It was an early Wednesday morning and the fog hung in the air as if held up by strings. The worn in boat shoes squeaked under my feet as I walked down the dock with my scuba gear slung over my shoulder. It was still dark out, but you could see the sun about to come up. The world was slowly getting warmer and lighter the farther we walked. I turned and saw him stare back at me with his piercing blue eyes. He towered over me in height and by far beat me in strength, but he was the gentlest soul I had ever met. With his free hand he grabbed mine and held it tight into his. The water barely moved and the boats bobbed up and down with the movement of the dock. A sparkle shown from the end of the walkway. A white, grand piano was sitting by a large yacht waiting to be loaded on in the coming day. I was about to stop to get ready, but he kept walking and set down his stuff. He slowly walked toward the piano and gingerly sat down. His fingers danced along the keys as he decided what he wanted to play. He set his fingers down and they slowly started to play chords ever so softly. As he played the notes got louder and his body moved with the song. I sat down and watched him play with all he was as the sun rose behind him, glimmering atop the piano. He played with soul, as if the song was his, or he was the song. As he slowly came to the end his fingers rested and he turned to me and smiled and said, “I love you.”

“Ma'am? Hello?” The voice of the lady on the other end snapped me back to attention. She slowly started to repeat her question, just one more time and hopefully this time I could answer. “Do we have your consent to take him off life support?”