´óÏó´«Ã½

Before I met Sunset nothing mattered in my life. There was nothing worth living for. I went through life like a zombie, getting on with the daily tasks that lay ahead without realising what was happening in the world around me. But the day I laid eyes on her wild hair and beautiful soft face it all changed, she opened my eyes. She changed me; it was like I was a new person. The first time I saw her she was sitting on the fence of the school field all alone, the wind playing havoc with her hair. I watched her for a while knowing I loved her at once. She glanced up from her thoughts and our eyes met, she smiled and I got an instant pang of happiness running through my body. Then she came over and started to talk to me and that was it, we clicked and we never looked back. Those few months I will treasure for eternity. Our conversations where amazing. We where on the same wavelength, sometimes I knew exactly what she would say before she said it. I think she knew me better than I knew myself. No one else understood, they couldn't see I was in love. My mum said I should buckle down to my studies but I couldn't. She thought I was naive and stupid she never thought I could be in love at such a tender age, but I was. I know I was and I know I will never feel that way I felt for my Sunset.

I remember the summer, strolling along the beach hand in hand and the winter sauntering through the snow scattered park huddling together to keep warm. We were in our own little world, our own little trance and no one could break us apart. It didn't matter if others where dieing in other parts of the world because we where in a different world.

And then it got serious, she became pregnant and our mothers and fathers took action. They fought for her to get an abortion but we couldn't do it. We loved one another and we loved our unborn child. Killing a baby was worse than killing it alive in cold blood, at least then it could perhaps defend itself, here it was little and defenceless. Besides I quite fancied a new beautiful little version of Sunset. So we left, it broke her heart to abandon her family that she loved so much but I suppose she loved me and our unborn child more. I certainly loved her more than anyone at home; it was a relief to get away from all the fighting and shouting.

The day we left the sky was a wash of grey overloaded with clouds, I was sure the heavens would open any time but they never did. We went on bus after bus, train after train until we arrived at the crummy little bed-sit that I now call home. Sunset made it look amazing, I don't know how, but she was like that, she could make any situation beautiful. The nine months flew past and although we had no money, knew nobody or had nothing to do we had each other and it was magical.

The night her waters broke was surreal; I flagged down a taxi and paid the remainder of my savings to take us to the hospital. She was in great pain and sat in the taxi, leather seat sticking to her tired body and sweat pouring from her brow. The journey seemed to last forever I was more scared than she was, she was so calm. I couldn't believe I was becoming a daddy at sixteen. When we arrived we staggered into the hospital and went straight to maternity. The hospital was a blur of white and disinfectant but she never complained once. They took us into a private room and she lay on the bed, the pains getting worse and closer together and her face getting whiter.

Then a buzzer was pressed and it started to get out of control. Doctors and nurses poured in one by one, each dressed in ridiculous uniforms. Then I was asked to leave. Leave my Sunset and my baby. I tried to put up a fight but there was no point I was too tired. Defeated I left her bedside. I sat in the corridor for what seemed like a lifetime until a doctor came out clutching a baby, our baby. I looked at her red raw face and her bright blue eyes looking right back at me. The realisation that she was mine blew me away but it was short lived. I looked up at the doctors pale face and I could see it in his eyes.
'Where is my Sunset?' I yelped
He looked back at me sympathetically and whispered 'I am sorry.'
I fell to the floor. It wasn't fair she was gone and murders and rapist still got to roam the earth. He opened the door to her room and I saw her eyes fixed on the ceiling and her face beautiful as ever. A nurse closed her eyes and announced 'Time of death two am.'
I felt like telling her to get away from my Sunset but I couldn't find the words. They left us alone and I sat there holding her cold and colourless hand for an age. Then I kissed her cheek one last time and left. I went to see our baby in the little nursery I called her Sunrise and watched her sleep the way I had watched her mother sleep.

I can still see Sunset's face smiling back at me when I close my eyes. I see her face in Sunrise too. Even now life is hard after Sunset but I have the special gift I could have ever have imagined. A little piece of happiness and a little piece of my darling Sunset that I will treasure for eternity.