Leaving is Hard

This novella is written in dual first person points of view. Each chapter will be labeled as to who is narrating.

So far, Jameson has become friends with Iris. She is dying of congestive heart failure and he is in the midst of a divorce. Their friendship has grown deeper and both fill a need in the other. Now, Jameson has to face a critical time of losing his best friend.

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IRIS

I hear his voice, so sad, distraught mixed in with noises that sound foreign and unfamiliar. I feel his pain as he holds my hand. He's clinging to me, like a life ring in a vast ocean of unknowns.

Voices come into the room, seeping in from under the closed door. Voices from other floors, mingle together. The joyful sound of a baby's first cry, disembodied voices calling out in pain. I hear them all, each one distinctive from the next.

The darkness swirls around me like a smoky haze. I'm here, I'm still here, but I can't quite reach Jameson. I can't let myself take a step away. I'm in limbo , if you will. Caught in a riptide. The beach so close, but the tide pulls me further away.

"It's time, Iris," a voice says. "Let go of his hand." It is Lou. I know it is. His words spin my mind to that dark day. Holding Daniel's hand. Lou had wrapped his arms around me, trying to pull me away. "Let go of his hand, Iris," his gentle but heartbroken voice had whispered in my ear. "We can't hold on to what's gone."

"He needs me," I call out into the silky darkness.

Lou is close. I can feel it. "He'll be fine. I promise you, he'll be fine."

I reach out, arms flailing as I search for my Lou.

His gentle laugh tickles my ears. "You can't come with me until you let go."

"Is Daniel here? Is he with you?"

"He's waiting for you. Let him go, Iris."

This is so hard. I will myself to physically squeeze Jameson's hand. I feel his fingers squeeze back. I sit up in bed, and Lou steps over, the swirling mist shifting from Lou to Jameson. The machine with its dancing lines goes flat. In the moments it takes me to fall into Lou's embrace, I hear the distant sobbing of Jameson.

"I've missed you," I say, my fingers tracing the lines of his face. "Missed you both. Where is Daniel?"

"Come on. He's right over here."

I look back once more at the sweet young man who openly weeps for the old woman in the hospital bed. This mist thickens until they are both gone.

Lou puts his arm around me. "You were right, Iris. I would have liked him. He's a good guy. I'm so glad you found him."

"I knew you would." I say. But as hard as it is to leave Jameson, I'm about to be reunited with my angel.