Sitting here, beside the most amazing person in the world watching the sun rise every morning whether we could see it or not is always the best thing of any morning. We always wake up around 5 or so to watch the sunrise. It was around 7 by now and summer with the sunrise just ending and us cherishing our last moments with it.
Our morning together soon comes to an end and we start going about our day, making breakfast, which was bacon and scrambled eggs that Sunrise -my roommates nickname- always makes perfectly. Sunrise is the nickname I came up with after my first night here. Of course, having coffee is an added bonus. After eating we slowly get our sweaters on and make our way out the door to the car.
Driving to work is always fun, singing to the most annoying songs possible and all but losing our voices while we're at it. At other times we talk about all the drama that happens and I happen to find funny memes to share. Soon enough Sunrise drops me off at my work, which is just an office and Sunrise heads off down the street. Work is normal, keeping track of all the books and doing the payroll that had to be done today. I had always had fun with math and decided to be an accountant. Of course I took the courses required to and when I got my job out here, I took up living along the lake in a cabin with a roommate who needed some help paying rent. That's how I met Sunrise. The person who has become the love of my life.
It's funny thinking about how I never used to be a morning person until I met Sunrise. The first night, Sunrise woke me up in the morning with a small kind smile and softly asked me if I wanted to come watch the sunrise. In my sleep infested brain, I foggily replied, sure, not wanting to be an ungrateful guest. As I got out of bed and grabbed a blanket and pillow Sunrise guided me out the wooden door and onto the balcony. I stood there for a moment trying to adjust my eyes while Sunrise went back inside and grabbed a couple of chairs for us. Sunrise set them up and then stood up, gesturing for me to come over and sit down. I moved my pile of blankets, pillows, and me over to the chair and sat down, shifting things around to get comfortable. Sunrise sat down with me and we waited as the sun slowly brought a light blue hue to the sky. Ever so slowly that light blue turned into gold, orange, yellow, pink and it was the most beautiful sunrise I had ever seen and will ever see, probably. That first morning with Sunrise was the most perfect one I've ever had. And as the sun slowly came up over the horizon Sunrise slowly turned and looked over at me and smiled. The sun hit Sunrise's face just right as it lit up like the sun itself. It all ended up going straight to my heart and I fell in love with Sunrise in that moment.
I love thinking about that moment, the moment that turned my life into this wondrous adventure that we now share. Zoning out a bit longer, I realize I still have work to get done so I put my head down and get to work so that when Sunrise comes to pick me up we can go home together and make supper while sharing the stories of our day.
Work is finally done and I patiently wait for my love to pick me up so we can head home and make supper. I'm a bit impatient as I'm starving but Sunrise was also running a bit late so I think I'm allowed. Suddenly, I'm called inside by my boss, I walk back inside and wander over to his office, wondering what he could need me for.
"Have you seen the news?" he asks, looking up from his phone.
"No, why?" I reply, my brain starting to wonder if this has anything to do with work.
He hands over the phone and the first words I read are "CAR CRASH."
"No. no no no no nononono. It can't be. Please no." I start to mumble as I continue on reading as it describes how my one and only was hit at the intersection by our cabin. How Sunrise was being transferred to a hospital because they and the other driver were both in critical condition and going into surgery. I fall to my knees at this news. "No..." I say as my voice cracks. "Please, no." as tears begin to fall down my face, my hand catches on my mouth and my brain begins to catch up with what I just read. My breathing starts to quicken. I can't see anything in front of me. NO. That's all I can think when suddenly a hand touches my shoulder and I hear a voice.
"Hey, hey, can you see me? Calm down alright? We're gonna get you there right away okay? You're gonna see them soon. I'll drive you there. Can you try and breathe with me? In 1 2 3 4 hold 1 2 3 4 5 6 and out 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8."
I shakily let out my breath and he starts again.
"In 1 2 3 4 hold 1 2 3 4 5 6 and out 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8. There you go, you're doing good" he says softly in front of me, hand still on my shoulder.
My heart and breathing begin to slow down and my brain begins to accept the reality in front of me.
"Y-You're going to drive me?" I ask, my voice catching in my throat.
"I will, you need a minute to sort yourself out though. Okay?" the man, who I now recognize as my boss, tells me.
"Tha-Thank yo-you." My voice still catching in my throat a bit.
"I'm going to drive you to the hospital for now, okay?"
"Yeah." I say, my voice finally becoming a bit steadier.
He stands up and pulls me up with him. We walk out to his car and get in, silence surrounding us. He puts the key in the ignition and starts driving down the highway towards the hospital. A while later, he drove me home as Sunrise hadn't gotten out of surgery yet. He knew where to go as he had driven me home a few times before when I stayed late to work.
We pull into the driveway and he stops next to the cabin. He looks over to me and asks, "I'm gonna come over tomorrow morning around 9 so we can get back there early alright?"
"Okay" I softly replied back.
I get out of the car and walk inside, feeling empty and devoid. There's no brightness to the house and I somehow end up sitting on the couch out on the porch. We had bought it a few weeks after I had moved in. Sitting on it made me feel close to Sunrise. Slowly the light faded away into darkness and I was still sitting on the couch. I came back to myself then and looked out over the water to see the moon, rising above the trees and reflecting off the water and creating the perfect quiet scene as everything was sleeping. It helped me believe that there may be hope just yet.