When September Ends

22. The Lighthouse

September 25th--5 days

Skyla decided early that morning she was going to skip school today. She wanted to spend the whole day with Michael and whatever lighthouse he decided to take her to. She lay in the bed wondering if she should call for him or if he would come on his own. Skyla didn't exactly know how to interpret the wink he'd given her yesterday after dropping her off. The clock said it was time for school to begin. Isabella had already gone in the van with their mother and said her goodbyes to Skyla, so she was all alone in the house. She was still in her kitty cat pajamas when she went downstairs to fix herself some breakfast. She fixed eggs and toast and two slices of bacon. She sat in the living room to eat it so the noise from the television could keep her company.

She got halfway through an episode of a procedural police drama when a gust of wind blew through the house. She looked up and smiled. Michael had finally arrived.

"Hello, Skyla," he greeted her. His voice was soft. It made her tingle inside.

"Hey," she greeted back. "I didn't think you were coming."

Michael smiled. "I had some heavenly business to take care of," he told her. "I was talking to Adam about your condition and he gave me some bad news."

Dread clouded her face. "What was it?"

He hesitated for several seconds. "He said the pain you felt in your heart would become more intense with each episode now. He wanted me to warn you."

Skyla didn't say anything. What could she say? She stared at him intently. Then finally she spoke up. "I don't want to think about dying today. I want to get back to my list. We're on number seven."

Michael was surprised to find out she was uninterested in his piece of news. After all, she only had five more days. Nevertheless, he would play along. "What's number seven?"

"I've always wanted to see a lighthouse up close," Skyla revealed.

Michael grinned. "I just happen to know where one of those is located. There's a beautiful beachfront in Maine with a lighthouse right in the middle."

"Let's go there," she said excitedly. "Then I can mark six off too. It was to go to the beach." Skyla ran over to hug him. "Thank you for doing this. You have no idea what it means to me. I'll be right back." She ran up the stairs to change her clothes and get ready.

Michael went over and sat on the couch. He made himself comfortable. He couldn't shake the feeling something was wrong with Skyla. She didn't seem worried about what was going to happen to her at all anymore. Maybe she had finally accepted it.

Suddenly, Skyla appeared at the top of the stairs and broke his concentration.

"Is it cold in Maine?"

"It's chilly," he answered quickly. "If you don't want to wear long sleeves, at least wear a light jacket."

"Okay," she said. Then she disappeared again.

Michael smiled to himself. Skyla was so cute when she got excited about things. He leaned back on the couch and started flipping through the channels. He put his worries about Skyla out of his mind. He'd killed a whole half an hour before he knew it. He looked up the stairs to see if she was coming yet. She wasn't. He sighed impatiently. He was anxious to see what she was going to be wearing. Michael felt weird being so in love with Skyla. After all, she was his assignment and it went against everything he'd ever known, but when Adam told him it was okay, in her case, he'd been so grateful. Because he knew if it had come down to choosing between eternity and being with Skyla, he might have had a hard time deciding. He heard a creak and whirled around to face the staircase.