Then she shuddered again as she took another breath. "Thank you both. This was amazing." She fell so silent that I didn't need to look to see that it was over. Myst was gone. I remained as still as possible, afraid she may tilt over and fall onto the sand. We stayed that way for a while, and for every moment that passed I allowed my tears to fall. The view of the ocean blurred into nothing and then Joshua was reaching for Myst, carefully laying her down on the sand with his jacket for a pillow. When he was done, he moved beside me, put his arm around my shoulders and pulled my close. He kissed me at my temple then held me tight. I didn't stop crying, not even when I lay my head on his shoulders. We sat that way for a while, with me taking a moment here and there to glance at Myst's beautiful face, trying to understand why I kept losing the people I cared about. I inhaled and it transformed into a shuddering sob. Joshua bent to look at me, then gave me another squeeze. "At least she went on her own terms.
