Dedicated to~ Onome_queen

Three months later...

Someone kept banging on my door nonstop.

"Argh," I said as I woke up from my afternoon nap and walked to be front door. I unlocked the door and pushed it open.

"Giovanni?" I asked in sheer surprise. What was he doing here?

"Destiny," he said in acknowledgement. He did not look like the old cool Giovanni, he looked tired with bags under his eyes and messy clothes that were wrinkled and looked like they hadn't been changed in weeks.

"How are you?" I decided to ask even after seeing his state. He was not well.

"Can I come in?" he asked with a tired sigh.

"Yeah?" I opened the door wider and allowed him to enter the house before shutting the door.

Yes, I was angry at him but he was still my friend and right now he looked like he needed me.

He stood a seat and put his head in his hands before looking up at me in anguish, was this about Nio?

"Destiny I'm not fine and I have not been for the last three months they have been a lot and emotionally draining. I don't know how I will ever recover from this."

My brain put one and two together; Nio hadn't come back here in about three months but I had assumed that he had returned home when he did not come back.

"Where's Nio?" I rushed out. Something was wrong with him. I could feel it in my heart.

"Destiny, Antonio is in the ICU," he said and I gauged his face for any signs of lies but found none and that's when it hit me. Nio was in the ICU.

"What happened?" tears started filling my eyes. As much as I tried to hide the pain I felt in hearing that I could not.

"He..." he sighed as a single tear rolled down his cheek. "He was diagnosed with prostate cancer three months ago and his condition has only worsened. Destiny the doctor said that he doesn't think that he will make it past this week," he sobbed into his hands as my world tore in half right in front of my eyes. It felt as though my heart was being torn out of my chest.

Suddenly, I found it hard to breathe and I started sweating.

"Des? Destiny, are you okay?"

As I tried shaking my head to reply my vision became blurry and black was all that I could see.

I jolted awake as drops of cold liquid were splattered on my face and I opened my eyes to see a worried yet relieved Giovanni looking down at me with a glass of water in hand.

"What happened?" I asked as I woke up from my lying position only to feel a migraine which made me question whether I had been hit by a train but judging by the fact that I was still alive, it meant that I had not been hit by a train but the question remained what had happened?

"Are you fine? You just passed out as soon as I told you about... Antonio," he said as he gave me a glass of water to drink.

And it all came back rushing like a wave which I didn't want to see hit the shore.

"Which hospital is he at?"

****

When Giovanni said that Nio's situation was a life and death situation I hadn't believed him but as I stood before him, I finally believed him.

The wires that helped him breathe were hooked to the machine used to monitor his heartbeat.

"Nio?" I asked, hoping that my voice would stir him awake but I only got a beep in response as it cut through the air.

Every shared moment came back to me, the good, the bad and the lovely. All came back to me. The words shared between lovers, the adoring looks he gave me when he thought I was not looking.

            **** | FLASHBACK | ****

"Amore, where do you see yourself in the next ten years?" Nio asked softly as if not to disturb the peace of the sleeping animals as we slept on a blanket gazing at the stars.

But it wasn't the beauty of the stars or the brightness of the moon that made the moment special, it was him, it was merely being in his presence that brought me immense joy.

I sighed in contentment, "I see myself married to the love of my life with at least one child, working as a doctor," I answered sincerely as I gazed at him, just admiring his side profile as he gazed at the night sky.

"Where do you see yourself?"

"I see myself with you, married to you and this feeling never-ending," he replied still gazing a the stars

"Which feeling?"

"I feel like I'm in Heaven, here on Earth, because I hold the key to the heart of the world's most beautiful woman. I feel like I've been knocked off my feet and now I'm floating on air."

He replied melting my heart a thousand times as his gaze fell on me as he turned to face me, his eyes confirming his million words of adoration. He looked at me like I was indeed his Heaven on Earth.

In a split second, his face was in front of mine and his eyes were on my lips as my heart threatened to jump out of my ribcage as it beat erratically.

A part of me wanted to do what he was suggesting us to do but I part of me was also sceptical, I wanted to save it for our wedding day. I wanted it to be special, and what would be more special than for my first kiss to be with my husband?

"Wait, Nio," he quickly paused not wanting to push me out of my comfort zone, one of the other reasons I loved his so much.

"Do you feel uncomfortable, If that's the case, I will stop and we can just continue taking and gazing at the stars," I didn't have to gauge how he felt, I could see he was angry, his eyes had become an open book.

"No, it's not that. I just want to save such a special moment for our wedding day," I said as I shyly peeked at him behind my eyelashes.

"My angel, then let's save it for our special day," his term of endearment felt me swooning as he placed a soft feather kiss on my cheeks before pulling me onto his chest.

As if sensing the moment and shooting star flew past and I quickly made a wish, "Lord, please let nothing ever separate us."

**** | End Of Flashback | ****

"Lord, did you hear my prayer?" I asked in frustration and pain.

"Lord, is it not Your word that says your arm is not too short to save nor your ear too heavy to hear? Then why have you ignored me so much? Why have forsaken me, you know my deepest fears and anxieties and you have brought them to me today, why?"

My throat clogged as tears started building up, "Lord, did I not honour you with my substance and all that I had? Then why are you punishing me so much?"

"Lord, you know that if Nio dies, I will die along with him, his death would destroy me so please Lord keep him for me, keep him for his family; for Avelina who still needs him and Giovanni who considers him as a brother. Lord, what use are the dead to you? Keep him so that he may serve you, bring you honour, keep him Lord and let him declare your goodness."

And that was my prayer for the next few weeks but there was no improvement in his condition and I was losing all hope, doctors had only given him a few days left.

"The Lord is my Shepard, I shall not want. He makes me lie down on green pastures and leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in the path of righteousness for His name's sake. Even though I walk on the valley for the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me. Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me,"

I gently caressed his pale cheek, he looked so unlively, in the last couple of weeks he had lost a significant amount of weight and his hair kept shedding because of the therapy.

"Good morning ma'am," the doctor whom I had come to learn was Dr Hlongwane, a middle-aged man and the doctor who had diagnosed Nio came in with a nurse in tow as he checked his vitals.

"Good morning," I responded with the smallest smile I could muster.

"There doesn't seem to be any improvement but it seems like each day he is deteriorating at a fast rate, ma'am, any moment from now is very crucial for him, he can either barely make it which would be a miracle or..." he sighed as he spoke to the nurse.

"Doctor, can't you help him? Please help him," I asked as pain and fear filled my entire body with dread.

"I'm sorry ma'am but this is beyond my scale of work, we have tried everything but his cancer continues to spread at a rapid rate, and increasing the therapy would put him in more danger. Please just pray he makes it, God still performs miracles, I have seen it with my own eyes. Just leave it all in His hands," he said as he patted my shoulder, walking out of the room.

Lord, I place it all at your feet. My own might and strength have failed me but what I know is that I don't serve a God of the practicals, I serve a God of miracles. He healed the blind, He helped the lame, He raised the dead. I'm going to take a step back and let You unlock the impossible. Our God the Father which art in Heaven is still Jehovah Rapha- the Lord that heals all disease, His son Jesus Christ is still the Great Physician, He is the conquerer of death, hell and the grave. This is the Word of the Living God, it is a two-edged sword, this is the bread of life, this is living waters, it is a divine proclamation that can move mountains and conquer diseases.

His monitor started beeping erratically as a flat line took over a steady rhythm that was once there.

I quickly ran and called the doctor and they came with a large staff of people.

In no time, I was outside, waiting for the verdict.

"Ma'am, there is something we need to tell you," the doctor said as he came out of the room after a daunting time inside.