A Silent Goodbye

Through his severly dried lips, parted slightly in an almost smile, the gap between his two front teeth was revealed. Two nickles, side by side, could have fit snuggly in that space. It was alarming to see at that time. A smile? Why? His eyes weren't smiling. His eyes were engaged in wordless conversation with me. The gray blue cornias, the color of a stormy sea, were bright and glistening, normally a sign of health, but looking closely they were glistening tears gathering in his eyes. They never spilled over, they never would.
Love, sadness, understanding, and hope all eminating from his eyes told the story of him and me. We relived it together in those moments. His hand, holding mine, the grasp getting stronger as the story unfolded. Then we glimpsed into the future. I felt in his hand the strength he had lost many months ago, it was back, for a fleeting moment. I didn't want to let go, but I had to. He was forcing me to let go.
The sounds of monitors and machines were beeping around us, pulsating to the rythm of a heart, a loving, giving heart. I could hear my family chatting in the room, their comments falling deaf upon my ears. I heard only his voice, our wordless conversation coming to life inside my head.