Many years had gone by since Zain had left this world. Cole went back to work, worked his way up in the company, made friends, and took care of his parents. At first, everyone was worried about him. 

Cole and Zain were married for ten years. Although, Zain was sick for four of those years. 

They thought that Cole would take some more time to grieve, but after a month, he looked as though Zain was still living in this world. The only one who knew that he was still struggling was himself, but he did his best to keep moving forward. After all, he couldn’t break his promise. His love was still watching him, he had to do his best.

He printed and framed pictures of himself and Zain throughout their 10 years together. He put them all over his apartment. Some would think it was a little creepy to have so many eyes staring at them, but Cole felt more at peace seeing Zain’s pictures. He even had pictures of Zain in his wallet, on his phone, stuck to his phone case. He still wore their wedding ring. He kept Zain’s wedding ring and engagement ring on a dresser in his room.

They constantly reminded him of Zain. He did not want to forget him nor did he want to move on and get another partner. 

He wanted to bring Zain with him everywhere he went. He wanted him in his everything, either be it happiness or sadness, despair or relief. Zain was, after all, his life, his everything.

With time, Cole was able to find places that he wanted to go. When he had vacation time once a year, he would pick a place he thought Zain would enjoy. He would pack up his things with a picture of Zain, and bring him on the trip. It was like he was bringing Zain to see canyons, mountain tops, and natural springs. Every time, he would ask other people to help him take a picture of him and Zain, together. 

When people learned of his story, they did their best not to say much, but they felt bad for him. 

Nevertheless, they admired his love, loyalty, and devotion to Zain, a man who was no longer in this world. 

This continued until Cole grew old and the people around him slowly died, one by one. His parents left decades before him, and some of his friends and former coworkers either died of old age or illness. 

When Cole turned 70, he felt that he had lived long enough, and saw all that he and Zain could see. 

He didn’t want to continue living without Zain. He couldn’t.

He never forgot him. He longed for him every day, every hour, every second. 

Zain’s passing still hurt him even after 40 years. 

His pain was like a room with a giant ball in it. There’s a button on the wall that would activate his pain and grief. At first, the giant ball would continuously hit the button, making him feel grief more often, making him miss Zain to the point that sometimes, he didn’t know if he could still keep living. 

As time went past though, the room slowly got bigger and bigger, and the times the ball would hit the button would get less and less frequent. Even now, the ball would, once in a blue moon, hit the button. 

They said time would heal all wounds, but it didn’t heal this one. It just made it easier to manage.  

Cole felt he was nearing the end of his life. It was a strange feeling, but he knew his body better than anyone else. 

He arranged everything before his death. He made sure that he would be buried next to Zain. He got all the funeral preparations done, wrote down his will, and informed his closest friends who were still alive about his plans. He also admitted himself into hospice because he knew that he was going to die within 6 months. The doctors were shocked that he knew, but Cole didn’t argue or say much. The doctor let him take a few of the belongings he had left into his new room. 

He brought a lot of pictures with him. The rest of his pictures were still in his apartment, packed up neatly for when the funeral would arrive. 

He had special plans for them. 

After a couple of months, Cole felt his heartbeat slow down gradually, his breathing getting slower, his eyes getting heavier, but still, he didn’t call for anyone. 

Just as he thought he would leave this world alone, a bright light shone in his eyes. It was the first time he had seen Zain in over 40 years. Zain still looked young, instead of old like he did. Even so, Zain did not hesitate to come to him.

Zain didn’t say anything, but he reached out his hand. 

His body didn’t move, but he felt that he was also reaching out to Zain. After that, Cole and Zain disappeared from the world towards the bright light that awaited them. 

Officially, Cole passed away. 

When Cole passed away, his close friends collected his body and arranged the funeral that he had already paid for. They made sure that all of his preparations were in order.

On the day of the burial, it was a little different from the usual funeral. A lot of people would have bouquets and each participating member would toss a flower onto the casket as it moved into the ground. They still threw flowers, but they also tossed environmentally safe, degradable papers with pictures of Zain and Cole together on them. Pictures of 10 years’ worth of memories were tossed in first and then the 40 years of Cole traveling around the world.

The real pictures were in a couple of boxes that were already on top of the casket. 

Cole said he wanted to be buried with these pictures, surrounded by them. His friends could only do as his will told them to do. 

When all the pictures and flowers were thrown in, his close friends and their families left one by one. 

They all thought about the man who devoted his life to one person even in death. At first, they felt it was a pity that a great man refused to move on, but then some felt a bit of jealousy for Zain. 

Had any of them been able to be on the receiving end of this kind of love and devotion? Some felt that they had but then felt it wasn’t as strong as Cole’s love for Zain. Some had not been able to feel it at all. 

But they all had one thought in the plethora of others.

Cole was finally able to reunite with Zain. This, they were certain about.