• Lauren carefully stood up on the ledge knowing inexplicitly that one wrong move would see her falling down the side of the sixty-seven storied bulding she stood upon. Reaching instinctly towards a support of some kind to steady her swaying body she found no rail, no saviour, no hope. As she started taking deep breaths to clam her racing heart and ragged breathing, she could smell the scent of the Jasmine flowers that grew on the roof of the building. They reminder her of him.
    The adrenaline shooting through her blood stream brought tears to laurens eyes and the feeling caused her to sigh in relief. She had been numb for so long. But she didnt want to cry so Lauren clenched her eyes shut, willing her tears away.
    Slowly a shape formed in her minds eyes, mercifully blocking out the rest of the world. As the shape became a recognisable face, she drew in a sharp painful intake of breath. It was his face.The face of her life, the face of her world... soon to be the face of her past.
    The face opened his eyes and stared into her soul. The look that he gave was one Lauren knew well and loved. It caused a rush of bittersweet memories to flodd her mind. Lauren clenched her eyes tight as the onslaught hit her with painful force....

    ********************************

    Lauren burst through the double doors leading to the roof of her mini paradise. That day she was seeking refuge from the stinging pains of reality. With tears threatening to spill out, Lauren was unaware of everything bar the sweetness of the Jasmine flowers. They helped to calm her.
    As she turned to the setting sun she saw a stranger in her periphical vision. Before she could flee, the man spoke, and she was suspended in the mystery of his voice.
    "Hello" was all he said. But it was enough for Lauren to know that this was the pivical point in her life. He would hold her crumbling world together.
    Lauren didnt know how much time passed, but at the lack of silence the man who would be her future made a move to go.
    "Wait!..." cried Lauren, surprising both the man and herself. Wanting to fill the empty void, she tried explaining something she wasnt too sure of herself.
    "Please.... stay", she whisphered, "Its just that i feel scared and unsure.. and i dont know what to do."
    As Lauren looked into his eyes, she noticed something remarkable. They were a unique shade of green, fletched with gold. As his eyes held onto hers, she lost herself in the sea of green. Her surroundings dissapeared and she forgot about everything. Time, space... her grief.
    He cleared his throat and she floated back into reality, everything she forgot came back into her mind with perfect clarity. Close to tears, she simply said, "I think i just need someone to hold me". He strode forward with purpose and caught her as she swayed. For a long moment he held her and for the first time in a while she felt safe.
    They were inseprable after that.

    ********************************

    Lauren opened her ees to the setting sun and another wave of guilt washed over her. "David", she lamented. "David". The next memory to flood her mind was of the day that sealed her fate.

    ********************************

    The sun had barely risen when David left her apartment.
    "Love you..", he said with intensity and yet again shivers ran down her back.
    "See you when you get back", was all Lauren managed to say. Once more her inability to express her feelings got in the way of her desire to tell David just how much she loved him and needed him. But there was always that part of her that was too scared of getting hurt again.
    The call came later that day just after she finished up a work project. She smiled thinking it was him calling to ask her what he should get for dinner on the way home. But she could only wish it was so.
    David was at the hospital, in a fatal coma. Luaren barely heard the nurse tell her it was an accident at work that caused it. David was on life-support. The first thing that came into her head was a stupid thought, but it was all she could manage at this point of denial, she wondered who was going to get dinner tonight.

    ********************************

    Lauren snapped back into the present in physical pain. It took her some time before she realised she was sobbing out loud. As she let the greif and guilt drown her she shook uncontrollably. She could barely feel her body at all, the adrenaline that had allowed her to feel fractionally only a moment ago had left her, taking the hope of David waking up with it. She let go.
    But she had no desire to jump, she never did. David needed her still to turn off his life-support. That is how he would have wanted it. So lauren turned around on the ledge, eager to get away from the flowers that reminded her of him.
    Then everything suddenly changed. Time slowed, gravity shifted, or was it her? Lauren's world tilted backward, her arms flailing, now in desperate need of a rail or support, her leg lifting in a feelbe attempt to regain balance. She was falling. As she turned her head around to look down to the end of her life, she thought of David. She thought of the way he walked, his smile, the way his hands felt. She thought of his eyes. God, i'll miss his eyes, Lauren thought to herself. Then it struck her that she never told him. She never said it. I love you. She loved him so much and she never told him. Never told him what he meant to her. He was her world, her future, her lifes sole purpose and existance. But it's too late now. She'd never get the chance.
    Unexpectedly, before she knew what was happening, strong, firm hands grabbed her waist. They Pulled her back and righted her tilted perception. She fell ungracefully into arms that felt painfully too familiar and good. That was quick, isn't death meant to hurt.. a lot?, Lauren thought sluggishly.
    "Lauren! Lauren, are you alright??" demanded the voice that had already stolen her heart the day she first heard it.
    "David?", marvelled lauren, feeling a little dizy and shaken.
    "Yes Lauren, it's me. I'm here. I'll always be here", he promised.
    Lauren felt a strong urge to tell him something.
    "David... David, i love you".
    "I love you too".
    "How did you know that i'd be here?"
    "The jasmine flowers, Lauren"