"Mary! Open your eyes! Do not end the story this way!" shouted James. Mary's eyes were closed, blood all over her hands and in her mouth, slowly growing unconscious. James quickly assessed the situation in his head. There were a couple of plausible scenarios he could trigger at this moment, but he couldn't exactly tell which one would help him achieve his goal in the most efficient way.

"J-J-James." Mary barely managed while slipping away from reality. James didn't expect this in the ending. He was blindsided by flags he wasn't triggering. He decided to go with his gut on this.

"Mary, I'm going to call the ambulance. Tell me where the closest phone is." James said quickly. Mary opened her right eye slightly and then spoke softly, weak from her present condition.

"Near the...en-trans..." she said. He nodded quickly and got up.

"I will save your life!" he shouted, like he was the father of a newborn baby. James was panicking even though everything was going in a more or less positive direction. He ran in a circle around Mary, then began to the stairs.

"W-wait...J-James..." Mary said, holding out an arm. James quickly reacted to her voice and dashed back to her. Mary's face was quickly growing pale, sweat building up on her face. James then responded.

"Mary! What is it!? Stay with me!" he shouted. Mary, exhausted, then ushered her most important phrase of her life.

"Take...me...with you..." she said. Then her face fell over to the side, losing more life by the second.

"Yes, I will Mary! Even if it's the last thing we ever do together!" James shouted. He picked her up,vthen quickly dashed down to the first floor. He then ran quickly to the front entrance, weaving his way through the maze of bookshelves with incredible speed. He arrived at the front entrance, placing Mary back on the ground as he quickly dialed 9-1-1.

"9-1-1, what's your emergency?" the voice asked.

"Hello? My friend Mary has coughed up blood and is losing consciousness and is growing pale. Please! Send an ambulance! The library of James Garfield High School!" shouted James.

"Alright, just sit tight. A team has been dispatched now. Just calm down and keep your friend awake." the operator said. James dropped the phone and rushed over to Mary, who was being killed slowly by the second.

"Mary, hang in there!" James shouted. Mary opened her right eye slowly and slightly, giving a sign that she was still alive.

"J-James...I...I—" she began. James then held her head in his arms as she began to slowly slip away.

"Mary! Don't leave! I LOVE YOU!" James shouted, at the top of his lungs.vhe then began crying into Mary's chest. Mary then spoke quickly.

"I...know...that...now...James..." she said. James then kept crying as sirens were heard in the distance. After no more than a minute, an ambulance was taking away Mary for treatment. James stood as he watched the true love of his life be whisked away to save her life. He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked slowly back to the center of the library.

The thing set up by James was still standing in the center of the library. He looked back at the books on the ground, all set up like dominoes, and kicked the one to start the chain reaction. Each book fell precisely as planned, and, after a minute and a half, all the books had fallen down like a tree during beaver lodge building season. He sighed as he made his way back up to he second floor to see the full picture displayed by the falling books.

It was a giant image of an open book. He knew hat Mary would've loved it. He also knew hat the particular rail he was leaning on was set up to 'accidentally' collapse under the weight of two people into the large pile of books below. But, all of that didn't happen. He didn't take into account the slightest deal and paid the ultimate price. A broken heart.

That, was three years ago. The whole story seemed a bit unrealistic, but James only knew one thing: it was the truth.

James had slightly moved on from the events. He was an accomplished author, writing a bestseller on his second try. He lived humbly in an apartment, thinking of his next bestseller.

He was sitting on his couch in the largest room in the apartment he owned, sipping green tea while writing possible plots and titles. The window on his left was open, with a gentle breeze coming through. It wasn't the sunniest day of the year, but it wasn't enough to be deemed 'cloudy' in James' opinion.

James sat as he thought about the past and his decisions he has made. He knew hat memories wouldn't cooperate with him. He knew that memories were fickle. They're not there when you need them, and they're there when you wish they weren't.

He picked up his pen and began to write.

There's something poetic about the way things fall into place, even if it's a mess. Like a abstract painting: Beautiful chaos.

James set his pen down and looked to his left. On the end table sat a picture of Mary he had taken before she died. A rose was in a vase next to it.

And a gold locket sat, embracing the photo, still empty.