[ PI ] Chocolate - upvotedcontest

He remembered hearing someone ask him the question before when he was a teenager. 
 
 `` What is the best way to die?'' 
 
 He chuckled as he remembered his response. 
 
 `` Death by chocolate. Possibly those Lindt truffles with the red wrappers.'' 
 
 Then after some hesitation. 
 
 `` With the people I care about close by.'' 
 
 *** 
 
 In the years after he had qualified as a state surgeon he had seen a lot. The joy of recovery and the sheer sorrow of loss. It was the one part of his job he learned not to think too closely about. Life was full of ups and downs, and if you dwelled on the bad too much you might blind yourself to the good. 
 
 For the most part he could n't complain. He had found himself a beautiful girl, who for some reason he could n't fathom seemed to like him too. He'd always claimed she must be delusional as he was n't attractive. Far from it with his receding hairline and his tired expression that seemed permanently etched on to his face from years of night shifts. Still apparently when he asked her it was his `` rugged charm'' and `` strikingly green eyes'' that she loved. Crazy woman. 
 
 It was the one aspect of his life he thought was perfect. Not that they had n't had some issues. Him and his wife had never been able to have kids, despite trying. Still he remained happy. 
 
 Right up to the day his wife died. 
 
 From that point on he felt lost in a way he never thought possible. 
 
 It had surprised him who had come to his rescue. He and his wife had always been friendly with his neighbours. They started visiting him regularly and though at first he had thought they were a bother, before he knew it he started looking forward to their visits. They had a daughter who was 8 and despite the fact he was now turning into a crotchety old man she seemed to grow quite attached to him. She was a pretty girl though almost entirely blind now and unfortunately there was practically no chance of recovery. Full eye transplants were almost unheard of, and never in children as an already overcomplicated procedure was much less likely to succeed in the skeletally immature skull. She knew she was going blind too and yet there she was running around his garden playing with his dog and laughing without a care in the world. 
 
 How was it that a girl her age could be so carefree whilst facing something so terrifying? How did she not lose herself in the same way he did? 
 
 One day he asked her what makes her happy 
 
 `` ummm... Chocolate,'' she said `` but I have to save some for Mummy because it makes mummy smile.'' 
 
 And then he realised. 
 
 How had he forgotten it? It was why he had become a surgeon so long ago. Not just to make a difference to other peoples lives. Not only to help them recover, but to watch the smiles on their faces as they walked out of those hospital doors. 
 
 And then he smiled in a way he had n't for years. He could n't stop himself if he tried. 
 
 *** 
 
 It was strange. Reports from those who knew him said he appeared to be doing well in recent months, following his wife's death. 
 
 When the police got there they found a man's naked body in a refrigerated lorry. The man was sat in an armchair at the centre. Frozen stiff next to a pile of neat paperwork. 
 
 Other than that the van was pretty spotless and they did n't even notice the red sweet wrapper that blew out of the door. 
 
 *** 
 
 Charlotte was never really very interested in cards on her birthday and at 18 she rarely cared that much about the presents. And then she found a birthday card unlike any other. It seemed perfectly ordinary to begin with, though she noticed a few bumps on it at the bottom. Braille. 
 
 *I hope my eyes have given you a vision of your future. * 
 
 And she smiled, moisture gathering in her new strikingly green eyes. 

