Linda’s Last Sunset

After forty years of shared love, Linda watches the man of her life fade toward his final horizon.

On a quiet beach at sunset, she relives the fire of their first meeting, the tenderness of their years together, and the fragile beauty of a last goodbye.

A story about time, loss, and a love that never dies.

Linda’s Last Sunset

By Faramarz Parsa

I could feel it, day by day—his moment was coming, and nothing in this world could stop it.

If only he had listened to the doctor when he said surgery might save him… maybe our fate would have been different.

After forty years of love and life together, I now had to accept that I might only have a few days left with him.

I still remember the first day I saw him at the university cafeteria. I fell in love instantly.

A handsome boy—tall, with black hair and a face that looked almost painted.

My heart pounded so hard it felt like it would burst out of my chest.

I felt he belonged to me… and I had to keep him before any other girl could take him away.

As I stared at him, he suddenly turned his face toward me.

My knees weakened; I nearly fell.

That smile—that smile—has been carved into my memory forever.

I don’t know how long—an hour, maybe two—I sat frozen.

In my imagination, we were already walking hand in hand in a dreamlike paradise.

When I finally came back to myself, he was gone.

I rushed home, spoke to no one, lay on my bed, closed my eyes, and brought him back exactly as I had seen him.

An image of love and longing… one that warmed my body and lit my soul.

My mother’s voice woke me.

My whole body was soaked, as if I had showered with my clothes on.

And that feeling… it stayed with me all my life.

He was sitting in his wheelchair.

I had placed a blanket over his legs.

With a trembling voice, he called:

— Linda… why are you so quiet?

I looked at him, and inside I cried to God:

Don’t take him from me… take me instead, but not him.

— Linda, where is your mind?

A tear slipped down my cheek.

— Linda… are you crying? Why?

I gathered myself and forced a smile.

— It’s nothing… just the smoke from the fireplace.

— Come sit a little closer.

He took a deep breath.

“I know it’s cold, not really a day for the beach… but I’d love to see the waves before it gets dark.

To hear the seagulls mixing with the silence of the shore.”

His fiery gaze from years ago had faded.

The voice that once lifted me every time he said my name was now weak and trembling.

I leaned forward and kissed his forehead.

He smiled and kissed my hand.

I started the heater, helped him into the car, folded the wheelchair, and we drove toward the sea.

The entire ride, he kept his face turned toward me.

I glanced at him from time to time.

— Linda… do you know how much I love you?

The knot in my throat nearly stopped my breath.

— As much as the stars back there… the ones that are always too many. Isn’t that right?

A faint smile appeared on his lips.

I set the wheelchair on the sand and helped him sit down.

— Thank you, my love.

He lifted his head.

— Will you kiss me? I’m so cold…

I wrapped the blanket around him.

— You want a burning kiss to warm you up, don’t you?

He looked into my eyes; something was there, but the words did not come.

He turned his head and watched the seagulls circling over the cold waves.

We sat together, silently, for half an hour.

My hand in his.

Then I felt it—his hand growing cold.

I stood.

Bending over him, I looked at his face…

His eyes were closed.

I gently pulled his head to my shoulder—

and for a moment, I hated being alive.

The beach was silent.

The waves rolled softly.

And I sat beside him… in a silence that would never be filled again.