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"Sarah,Daniel and I are getting married next Friday.Daniel wanted me to invite you."
My fingertips whitened as I clutched the phone tight.
Daniel,so eager already?We had just divorced.
You can't wait to marry Emily.
What about me?
Couldn't you at least wait until I was gone?
I mocked coldly,"Daniel wouldn't want to see me.You're just showing off,using him as an excuse,aren't you?"
"What,Emily?Afraid I'll steal him back?Want me to see you get married to kill my hopes?"
"Or are you scared Daniel still cares for me?"
Silence on the other end.I continued,"Hah,he's all yours,Emily.I don't want to hear about you two anymore.I hope you two will be happy together."
"And leave me alone."
After hanging up,Dr.Mason approached with my files in hand.
Seeing my grim expression,he had a worried expression on his face.
He touched my forehead gently."Does it hurt?"
I shook my head.
"Will the surgery hurt?"I asked.
He reassured me,"Sarah,it's like falling asleep."
"With anesthesia,you will feel nothing."
"When you wake,I'll tell you how they'll use your donated body."
"Aren't you curious?"
I nodded with all my strength.
Looking at his warm,steady hands on my forehead,I said softly,"Dr.Mason,I wish I'd met you sooner."
But how many fifteen-year spans does life offer?
I hope when we meet again,if there is a next life,I'll be healthy,beautiful—not this pale,hairless shell.
I smiled at him.
His eyes reddened.
He turned away,saying,"After your surgery."
Before being wheeled into the operating room,Dr.Mason visited me again.
Unsure how to face him,I pretended to be sleeping.
My trembling lashes betrayed me.
With closed eyes,I didn't see his gentle gaze or the slight smile as he kissed my forehead.
When I opened my eyes again,I was dead.
A soul, I had become.
I saw myself on the operating table,wounds stitched,face deathly pale,lying still.
Floating above,I thought,I can finally leave in peace.
A doctor moved to cover me with a sheet.
Dr.Mason stopped him,tears streaming,he was nothing like the calm man I knew.
I watched,heartbroken,reaching to touch his forehead,but my hand went through his body.
I sighed helplessly,"Why would you like me?"
Pointing to my body,"Look at me—so ugly,don’t even have any hair."
But Dr.Mason couldn't hear.He clung to my body,refusing to let go,as if holding a treasure.
I'd never seen such devotion,not even from Daniel.
"Sarah,wake up."
"Didn't we say I'd tell you stories?"
Other doctors and nurses pulled him back."Elliot,you've never lost control like this before.What's wrong?Don't get too attached."
"She's just one of your patients. You need to adjust your emotions and recover from it."
