With the eyes unopened and heart on the verge of sleeping, his body created a silence in the room diminishing the grief and tears of each person in the room. The team had taken care of all the punches on his face since the very start but this time was different. These were internal bleedings, in the head.

2 hours earlier....

The puncture was deep but even deeper was his passion. With a left ligament tear and a dizzy head he had chosen to continue the last round and had emerged victorious. For he knew, had he not, he wouldn’t have a home for his family anymore. His eyes searched the crowd for his love, and suddenly felt heavy losing all their ability. The injury was severe, his head hit the ground and all the cameras in the stadium went down. The collapse of the new Muhammad Ali they called it. The champ had unwantingly hit the floor mats and was now being taken to the hospital.

Present time..

The door flung open and she dashed to his bed, she grasped his right hand tight and caressed his cheek like never before.

“I know you can hear me, don’t act like you cannot. This isn’t funny anymore, please.”, she cried, “Wake up! Let’s go home.”

It was useless. He could hear her but he was already in a coma.

A look at the clock and then towards the terminal gate, then back to the clock and so it went on for the next twenty minutes. Even after an impatient nature, he’d reached Gare Du Nord an hour before 8pm and was anxiously waiting for her. The train would depart in the next 10 minutes and stepping on this magical journey without her would be his worst nightmare come true. There would be no journey without them together.

He pulled out his phone and scrolled to the last message he’d sent her.

“We’ve been going with these plans for long, it just wouldn’t feel right to do this without you. The train departs at 8 in the night and I’m going to be there, waiting for you, whether you choose to come or not.” he’d said.

There was no reply from her and but his heart said otherwise. A part of him knew she’d be there any second because that part existed in her, and he couldn’t leave it behind.

Grasping his phone as tight as he could, he looked up, contemplating.

“Wait for me”, came a voice from the midst of the crowds.

He immediately turned in that direction. Scrutinizing his way through the unorganized arrays of humans, he spotted his favorite one. Gasping her breath and striding through the crowds, she’d managed to arrive at a fair time. The corners of his lips rose, his eyes lit up and a perfect smile could now be seen hanging on his face.

The candle gave far less illumination than any light bulb but it was enough to highlight their faces on the circular dinner date table.

“How did you manage to get a reservation at this place? It takes almost 3 months to reserve a table!” she exclaimed.

He smirked, his mysterious ways were always unanticipated. “It’s your birthday, I had to make it special”.

Being the most famous restaurant in France, Le Jules Verne was, more importantly, a dream come true for her. Its exorbitant location on top of the Eiffel made it extremely romantic for both of them and a gorgeous surprise for her birthday.

Knowing her liking for desserts, he grabbed a huge spoon of cake and fed her, “Happy birthday cudie”.

She responded by finishing it in the blink of an eye and gave him a covetous stare as if she wanted something more. “Where’s my birthday kiss?”, she simpered.

A slight glimpse of his watch and his pupils dilated. Grabbing her by the wrist, he dragged her outside the restaurant, towards the upper deck. A sudden burst of fireworks decorated the eye of sight from the balcony, her eyes locked on them like magnets with amazement. Her name echoed in the air around and she turned. Before she could start crying, he was there on one knee.

“You know how much I love you right?” he gushed. “Then come bother me now, for the rest of my life”.

4:00 pm at the Amsterdam station.

His hand grasped hers and they ran towards the Eurostar train as briskly as they could. The next train arrived in 3 hours but the Eiffel was the most beautiful at 9 pm. Its tower top sent out light beams and the fireworks around lit up the entire city. They’d completed a year with each other, it was the perfect time to spend a night in Paris. There was finally a sense of relief once they stepped foot in the carriage. After regaining their breath, they turned towards each other and laughed on how they’d almost missed the train.

20 min went by and there were yet no empty seats available. Everyone had taken their places, and due to Christmas time, the entire carriage thronged with eagerly people who wanted to get back home. The Eurostar would only get vacant at the next station, Brussels. But Brussels was an hour away and he had no patience. Held her by the wrists and gaited towards the man who’d taken a seat by the door.

Pointing at the old woman right beside the man he tacitly asked him “Hey, don’t you think it’ll be a gentleman’s act to offer a seat to an elder?”

The man immediately got to his feet, offered the lady a seat and headed to find an empty place to the front of the carriage. Suddenly the doors unsealed and the woman stepped out of the train. As quick as he could, he grabbed the seat and pulled her on his lap. His wits had played their part, it was obvious the woman would get down at the next station. An affectionate smile was now visible on his face.

“What are you doing? People are staring at us!”, she whispered in her shy voice.

He budged even closer, smirked and said “So let them. The question is, who do you want to look at?”

Clouds cleared the sky, it was no longer snowing and the sun finally shone after a dreadful week. The skies seemed to have deliberately delivered Schwangau with snow for the past 2 weeks, yet amidst the whiteout were a pair of hands held together. Amongst the most peculiar natural sounds were passionate footsteps of two young lovers. Making their way across the winter wonderland and their boots plowing through the packed road snow. Snow-packed gloves, floppy wool hats, and layered coats cushioned them from the sleet that persisted in the setting. The two paced their way until the start of a snow-capped bridge. She looked up and firmly gripped his hand, signaling him to stop walking.

“Finally!”, she exclaimed a sudden glow lit up her face. His lips widened to form an alluring smile. The journey had come to an end and it bore valuable fruit.

The white snow contrasted with the black forest, it's towering shined and soared high. The Neuschwanstein portrayed it’s romanticity more than ever.

