[ WP ] The person who loves you most just died . Tell me the story of your relationship , ending with their death .

I rolled her up to the front entrance to the hospital. She looked small in her wheelchair—a little girl in a big world. I told my mother to wait in the car, to not let her sadness show, because if she did, Anna would know to be sad too. I looked back at mom over my shoulder. She held a handkerchief up to her eyes, trying to catch her tears before they had a chance to run down her cheeks. She waved me on. 
 The automatic doors to the hospital opened, and I wheeled Anna inside. She turned her head and looked up at me. “ Your eyes are so beautiful, ” I told her. It was true. Ever since she was a baby, her eyes had been large and full of life and joy and wonder. They had this twinkle in them, every now and then, that made them look watery but never sad. She gave me a toothy smile, even though she was missing a few in front, and a cheery thank you. 
 
 I bought her a stuffed bear when she was 3, and she held on to it ever since. That was five years ago. Mr. Cuddles had seen better days, but she loved him, so my mom kept sewing his eyes back on and washing him and buying him new clothes. I pet her head and told her to wait a minute while I checked in. 
 
 After I had filled out all of the paperwork, I sat down next to her. 
 “ Mr. Cuddles has a tummy ache, ” she said to me with pouty lips. 
 
 “ Well, let ’ s see if we can help Mr. Cuddles out, ” I said smiling. We played doctor with Mr. Cuddles for a while until his stomachache had gone away. We fed him different kinds of medicine and even had to perform surgery on him, but Doctor Anna felt confident that he would make a full recovery. He checked out of the hospital later that night. 
 
 “ Am I sick? ” Anna asked me. I didn ’ t expect her to ask about her visit today. I felt tears starting to well up in my eyes, so I faked a sneeze to give myself a chance to look away and wipe them away. 
 
 “ Yes, ” I said softly. “ But the doctors are going to give you some medication, and you ’ ll be as good as new. No worries, Anna. I ’ ll be here with you the whole time, okay? ” She smiled brightly and nodded her head. 
 
 “ I ’ m not worried. As long as you ’ re here, I ’ ll never have to worry. ” 
 
 The nurse came out and called Anna ’ s name, and I wheeled her back into the office. The nurse did the usual checkups: blood pressure, ear infection checks, throat checks, and reaction tests. Everything was as good as it could have been for Anna. 
 When the doctor came in, he pulled me aside and asked me if I wanted him to tell Anna what was wrong with her. I told him no, that I wanted her to be as happy as possible and enjoy life as much as she could. He nodded and walked over to her. He told her that she would have to stay in the hospital overnight—like a sleepover. She seemed excited about that. 
 
 When it was time for her dinner, Anna asked me to sit on the bed with her and eat. She ate a whole plate full of chicken nuggets, mac & cheese, and applesauce. 
 “ I don ’ t think I ’ ve ever seen you eat so much, ” I said jokingly. 
 
 “ Mommy never makes food this good! ” I laughed harder than I ’ d ever laughed before. Maybe it was the stress of the situation that made her little joke seem funnier, but I told her that she should be a comedian when she grows up. 
 “ Nope! ” she said. “ When I grow up, I want to be a vet! I don ’ t like it when animals are sick, so I wan na help them. Like Mr. Cuddles! ” 
 
 At 10 o ’ clock, Anna said she was getting sleepy. I told her that it was all right if she wanted to go to bed, and that I would be on the chair right next to her all night. She asked me to tell her a bedtime story first, so I made up a story about Mr. Cuddles, the brave knight who slayed dragons and rescued princesses. She really seemed to enjoy it. I gave her a kiss on the forehead and tucked her into bed before drifting off myself. 
 
 In the middle of the night I was awoken by the sounds of a bunch of guys shouting frantically and a loud, irritating beeping. I had forgotten that I was in the hospital in my dazed state and sort of staggered about for a minute before I realized that they were pulling Anna out of the room and rushing her down the hallway. In their haste, they had dropped Mr. Cuddles to the floor. I picked him up and ran after Anna down the hallway, screaming and crying and frantically trying to reunite her with her best friend. The doctor stopped me and told me that I wasn ’ t allowed to follow her. I asked him to give Mr. Cuddles to her, and he took the toy from my hands and followed Anna and the other doctors into the operation room. 
 
 I sat outside for hours that felt like days shaking, sweating, and unable to rest. I paced back and forth in the waiting room with a tissue pressed up against my eyes to hold back the tears. 
 
 The doctor came out into the waiting room with his mask still over his face. I couldn ’ t tell if it was good news or bad news. Usually, when the doctor comes out to tell you, you can figure it out by the look on his face. I think that was the longest ten seconds of my life—the ten seconds it took us to meet in the center of the waiting room, the ten seconds where I could only guess and not know how my sister was doing. 
 
 He didn ’ t say anything to me. He only pulled his hands out from behind his back and put something in mine. 
 
 Mr. Cuddles. 

