Rain fell softly against the hospital window.
The hallway was quiet. Only the faint sound of machines and distant footsteps filled the air. He stood outside her room, hands in his pockets, staring at the floor like he had done so many times before—waiting.
He had waited since high school.
Back then she laughed easily, her hair moving in the wind as she walked across the school courtyard. He remembered the first time he confessed. His hands were shaking, his voice barely steady.
She smiled kindly.
But she said no.
He tried again in college.
And again after graduation.
Every time, the same gentle smile.
Every time, the same answer.
No.
Not cruel.
Not harsh.
Just… no.
Yet he never stopped loving her.
---
The doctor finally stepped out of the room and quietly shook his head.
"She doesn't have much time."
The man nodded, though it felt like his chest had turned hollow. The doctor walked away, leaving him alone with the buzzing fluorescent lights.
He slowly pushed the door open.
Inside, she looked smaller than he remembered. Pale. Weak. The machines beside her hummed softly like tired breaths.
Her eyes turned toward him.
"…You came," she whispered.
He pulled a chair closer to the bed and sat down. For a moment, neither of them spoke. The silence between them felt like all the years they had lived.
"I heard you were here," he said quietly.
She smiled faintly.
"You always show up."
He looked down at his hands.
"I guess… I never learned how to leave."
Another silence passed. Outside, thunder rolled far away.
He took a deep breath. His voice was calm, but something fragile hid beneath it.
"There's something I wanted to ask you."
She looked at him curiously.
"For all these years… I kept asking you the same question."
His fingers tightened together.
"Maybe this time… you could answer me honestly."
Her breathing grew slower, but she nodded.
He raised his eyes to meet hers.
"Did you ever… like me?" he asked softly.
"Not as a friend."
The room seemed to stop breathing.
For a moment she said nothing. Then her tired eyes softened, and a faint smile appeared.
"Yes."
Just one word.
"Yes."
Tears filled her eyes as she spoke again.
"I did."
He blinked, surprised, almost confused.
"…Then why?" he whispered.
Her voice was barely there.
"Because I knew… you would love me forever."
A weak laugh escaped her lips.
"And I didn't want someone to spend their whole life… waiting for me."
The machines beside her beeped slowly.
"But you still did."
He didn't answer.
He simply stood up, gently brushing a strand of hair away from her face like he had imagined doing a thousand times before.
"Thank you," he said.
She closed her eyes, smiling faintly.
He walked out of the room.
---
Night had fully fallen.
The hospital rooftop was cold and empty. Wind moved quietly across the city lights below.
He stepped closer to the edge.
For the first time in years, his heart felt strangely light.
All those years of wondering.
All those years of waiting.
Now he had his answer.
He looked up at the dark sky.
"…So you did love me," he murmured.
The wind carried his voice away.
For a moment he simply stood there, alone above the sleeping city.
Then he closed his eyes, stepped forward—
—and disappeared into the silence below.