Someone found an old picture of them at seventeen.

They placed it beside a photograph taken only days before the wedding.

The contrast made everyone laugh.

The young couple looked almost unrecognizable.

But their smiles were exactly the same.

During the ceremony, Daniel held Eleanor's hands.

"I thought I lost you once," he said.

"I thought so too."

"I don't want to waste the time we have left."

Eleanor smiled through her tears.

"Then don't."

They kissed.

Their family applauded.

For a brief moment, nobody thought about illness.

Nobody thought about death.

They simply celebrated love.

Their Short Marriage

The months that followed were unexpectedly beautiful.

They didn't travel the world.

They didn't create some glamorous retirement romance.

They did ordinary things.

They cooked together.

Watched old movies.

Visited the park.

Looked through photographs.

Argued about which songs were better.

Daniel insisted that music had been better when they were young.

Eleanor told him he was becoming an old man.

"I've been an old man for years."

"At least you're honest."

They laughed.

Some days were harder.

Daniel's health declined.

He became weaker.

Eleanor accompanied him to appointments.

She organized his medications.

She helped him walk.

She learned which foods he could tolerate.

At night, she sometimes sat beside him while he slept.

She would watch his chest rise and fall.

And quietly wonder how many more mornings they had.

The First Sign That Something Was Wrong

One afternoon, Eleanor found Daniel staring at an old photograph.

It was their high school photograph.

He held it in both hands.

"You kept this?"

She asked.

Daniel nodded.

"I kept everything."

"Everything?"