, "Get away from my sister you foul dyke!" She yelled at me and pointed to the door with all her might.

I got up. Lina wouldn't have wanted this fight. She loved her sister. I walked out of the room and turned to see the love of my life frozen in time.

"Till death do us part," I whispered the rest of my vow in the empty hallway.

What I didn't know, was that death couldn't keep us from finding each other again.