“We now commit her body to the ground;
Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust:
In the sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life…” 

Sniffles could be heard from friends and family as the minister gave the committal prayer; a last ‘goodbye’ to Emma.

It was a quiet yet emotional service with close friends, family and relatives. On the brighter side, the weather was rather good and sunny in Seattle that day.

As the committal prayer ended, friends and family started to gather to toss roses on top of the casket; Jay was the first.

He walked up, looking at the casket before him; he took in a deep breath.

This was it he thought. He felt his heart cringe at the thought of it as his grip on the rose tightened.

“Goodbye, my love. I love you” he whispered as he tossed the rose down.

Slowly, one by one, they all gave their last blessings and respects as they tossed their rose on top of the casket. Some were emotional, hysterical even and some were quiet and calm but each and everyone present at the service loved Emma very much so and did not want to bid her goodbye even though they had to. All of them stood there as they watched the soil cover up the casket, slowly disappearing in sight.

Her family was weeping and his were as well. It was amazing how both families have bonded and how his very own loved her very much as a daughter of their own. That was how she was; this sweet and lovable girl who always put others before her; never fail to put on a smile even at the worst of times.

It was hard to not love her.

Throughout the whole service, Jay was the most calm. Friends and family had expected him to cry and take it the hardest, but he didn’t; not a single tear. Though it did seem that a part of him had died along with her, he was rather calm; he didn’t need to cry for others to know how broken he was about her lost. Everyone knew how much he loved her and that she was his life, literally.

He promised her not to cry and for the person she was, he wanted to celebrate her life instead of being all weepy and depressed.

 And he definitely had to stay strong, for their family, for him and for her.

Cause he knew that was what she would have wanted and it was the least he could do right now.

The service ended shortly after and everybody started to make their way. He thanked the people for coming and his boys took turns to show their condolences and gave Jay hugs, either to wish him better or to encourage him to stay strong as they left.

As soon as everybody was gone, he let out a sigh of relief that he did not know or realize he was holding. Facing family, friends and relatives; staying strong before them was harder than he thought. And he was glad that he finally could have some alone time with Emma after all the morning drama.

He sat before her grave, looking at it as if it was her.

This is it, kiddo. It's me against the world now. Lucky you, you get to just watch, he chuckled trying to add some dry humor to the rather serious morning.

Looking down at the ring on his finger, he raised it to his lips and looked back at her grave.

Don't worry, this isn't goodbye. I'll see you on the flipside, you just wait.

“She was a very, very strong young woman” a sudden voice said from behind.

“She definitely was. She’s the one who got me through all this. I’ve come this far, for her.” Jay replied without turning around.

“She has that effect on everybody doesn't she? She's come a long way through this and even though we couldn’t do much…”

“We're proud of her, I'm proud of her.” He finished her sentence, finally turning around facing her. It was Emma’s family doctor; she was like a mother to her, someone who was very close and dear to her since young; as a mentor, as a friend and more than anything, family.

“Sorry I couldn't make it for the service on time.” she said apologetically.

“Please. Don't say that Dr. Kim. Emma wouldn’t have mind.” Jay said, shaking his head lightly.

“I know. She's...” She couldn’t make out the words to say, and sniffled quietly. Jay in return did not say anything but just simply stood quietly beside her and patted her back lightly. Both stood in silence looking down at Emma’s grave, understanding the pain and heartache for their lost that words couldn’t describe. 

-Flashback-

“Emma, I...” her doctor stammered, not being able to get the words out of . Emma did not say anything but just looked at her confused.

The doctor reached out to hold Emma's hand took a deep breath and finally said, “You’re diagnosed with cancer and you’ve reached the third stage.”

“Because you have ignored previous signs like the pain you would feel in your abdominal, the cells have spread pretty much far in your body. It’s impossible and too dangerous to completely remove the tumor” she continued.

Emma has been feeling abdominal pain for quite a period of time but always just shook it off since the pain would come and go. But for the past week, pain has been more frequent and sometimes more than she could tolerate. She finally decided to go to her family doctor and got herself checked; the report was out today.

She went down to pick up the report before heading to town for dinner with Jay; it was their two year anniversary.

Blood froze in her veins as what the doctor had just said echoed in her mind, she felt herself suddenly spinning in a whirlpool of darkness with thoughts swirling around her brain.

Being cut out of her trance, the doctor tried to get her attention and calm her down but got interrupted almost immediately.

“How long?” she asked emotionless.

“Well with treatme—“

“I'm not asking about treatment! I said how long?!” Emma shouted, fuming with anger as she cut her off.

 “Dr. Kim, just tell me the truth” she pressed on.

“6 months to a year,” Dr. Kim sighed in defeat.

 It hurt her heart for her to be telling this to the girl in front of her. The girl she’s seen grow since she was a baby till now a young beautiful woman; someone she’s treated as her own.

“But if you go for treatment, it'd be longer than that.

We even had such cases in the past, patients with stage IV who were said with only three or four months to live, made it through for even 3 to 4 Years”

“Thanks, I'm leaving now”

“You can't just give up on yourself now!” Dr. Kim shouted back desperately.

“I'm not giving up, I'm just facing reality.” She her heel, heading for the door.

“You have to get treatment! The pain will only get excruciating if you ignore this and---“

Hopeless and angered, the latter turned around. Tears filled her eyes, she interrupted “And what?! Spend the rest of the time I have left trying to pull through and put up with the side effects despite knowing that I won't be cured?!

I'm not gonna ing waste my money and time here for the worst!” She screamed, breaking down to her knees, sobbing now.

It broke Dr. Kim's heart seeing Emma like that, holding back her tears she walked over to her and embraced her, her head softly.

“I just want what's best for you. I've seen you grow, you're like a daughter to me and I want to keep you here as long as we possibly can. “

Both stayed in that position for a while in silence, not saying a word. After what seemed like forever, Emma calmed down, wiped her tears dry and broke out of the embrace. Her heart cringed as she looked at Dr. Kim; she suddenly noticed how much the doctor she’s been seeing even before she learned how to walk have aged so much.

She realized how time flies through happiness. Now all she wished was that the future never came and she’d stayed in the past if it was what it would take to take all this away.

She snapped herself out of her thought and looked coldly into Dr. Kim’s eyes.

“This is my life, my body. I don't need no freaking profession to tell me what to do with it and how to treat it. And if you care about me, let me have it my way.”

With that she turned around and walked off without looking back. This time she held back her tears that were threatening to pour out and held her head high. She knew that this was not the time to cry, because crying would not make anything better and definitely not that freaking cancer go away. 

She knew if she cried, all she'd get was pity and worry from the ones so dear to her. And she swore it was the last thing she needed at this moment.

She had to stay strong; for her family, for him.