Night hung heavy, though no stars lit the sky.
A gentle breeze stirred softly, caressing the fallen leaves as they drifted down, each one succumbing to the quiet pull of time, as if fate itself were slowly stripping away what was most precious.
In the stillness, the faint beeping of a heart monitor echoed through the room.
The dim hospital light cast soft shadows upon the stark white walls, deepening the hush of the moment.
Zeice sat level with the bed, his gaze fixed upon Daniella, who lay pale and fragile, her eyes half-closed in restless slumber.
Her complexion, ashen and wan, stood in stark contrast to the soft brown strands of her hair, which spilled loosely over the pillow in delicate disarray.
"Daniella…" Zeice's voice was soft, barely more than a whisper.
Her eyelids trembled before slowly fluttering open.
Her gaze was vacant, yet her smile remained, a faint curve of her lips, hiding a thousand unspoken wounds.
"Zeice…" she murmured his name, her voice scarcely audible.
He took her hand in his, feeling the coldness of her skin seep into his palm.
"Why did you never tell me?" His voice trembled, laced with anger, not at Daniella, but at himself, at the merciless passing of time.
Daniella drew a slow breath, as though each inhale was a battle fought in silence.
Her eyes drifted to the window, where the moon hung solitary in the night sky.
"Because I wanted you to keep smiling," she said quietly.
"I didn't want you to look at me with pity, Zeice. I wanted you to remember me as someone strong, not as someone waiting for death."
A sting burned at the corners of Zeice's eyes, his chest tightening with unspoken sorrow.
"But you're not alone, Daniella…" he said, his voice thick with emotion. "I'm here with you."
Daniella gazed at him for a long time, as if trying to memorise every line of his face, every glimmer in his eyes, every tiny detail she might never see again.
There is a love left unspoken, like the rain falling in the dead of night, unseen, yet deeply felt.
There is a wound unrecognised, like the wind that brings a chill without a sound.
She tightened her grip on his hand, as though trying to convey something words could never express.
"I've loved you for two years, Zeice… Silently, without hoping for anything in return."
"I only wanted to see you happy, even if it meant hiding in the shadow of your life."
Zeice lowered his head, his chest aching with an invisible weight.
"Why does it have to be like this?" His voice barely broke the silence.
Daniella smiled, a smile that, this time, felt like a farewell.
"Because not all love is meant to be possessed," she whispered.
"Sometimes, loving in silence is the only way to survive."
Zeice shook his head, his heart breaking with every word, "No, Daniella… You should have told me. I should have…"
Daniella closed her eyes for a moment, as if gathering the last fragments of her strength.
"Zeice… If I go… don't cry for me."
He clutched her hand tighter, his voice trembling, "Don't say things like that… You'll be fine."
Daniella drew a deep breath, each inhale heavier than the last, "If I fall asleep… and never wake again… remember me as someone who once loved you more than her own life."
The first tear slipped down Zeice's face.
"Don't leave, Daniella…"
Daniella smiled, a smile so faint it was almost invisible, "I am but a sunset, loving the sun from afar.
"I come in shades of gold, and I know... I cannot stay forever."
The sound of the heart monitor grew softer, its rhythm slowing, weaker with every beat.
Her breaths became shallow, each rise and fall of her chest a struggle.
Panic surged through Zeice, "Daniella! Hold on!"
Daniella opened her eyes once more, gazing at him for the last time.
There was a peace in her eyes, as if she had long accepted her fate.
"Zeice…"
"I'm here!" Zeice leaned closer, his voice trembling.
Daniella smiled again, her lips moving silently.
"I love you…"
And then…
Everything stopped.
The heart monitor let out a long, piercing sound, sharp and unbearable.
Zeice froze. His world seemed to stop turning.
"Daniella…!!" he called, shaking her body in panic.
No answer…
No breath…
No hopeful gaze…
Only silence lingered in the air, heavy, unspeakable sorrow.
Zeice stared at Daniella's peaceful face, as though she were merely asleep.
"Daniella…"
"She…"
"She will never wake again…"
Tears fell endlessly, soaking his fingers still entwined with hers.
Daniella was a sunset, beautiful, but sunsets can never stay.
She came, and then she left, leaving the sky in silent darkness.
Zeice gazed at her still form, a profound silence filling the room.
The faint smile she had worn was gone, leaving only a quiet stillness that seemed eternal.
His heart screamed, but only silence echoed back.
No breath stirred the air, no sound, no movement.
There was only…
Silence…
Endless…
Like a starless night…
Zeice tightened his grip on Daniella's hand, cold now, colder than any pain he had ever known.
Daniella, the sunset that came and went, carrying sorrow, left behind a world full of hope, yet shadowed by unseen wounds.
"Why did it have to be this way, Daniella?" Zeice's voice trembled, barely audible in the darkened room.
"Why did you have to leave without giving me the chance to return all the love you gave?"
Though she was gone, to Zeice, she would always be the girl with a heart full of kindness.
Her once-bright face now lay still in peace, as if she were simply sleeping, never to wake again.
To Zeice, her slumber was the cruelest silence of fate.
"You... you always hid everything, even your pain."
"You always concealed your feelings, so I wouldn't see you hurt," he continued, whispering between breaths that grew heavier with each word.
Zeice held Daniella's hand tightly, touching her as if there was still hope, hope buried beneath the weight of a cruel and unforgiving time.
He felt the warmth that once lingered fade away, replaced by a chilling emptiness.
But Daniella's body gave no response. She was… silent.
"I can't change what has already happened. I can't..."
"But… I can protect you from everything that could destroy your happiness..."
Zeice lowered his head, his heart consumed by an unbearable sorrow.
"I should have seen it, all the pain you hid behind your smile. I was too late to realise it."
He fell quiet, his gaze fixed on Daniella's face, a face that now belonged only to memories.
That face, the one that always filled his thoughts during every lonely moment.
"You… were the sunset I always admired," he said hoarsely.
"But sunsets don't last forever. You've gone, leaving the sky in dark, empty silence."
"Without light, without warmth, fading away without return."
Zeice wiped the tears that continued to fall, unstoppable, as if nothing could hold them back.
Losing Daniella was more than just losing someone, it was losing a part of himself.
"Farewell, my sunset… I will always remember you, even if only as a shadow that haunts my nights."
"I will always remember yo, as the sunset that came and went, leaving behind a loneliness that nothing can heal."
"Perhaps… in another life, we could be together. But for now, you were destined to leave."
"And I will carry your memory with me, forever, remembering you as the sunset who once filled my life with love, with beauty, and with truth."
"Farewell… my sunset…"
In the silence that followed, the universe felt empty, as if it had always meant to hold only the two of them.
But fate had chosen otherwise. Daniella was gone, never to return.
Zeice knew he had to keep going to endure, carrying the memory of the sunset that faded away.
The sunset called… Daniella.