Esther's POV
The touch was like lighting a match in a dark room. My fingers on his skin, so thin and warm. A shiver started in my hand and ran all the way through me, bone-deep. I didn't remember this man. My mind was a blank page. But my body… my body knew. A feeling, huge and wordless, rose up in my chest. It was a tidal wave of grief, and love, and a loss so profound it had no name.
Before I could even understand what was happening, I was crying. Not quiet tears, but great, shaking sobs that tore out of me. I couldn't stop. I folded over, my forehead resting on the edge of the mattress beside his arm.
I felt a movement. His hand, trembling badly, lifted from the sheet. It was a fight for him, every inch. His fingers, clumsy and weak, brushed against my wet cheek. He was trying to wipe my tears away.
His mouth worked. A dry, rasping sound. Then two words, pushed out with all his strength. "Don't… cry."