He gazed at her, words slimmed out of his mouth “Beautiful, extremely beautiful”. His stare moved towards the castle as soon as she looked at him. Little did she know who the compliment meant for. She took a step forward to admire the beauty of the sight and shut her eyes to appreciate its presence.

Suddenly she felt a pair of hands on her waist, turning her around. Their eyes met and the world went silent, nothing mattered more than their love for each other. Her soul pointed at him and whispered to his heart “You”. He leaned in a little closer, their foreheads touched, slowly and softly pressed his lips to hers. Unexpectedly, his hand drifted to her hip and settled there. Her hands clasped on either side of his face, then ran down his neck, pulling him closer than ever.

         He latched the door of the cab and instructed the cabbie to follow a path that would give him the maximum amount of time with her before he dropped her off.

As close, as almost nothing real they sat, their eyes pulsating how much they loved being together yet unable to express it in the simplest terms possible. The sudden exuberance was no longer sudden, he couldn’t enunciate the spark her ‘zoning out’ created in him, neither would he want anyone else in his life. A dearly attached part of him as what she was now he could no longer keep thing from her.

“I am unbelievingly attracted to you”, he sparkled his way into her heart.

Her eyebrows raised, the zest set in but she wouldn’t show it.

“Okay”, and a dramatic pair of lips unclear of what to articulate, was all that was portrayed.

The charming smile returned on his narcissistic personality and he faced the window, judging her social awkwardness at the most.

He felt her head touch his shoulder and a beautiful warmth exist as soon as she grabbed his left arm, and snug by him. This was countered by his lips that now puckered and lay a kiss on her forehead, as she closed her eyes to embrace it.

   Room 63, 8th Floor that’s where he was.

A series of footsteps resounded the corridor as they grew closer to that particular room. Suddenly they stopped and a pair of eyes looked upon the crew members that now stood with their heads pointing towards the nitid marbled floor.

She’d forgotten her glasses, spilt the hot coffee on her shirt, and sweat now percolated her perturbed face as if she’d climbed her way up.

“Where is he?” she asked Jim.

“He’s been asked to take rest, we can’t disturb him right now”, Jim said, “He has takentoo many hits this time, I couldn’t see him bleed further”, tears rolled out of his eyes.

“He better be asleep!”, she pushed the room’s door open and granted him with her presence.

He lay there quietly, keeping his eyes closed, matching his breaths to the beeping of the machines that surrounded the bed, the only indications of his heartbeat, his existence.

Out of the thin air her hand was held, firmly gripped by another. She felt his rough palm glaze her wrist, as she struggled to let lose of it. Though his bruised face was a brutal sight, In the blink of an eye she turned towards him and smacked him on his cheek. Then lost control of herself and hugged him as if it were the last time she was going to.

           Brooks of tears left her eyes against her will, her boyfriend lay with his eyes closed in a hospital bed. She couldn’t let him fight professional anymore. Enough of his blood has been shed and she could no longer bear to see more of it getting spilt. The word ‘MMA’ grew a potent blaze in her mind now.

      The persistent driving came to a halt when finally he hit the brakes after noticing that they had reached their destination. He brightened the headlights of the Mustang and drove off the road to the left until the entire night sky was visible through the windscreen.

He got out of the car to open the door for her. The stony bumps on the uneven road had woken her up and she was now in the midst of a confusion, meddled with questions as to what was happening. He opened the door and she stepped out , gaping around.

“Where have you brought me?”, she asked.

“We’re near Prague, but it’s not about what’s around us. Look up!”, he exclaimed.

As soon as she looked up, her gaze stay stuck there like a curious seal. The late night was beautiful with it’s alluring flow of clarity, the pitch-black curtain draped over the sky, and the twisted, warped shapes that the stars made against the blackness. A canopy of luminous stars materialized amongst the ocean of blackness.

  He pulled her close and whispered in her ear, “What’s going on in that beautiful mind?”.

She glanced at him, as he reached out to grab a meal basket out of the thin air.

   His actions had their effect and she now had a charming smile on her face. Her eyes ensnared into his.

    She smirked “You know I could have you filed for kidnapping”.

He couldn’t look way and neither could she stop beguiling him.

“Or perhaps you could have dinner with me”, he smiled preoccupied her mind before any other thoughts sunk in. His charm had found it’s way. “Just the way we planned, about 447 days back!”.

     Music echoed through the deepest tunnels of her ears. She stood at the front of the stage, staring aimlessly at the singer. She never came here for the loud music, infact she hated it. She came to set eyes on her boyfriend, to laugh unnecessarily with her best friend, to be in the arms of the one she loved. But here she stood, alone..until…

She felt hands grasp her waist and a fighter’s breath on her neck.

‘ Didn’t get too late did I ?’ he asked

He was here, and his temptation wouldn’t resist any longer, he swiveled her only to perceive her angelic smile. Then split his lips, and out came the words.

‘I love you’

     A light reddish shade of sand scraped his back and skies poured their blue into the ocean’s waters. His Armani’s shaded his eyes from the same blisters that now managed to produce a bronzed tan on his perfectly broad chest. He lay on the shore undisturbed, in the nub of a light slumber. Until..

    Out of the thin waters she emerged like a mermaid and paced her way to his spot. She was huffing under a heavy load and finally surrendered to these seductive sands. Her hands roamed from his chest to his face while her eyes awaited to capture the first glances of his pupils.

‘Morning hon!’, he exclaimed after his long nap, ‘Shame, I expected to lie here a little longer’.

She looked through his eyes and into the heart, where the words strike hard she spoke

’I know, but I can’t resist waking you, everytime I do, you look at me as if you haven’t seen me in years…makes me feel reborn.'