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There is no way I can make it back up onto the land. I have nothing left to give. I peer up, and I know Lorenzo is above.

He and his energy give me what I need. “Come on. Get up!” I grunt to myself.

I try to climb onto the island, but I stop halfway through. If I rest for just a minute, maybe I can make it.

I breathe in a few times, and I start to think about resting in the water and floating for a while. I need to catch my breath, I need to gather energy.

I suddenly snap out of it and yell, like a crazy woman.

Part of me is giving up.

Part of me is a danger to myself.

I scream, and fight my way up, onto the frozen mud. Finally, I roll onto my side. Using my last energy reserves, I kneel, and stagger.

As I look up, I see the chopper already dropping. Lorenzo is coming in ruthlessly fast, and he fans out, blasting us with near frozen winds.

I cover us both, and my wet hair is blown in all directions.

I know I am moving slowly, I want to sleep.

Sleep forever.

Sleep forever.

Sleep forever.

As I protect the falcon from the winds with my body, I close my eyes and fall to my knees. I mumble goodbye to Mom, and I thank God for my time with her. I then thank God for letting me meet the man I will love forever.

I cannot stand, I cannot move.

This is it.

I will miss Lorenzo, and what we could have become.

I feel a tear exit an eye. It slows on my cheek, and it freezes in the wind.

The ground suddenly shakes, and through tear-filled eyes, I see the chopper skid in the mud. It’s too late, and it’s too dangerous.

Leave me.

Leave me and go.

As I start to lay down on the frozen mud, I start to feel better. Letting go is starting to feel good.

Enough.

As I lay down, ready to sleep, I am yanked brutally backwards.

“Come on, get the hell in!”

I am thrown into the back of the chopper, and I cannot move. As I shiver, my teeth chatter out of control. My face is on the carpet, and I stare at it, now an inch away. It is fluffy and blue, and it is inviting.

My mind slows even more.

My chest doesn’t seem to work now, and my lungs have been crushed from the cold. The wet falcon is still wrapped in my arms, and neither of us move. I figure we’re both on death’s door, and at least I won’t slip away, alone.

A figure above us punches the wall, and the chopper’s side door closes. Hot air suddenly fills the cabin, but it’s too late.