Chapter 13
THIRTEEN
One Year Later
“You know, you two set the bar pretty high,” Renn teased, holding his grandmother’s hand as she lay in bed.
She had been hooked up to oxygen for several days now and hadn’t moved from that spot since.
Somehow, she found the strength to squeeze his hand.
He was amazed by her resilience, when he could barely keep his eyes open.
Renn had been back on Earth for a couple days, running to his gran’s side the moment he touched down, and hadn’t slept much since.
“I don’t know about that. I’m just too stubborn to let your grandfather go anywhere without me.”
Renn chuckled. Charlie passed a few months earlier—peacefully, one night in bed. He wasn’t able to get back in time for the funeral, but on the way to Earth, Camille had taken a dramatic turn for the worse.
“Maybe so, but that’s pretty romantic. So much for ‘til death do us part’.” There was no use beating around the subject. Camille was dying. That morning, the nurse had told him it could be at any time. Her care team was keeping her comfortable.
“You will find a worthy love . . . someday.” Her words came out in shallow breaths, like it was hard to do so.
“Gran, you don’t have to talk. Just rest.” But she either ignored him or didn’t hear him.
“Find someone who can see all of you, Renn. The past, for what made you, and a future that they can see only with you.”
“That’s a lot to ask of a person,” Renn whispered, watching his Gran’s eyes shine with tears.
“If she’s the right one, you won’t need to ask her anything—she’ll want to.”
Renn took a deep breath, holding the tears at bay for a moment longer.
“What was it your father would tell your mother?”
He was shocked to hear her mention his father of all people, but then realized what she meant. He felt the necklace against his skin, reaching under his collar to show her.
“As fierce as the sun, soft as the moonlight, and endless as the stars.”
“That’s right,” she hummed, closing her eyes. They sat in the calm silence for a beat before Renn spoke.
“Do you think she’ll be there?” He didn't know what he really pictured by “there,” but maybe it was heaven of some sort—he prayed it was, in some sense.
“Yes. I can already feel her near,” Camille said boldly.
Renn felt a chill through his body. Maybe she was merely speaking nonsense—not in her right mind.
Or maybe she was telling the truth, seeing things that he could not as she was so close to passing over to another plane of existence.
He chose to believe the latter. He had to hold on to the hope that life was worth more than this small span of time.
“When you see her, tell her . . .” Renn started, but he couldn't finish the sentence. He bowed his head and quietly cried . . . and he didn’t stop. Camille stroked his hair for a long time and he knew he would never forget the love and kindness of his grandmother’s words and touch.
Later that day, Camille spoke her last words.
“I love you, Renn.”
And then, she was gone.