His eyes fluttered open as he shot up to his feet, holding his head in his hands. It must've been a bad dream, but he couldn't remember much about it. He looked down at his sleeping wife, smiling as he laid back down next to her under the silky white sheets. The house was warm, the heat must've come on in the middle of the night.

"You okay?" Silvia murmured, still half asleep as she turned to face her husband.

"Yeah... just a bad dream. Go back to sleep." Victor said, running his fingers through his wife's hair as her tired eyes opened, smiling up at him kindly.

"You scared me for a second, thought you were gonna have another heart attack... asshole." She said playfully, poking his chest with her finger as if to scold the heart within.

"That was a one time thing, I promise. The doctors said it was probably just stress, and I've been fine ever since then. It's been, what, six months?"

"Something like that..." Silvia said, her voice fading out as her eyes closed once again. Her hand rested heavily atop his chest as her breathing slowed, falling back asleep. Her faint snores filled the room as Victor listened to the lullaby of her sleep. Laying his head back against the soft pillows, he stared up at the ceiling with a content look settling upon his face.

The heart attack wasn't nearly as serious as they thought it was, simply a fluke. Every once in a while he does feel the stresses of daily life, but just being with his wife calms his soul. She was everything to him, his entire life, his entire reason for living. Without her, Victor didn't see himself having a future. It was them against the world.

As he felt his heavy eyelids close, he looked over to his wife, her peaceful face filling his heart with love.

...

"Goodmorning, how'd you sleep?" She asked, watching Victor shuffle his tired feet across the cold wooden floor as he sipped his coffee.

"I slept alright, I don't remember what that bad dream was about though... how about you?"

"I dreamt of you, believe it or not. You and I went to the beach, stuck our toes in the sand, and ignored our stupid little adult responsibilities." Silvia sighed glumly, obviously upset at having reality shoved into her face after waking from such a peaceful dream.

"If only." Victor said, making his way over to her to kiss her gently on the forehead, "Y'know, why don't we go on vacation? After you get home from work today, how about we do a little research, find a nice sandy beach to ignore the world on?"

Silvia looked up at him with a childish grin, her mood instantly perking up at the mention of vacation. Sure, their days off together were filled with fun and comfort, but the stresses of work get to everyone once in a while. It's good to just relax and let time tick by, she thought, watching the world move a few steps ahead without being in it.

"Sounds like a plan..." She began, but the ringing of her phone's alarm reminded her of the mundane day she had ahead of her, "shit... I've gotta go, can't be late... I love you!" Silvia said hurriedly, pecking Victor on the cheek as she rushed out the door, grabbing a small black bag on her way.

As Victor stood by the window and sipped his coffee, he watched as his wife's car pulled out the short and sad excuse of a driveway, speeding away for yet another day's paycheck. He knew how much his wife wanted to get away from the grueling tasks of everyday life, but nonetheless, she made it work. They both did. Together they could achieve anything, even financial freedom from the rat race they called life. The only thing the two of them truly cared about was being together, and to achieve that goal, they would earn their financial freedom and spend the rest of their days somewhere they could be alone. Uninterrupted by the demands of the world, living out their life the way they chose.

As Victor sat upon the soft floral couch, he closed his eyes for a moment. He had the day off, and was planning to clean up around the house before his wife got home. While he had the chance, however, he decided to relax for a moment before getting started. As he finished sipping his coffee, he opened his eyes to look longingly out the window. The white curtains lining the window stood still, like a frozen ghost unable to call out to anyone.

The living room smelled of coffee and a pecan scented candle Silvia had lit earlier, making the aroma of the house as warm and comforting as her very presence. Victor took in the atmosphere of their home, thinking of his wife as she made her way to work. He didn't realize it, but his eyes had begun to softly close as he sat upon the couch, dropping the coffee cup softly next to him. The warm air of his home rested upon him like a heated blanket, sending his mind down the path to sleep.

It had only been about fifteen minutes of resting his eyes upon the couch, but the ringing of his cell phone reminded him of his day ahead. Bolting up to his feet with an urgency, he rubbed his eyes as he looked down at the phone he had brought out from his pocket. His heart began to race as he didn't recognize the number. With a single tap of his finger, his life was put down the path of darkness.

"Hello? Who is this?" He asked, holding the phone closely to his ear. He didn't get many prank calls or unknown numbers, so this was a bit out of place for him.

"Is this Victor Agnello of... 1213 Crownpoint?" A man's voice spoke back to him.

"Yes, can I help you?"

"Sir, I regret to inform you that your wife has been in an accident. We're taking her to Centerfield Hospital right now. I suggest you meet us there as soon as you can, it's unlikely she'll make it."

Victor's eyes widened with fright as his knees gave out, collapsing to the floor with a sudden thud.

"Wh... what?"

