Amongst her sea of long black hair

A tiny white gleam stares me down

With eyes of wild green, she stares with such intensity

For a few minutes, our hearts beat in sync

Then hers starts to growing smaller and smaller

The roof of the bus winks at us over the trees

We were near

“It’s okay, darling”

Her mouth trembles and the words fall from her wrinkled lips

“It’s okay”

I know what she is asking of me

But I won’t

Returning my attention back to the trail

Ignoring her requests

Our destination remains visible among the stunted trees

We’re almost there

Her pace diminishes quickly

Despite her telling me it’s okay

It does not feel so

I envelop her in my arms and push forward

Wild eyes blinking crystal clear tears

More white hairs pop out in surreal time

I tell her “It’s okay”

She fashions a peaceful, toothy grin

Her heartbeat falls out of sync with mine

And then it’s gone