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Pain!! |
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Page 5!!!! |
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Cassie slept the rest of the night, but in the morning she felt very bad, her head was pounding and she was dizzy and nauseous. She knew that her time must be close now, maybe a few days. She tried to hide it from Ezra, she came downstairs to the lobby and joined him for breakfast, smiling at him and hoping the pain in her eyes didn't show any more than usual. She only had some tea and a piece of toast, which she did keep down, as the day went on, she did feel better, so she began to hope that she had more time than she thought. Since she had been feeling so poorly that morning, they did not go out to "Their" spot. Cassie spent most of the day laying down, while Ezra played poker. Sometime in the late afternoon, with a beautiful sunset out her window, Ezra came to her, he had a gift for her and he wanted her to have it now. He sat on the bed with her, looking out at the sunset, Ezra looked at the beauty that the colors of the sunset, put on her face. He tipped his head and kissed her, just a small gentle kiss, that still took her breath away, then he handed her the envelope that he had. |
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Cassie took the envelope, she looked puzzled. "What is this Ezra?" She asked. "Just open it and read it Darlin." He said, fighting back his own tears, he knew she would love it and he knew it would be a way for him to always remember her. She opened the envelope and took out the paper inside, she set the envelope down on the bed, then opened the paper with both hands. As she read it, her breath caught in her throat, she could not believe what she was reading. She began to cry, then looked at Ezra with such love in her eyes that it almost shocked Ezra, he wiped her tear, then wiped his own, "Ezra, I....I don't know what to say, you have given me the land, our secret spot, you bought it?" She said, then hugged him so hard, he thought she would squeeze him to death, "Yes Darlin, so it would be ours forever, do you like what I named the meadow?" He asked, she pulled away looking puzzled, "What name?" She asked. "Read the rest of it." He replied. She began reading again, tears filling her eyes again. "Oh Ezra, I love you so much, Cassie's Meadow, that is what you named it? I will love it and you forever." She cried. Ezra took her in his arms and held her, "I am so glad you like it darlin, I wanted something special for you." He said. She tilted her head up and kissed Ezra, gently taking his mouth with hers, kissing him deeply, starting to cry again. He brought his hand to her head, pulling her deeper into the kiss, still holding her with his other arm, she was lost in him again and never wanted to stop. They shared their tongues in a gentle, caressing dance, as she began to be consumed by his love and passion. He finally stopped and just held her for a moment, then he said. "You best get some sleep Darlin, I will come back later and check on you." "Thank you Ezra, this is the most wonderful thing anyone has ever done for me." She replied. Ezra stood, then bent and gave her another small, gentle kiss, then left her to sleep. |
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The next morning Ezra took Cassie out to "Cassie's Meadow" where they spent the entire day. Cassie wanted to see more of the area that Ezra had purchased, they had spent most of their time there in one spot, under the tree. As they walked around, Cassie found many amazing and beautiful plants and flowers. There were a lot of trees and the meadow itself was covered with the softest, greenest grass she had ever seen. The wildflowers bloomed everywhere, she could not believe this was all hers, there was even a stream that ran along the meadow, it was a small piece of heaven, right here on earth, she knew she would be happy if she died here, in the arms of the man she loves and to be buried here would be so wonderful. She felt herself beginning to cry again, but Ezra's arms around her made her feel so happy. She pushed the tears away, she was not going to cry again. As they stood in the middle of the meadow, she turned to Ezra and put her arms around his waist, then said, "I love it here Ezra, you have made me so happy, I love you with all my heart and soul." He smiled at her, this time the smile did reach his beautiful green eyes, which sparkled in the sunlight. He lowered his mouth to hers, taking in her sweetness, tasting her depths, he could not believe how much he loved this woman, he had never really loved anyone before, perhaps all the love that was inside him, that he had not given to anyone before, was flooding out now with her. He kissed her deeper at the thought, she consumed him as much as he consumed her, she had completely changed his life and he would never forget her for it. |
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As they continued to kiss, Cassie's pain was getting worse, she tried to ignore it, she kissed Ezra harder, letting him consume her mouth, in the hope that she could push the pain away, but it was getting harder and harder. She was beginning to have trouble seeing, everything seemed darker somehow, but she would not let on to Ezra, she did not want to worry him. She needed to be with him, she wanted it badly, so she let him know and he was happy to oblige, they spent the afternoon together in the meadow, then headed back to town that evening. |
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Another week passed, Cassie's vision was worse, but so far she had been able to hide it, because she could still see objects, but everything was darker, much darker. She and Ezra had spent every day of that week out in the meadow, they were happiest there and Cassie felt warm and peaceful there. She was beginning to have other symptoms as well, her fingers and toes were becoming numb and she had a fever almost all the time. She knew her time was very close, but she just wasn't sure how close. As she lay in bed, staring out at the night sky, she thought about Ezra and the pain he would be in, when she died, she hated the thought of it, but she knew he had friends that would be there for him. She missed him every minute that he's not with her, such as now. She had trouble sleeping now too, the pain was too great and her fear of closing her eyes and never opening them agian, kept her from sleeping. She felt so cold right now, she had a fever, there was a slight chilliness in the air, and she did not have Ezra's strong arms around her, to keep her warm. She began to cry softly as she tried to cope with the fact that she would be dead soon and all this would be gone. |
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The next morning, Cassie joined Ezra for breakfast, as always. The breakfast always started with a large helping of Ezra's kiss, he always gave her a long, deep, passionate kiss, before they ate. This morning however, Cassie kissed him longer and deeper, she was feeling certain that it would be one of the last kisses they shared, so she wanted more of it. "Are you all right Darlin?" Ezra asked with concern, her eyes seemed strange, like she was struggling to see and her touch seemed different, like she had to press harder to feel him. "Yes Ezra, why do you ask?" She replied. "I don't know, things just seem different with you this morning." He said, trying to look in her eyes, to see if he could tell anything, but as usual, she was hiding it. He pulled her to him, holding her in his arms, "I wish you wouldn't hide things from me, I know you think you are sparing me the pain, but I know something is wrong, so please tell me." He said, "Ezra I.........I don't want to burden you, but since you can already tell something is wrong, I will tell you. My vision is almost gone, everything is very dark and my fingers and toes are numb." She said. Ezra held her tighter, tears beginning to form in his eyes, he too knew that it was almost time. |
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A few hours later, Ezra went to Cassie's room to check on her, she was laying down, she felt really bad now. He came in the room, she turned her face toward him, she was very pale and she had a sheen of sweat over her skin. "Ezra, it's time, you have to take me out to the meadow, please?" She whispered. Ezra began to cry, he moved to her and placed a gentle kiss on her mouth, "All right Darlin, I will take you there." He said, then picked her up in his arms, holding her tight. He carried her down the stairs, out into the street, and over to the livery. He didn't bother to saddle his horse, he got her on it, then mounted it himself, cradling her in his arms, then began riding as fast as he could. The others all witnessed it, they knew what it meant, they all looked ready to cry. Mary and Inez had come out of the Clarion, they were both crying, they knew she was dying now. |
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Conclusion on page 6!!! |
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