1 Regrets

Valeria Valentine laid on the bed her life slowly draining away from her. She had been sick for quite a long time, her relatives and close friends were now hopeless about her surviving. They visited her to say their last goodbyes as the doctor had said that she didn't have much time left to live.

She had her eyes opened looking at the people around her. They were crying and telling her things that she couldn't hear. She was losing a sense of all her senses, only her eyes could see. She couldn't smell, taste, feel or hear anything. All she could do was stare at everything without being able to move her body.

She reflected on the life she had and tears flowed down her eyes. That had become her hobby ever since she got bedridden. She cried in pain-filled with regret on how she had chosen to live her life. She had so many things left undone, so many things that she wanted to do before she died but it was too late.

Having walked in the path her family had set for, having done all she could to please them she wondered for what reason she did that. She had pleased them but ended up living a very lonely and painful life full of regrets.

She couldn't fulfill her dream of becoming a star and instead, she became a housewife that too to a man who didn't have love or concern for him. "I am not yours," he would say. No matter what she did or how hard she worked to save her marriage she wasn't able to do anything much. She was never able to earn even an ounce of love from him. He was cold and heartless to her, he treated her worse than an animal and that was only in the first years of marriage.

Things changed for the worse after they have children. He barely came home from work, he never paid attention to her needs nor care to ever look in the direction of his children because she was their mother. Be completely abandoned her. She still tried her best to keep her family together, she tried her best to make a marriage successful but nothing worked.

Her children grew to hate her, they played her for all the bad things that happened in their lives. They treated the servants in the house with more respect than they ever showed her. She was the culprit in everything and no one cared that she too was human and had feelings. They said what they wanted to her and did as they wished with her not having any say.

She took a few deep breaths to calm down. Her eldest son who sat next to her ran out of the room to get the doctor. He returned with all the family members who looked worried. The doctor examined her and told them that she was fine.

Valeria wanted to laugh at the turnout of things. She wanted to laugh at how ironic things turned out, when she wanted and yearned for their love they gave her nothing but pain and suffering, and now that she was departing from this life they were showing their concern. She didn't know why they had a change of heart, she had expected to be throughout the streets when she fell sick but to her surprise, they took her in and gave get the best treatment that money could buy.

But it was too late for them to show her love and concern. Because it didn't melt her heart and make her happy but rather made her even sadder. She was sad that it took her to die to get love from her husband and child. It was on that very bed that she heard her children call her mother for the first time and it was also there that her husband called her wife.

They attended to her and panicked at every little thing she did even if she was just breathing. All this always reminded her of him. Back then in high school when she was yet to meet her cruel fate. When she was yet to accept the stupid proposal her family for her to be married off. When she was yet to sacrifice her love for a lonely cursed life they called a marriage.

His beautiful eyes that carried immense love for her, his lips that only said sweet things to her, his ears that listened to all her problem with no complaints, his eyes that saw only jer and nothing else, his nose that would recognize her scent from miles away and finally his touch that she remembered all too well.

*****

"You are the most beautiful girl in the universe," he confessed. She felt so happy that she couldn't control her heartbeat. She ran to him but he walked past her and embarrassed the dog behind her. "Why are you looking at me like that. Did you think I was talking about you?" he asked and started laughing.

"Of course not. I was just exercising," she said looking away from him so he doesn't see the hurt expression on her face.

"A smile looks good on your face. Being sad doesn't suit a beautiful girl like you," he said to the dog but Valeria knew that he was talking to her.

"I am not sad."

"I know, you can never be sad after all only a person with a heart can be sad and you lack a heart," he stated.

Valeria turned around fuming, she walked to him and pulled him up with his hand. She glares at him to take back her statement but he just smiled at her reaction. It was more like a small smirk than a smile. And she knew too well what monster lied behind that smirk.

"I am not heartless," she defended to him.

"I doubt that. If you had a had you would have feeling and you don't feel anything towards anyone," he said releasing a sympathetic sigh.

"I do have a heart and it feels. If I didn't have a heart then how could I fall in love with you," she screamed the words at him. When she was done realization dawned on her at what she had just said. She covered her mouth with her hand and stared at him with her eyes wide open.

"Was that a confession? Valeria are you in love with me?" he asked her increasing the size of his smirk. She knew that this was all planned and like a fool, she fell into his trap. He knew, that was all she could think of.

"No, th..that I didn't mean that," she said turning her back to him. Her heart was racing, she couldn't admit it as he would reject her and a much as loving him silently hurt her. It would hurt even more if he rejected her, she would be broken.

"Then why are you stuttering?" he asked her.

"It's not like that. You caught me off guard that is all," she said getting her emotions in control.

"Too bad it was just a by the way," he said with a sad expression on his face.

"Why?" she asked curiously as to why he rested like that.

"Because I have been meaning to propose to you. I wanted you to be my girlfriend but now.." he said getting up and walking away with his hand to his eyes like he was crying.

"Wait, it wasn't a joke I truly do love you. I love you with all my heart and soul and I would love to be your girlfriend," she confessed holding him back. He turned around smiling at her.

"You owe me a treat and a dog," he said. She frowns confused at what he was saying. "Don't you remember our deal? If I can get you to confess your love for me before the end of summer then the dog would be mine and you treat me to a meal. I won the challenge, you fool," he said walking with the dog away.

Valeria chased after him feeling bad, her mood was ruined because she lost both her dog and the love of her life to a bet.

"I love you too," he whispered to her.

"What?" she asked him not sure she heard him right. She had to make sure that he said what she thought he said.

"Didn't you hear me?" he asked and she nodded.

"Well I said," he began and leaned close to her. "That you are stupid," he said and left.

Valeria stopped in her tracks, she kept her hand to her heart and tuned all the sounds around her to hear his words correctly. "I love you too," she heard and joy blossomed inside her.

It was the most beautiful day of her life. To hear him say the words that she had always wanted to hear from him

******

She smiled as she took her last breath and closed her eyes to embrace death, she was happy that he was with her in memory as she took her last breath.