Rory awoke screaming. She looked around the room in a panic. There was nothing. White walls with not even a window, and naught else, save for a few silver machines that were beeping eerily. She yelped, "Travis! Travis!" A nurse ran in. "Aurora! What is it?" Rory shook her head, her voice a shrill shriek. "I need Travis!" The nurse walked to the waiting room, where a group of Rory's friends were pacing nervously. "Which of you is called Travis?" the nurse demanded. The pacing stopped, and thirty pairs of sixteen-year old eyes bored through the nurse. A tall boy with brown curly hair stepped forward. "I'm Travis," he announced. "Is Rory okay?" The nurse grimaced. "Ask her yourself." As the rest of the group rose to follow, the nurse added, "Only Travis. The rest of you...stay put." With that, Travis followed the nurse into the operation room. Rory was staring up at the ceiling when Travis walked in. He gasped. Her normally sparkling eyes had gone dull; her blushing, shining skin was pale. When he went to hold her hand, she grabbed his and whispered, "Nurse? We need a moment alone." As the door closed behind the nurse, Rory closed her eyes. "Travis?" He nodded. "Yes, sweetheart. I'm here." Her eyes fluttered open. "I'll never be truly gone, Travis. I will live on." Travis's eyes shot open. "Rory? What are you saying" Rory managed a weak smile. "You know what I'm saying, Trav. But just listen." She coughed, then took a deep breath and continued to speak. "I'll live on in every eastern sky that the red sun rises in. I'll shine in every glistening star that dares to sparkle in your eyes. I'll be right there, in your every smile, laugh, and tear. No matter what the problem, no matter how big the obstacle, I will be there to help you overcome." Travis shook his head, tears brimming in his eyes. "Of course you will, Rory. Once your surgery is done, you'll be able to run, skip, jump, laugh, like you always did." Rory smiled, again. "Oh, Travis. Not every story has a happy ending. But they all have a lesson...and this one is that, even if a lover dies, true love doesn't." Travis was openly weeping now. "Rory, please! Don't say this!" Rory bit her lip, forcing her tears to stay inside of her. "Trav? Promise me you'll try again?" Travis looked straight into her brown eyes, defiance glistening in the clear blue of his own. "No, Rory. If you leave me now, there will be no other girl who will be as beautiful or as smart as you. There will be no other woman as kind, no other female with the same laugh. If you leave me now, I won't try again. After all, I don't mess with other girls while I have you, and if you live on, I'll have you forever." Rory smiled. "I should tell you, Travis...the Dead wanted me. That's why I won't survive the surgery. But I want you to live your life fully, Travis. So...I'm not taking you with me. Go ahead, try suicide...it won't work. It will make your life miserable though, and that wouldn't honor the memory of me at all." Travis groaned. "Stubborn in life, stubborn in death, eh?" Rory grinned, the effort showing in her every muscle. "You bet!" Travis squeezed Rory's hand tighter. "I will live on, darling," Rory said, her voice a mere whisper. "My love for you will live on..." All of a sudden, the steady beeping that resonated through the room was replaced by a single, monotonous thrum. The nurse ran into the room, followed by a stream of doctors, and Travis was thrown out of the room. Two hours later, they were given the new. Rory was dead.