"It looks to me that a bus had cut her off at an intersection, the car's totaled and your wife is unconscious. I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, sir. She's in an ambulance as we speak being rushed to the hospital, if you could-" The voice cut out suddenly as Victor ended the call, rushing out the door with a speed he didn't know he possessed.

As tears filled his eyes, he fumbled for his keys as he tried to start his car. The slow chugging of the engine sputtered and screamed, willing itself alive as if he himself had become one with the vehicle. His foot pressed hard against the gas as he zoomed out the driveway, ignoring every speed limit sign and stop sign alike. It was quite a short drive to the hospital even going the speed limit of 30 on the long stretch of backroads that twisted and turned around his home, so as his foot went through the floor of the car and reached 90 mph, the hospital was soon in his sight.

He felt his eyes go red with blubbery tears, a shocked expression on his face the entire drive. Every ounce of composure he thought he commanded had been thrown into the wind, along with caution for his own life. Traffic wasn't horrible this early in the morning, but each car he flew by seemed to be nothing more than an obstacle he needed to surpass. Nothing could stop him, he wouldn't allow it. Victor knew deep in his heart that he couldn't survive without Silvia, there was no point in living without her. He absolutely had to make sure she survived, no matter the cost.

"There..." He said, his voice shaking with every second. His heart had begun to beat faster than ever before, but it was of no concern to him.

He had finally arrived at the hospital, seeing an empty ambulance parked outside. He rushed for the parking lot, ignoring the lines and turning off his car as close to the building as possible. Ripping open the car door and taking his keys in his hands, he sprinted for the hospital doors.

"Where is she!? Where's my wife!? Silvia! My name... my name is Victor Agnello! I was told she's here! Where's my wife!?" He shouted, entering the building and rushing to the receptionist desk.

The short blonde woman looked wide eyed at him from behind her round glasses, surprised at how quickly he'd gotten here. Just moments ago she had seen a patient roll in with long silver hair, strapped to a stretcher with blood covering her entire body. Overhearing the staff rolling her into the building, she knew how little of a chance the woman had at surviving. She could die at any moment, afraid and alone.

"I'm sorry sir, but I have to see some I.D. before I can let you see anyone..." She said, but her eyes pointed towards the white double doors with large lettering above, they read surgery in a devilish red glow.

Victor noticed her odd mannerisms as her eyes repeatedly pointed towards the doors, and understood what the woman was trying to do. He made a mental note to thank her later, pushing past a doctor as she walked through the same doors.

"Hey! Stop! You can't be back there!" She shouted, but her warning fell upon deaf ears.

His eyes scanned the hall, finally seeing his wife at the other end being hauled through the corridor with urgency. He sped over to her, pushing past the doctors and other staff by her side. As his eyes settled upon his unconscious wife, his tears flowed heavily at the sight of her. Her silver hair was matted with red, and her face covered in her own blood.

"Are you the husband? You shouldn't be back here sir, your wife needs surgery as soon as possible, we have to operate on her immediately." A tall dark haired man in a white coat said, stopping Victor from getting any closer. The man embraced him, holding him back from following Silvia any further into the operating room.

"No! I have to be with her!" Victor shouted, trying to break free from the man in the coat.

"I know... I know... we'll do our best to bring her back to you, but for now, I need you to come with me." The man said, his tired kind eyes looking down at Victor with pity.

He crumbled to his knees in defeat, beginning to sob into his hands as the man in the coat knelt down next to him. A warm and gentle hand rested upon his shoulder as he cried for what felt like an eternity, only to run out of tears after a few minutes. The man in the coat helped him get to his feet, slowly walking with him towards the waiting area and never letting his hand leave his shoulder. As the two of them walked through the hall, the man in the coat pulled a handkerchief from his pocket to give to Victor, whose eyes had become red and puffy.

"Listen... your wife was hit by a bus because of a faulty traffic light, it was neither the bus driver nor your wife's fault. It was, simply put, an unfortunate accident." The man said, looking down at Victor who slumped himself pathetically in a chair now that they had reached the empty waiting room.

He said nothing to the man in the coat as he listened, half paying attention to the man's explanation. The only thing occupying his mind was whether or not Silvia would be alright.

"My name is Dr. Kroft, and the head surgeon operating on your wife will be Dr. Arlen. She's one of the best we have to offer, if anyone can save your wife it's her, so please hold onto hope. Without hope, life is nothing but meaningless events." Dr. Kroft said, sitting next to Victor as he tried to console the broken man.

"You're wrong... doctor. Life is meaningless without Silvia."

Dr. Kroft hung his head down sadly, patting Victor on the shoulder as he got up to enter the operating room. If there was any chance of saving Silvia's life, he'd try his best to help in any way he could. To him, human life was precious. The entire reason he became a doctor in the first place was to save lives, but the more he traveled down this path, the more death he saw. Holding onto hope was the only thing he could do now, hope to save a life. Hope to live another day.