Chapter 4

Spencer didn't come home for the next few days. He sent Hailey only one message, saying he'd gone away on business.

But Candace's messages made it perfectly clear where he really was.

Hailey didn't bother responding. She simply printed out each message and put it away with the others.

Meanwhile, she continued checking things off her wish list, one by one.

The tenth item on her list was to see flowers in bloom. After a quick search on her phone, she settled on a popular park where the camellias had just begun to bloom.

The park was quiet that weekday. Hailey slowly wheeled herself along one of the paths.

By midafternoon, a few street musicians had gathered in the plaza, playing soft love songs.

Hailey turned toward the music and immediately spotted Spencer. Candace was right beside him. The two were chatting as they shared something to eat.

At one point, Candace offered Spencer a piece of fruit from her own fork. He ate it without hesitation.

The easy smile on Spencer's face caught Hailey off guard. She hadn't expected to see him and Candace here.

For a while, she simply watched them from a distance. Then Spencer got to his feet and walked over to one of the musicians. He leaned in to say something to the singer, who stepped aside to let him take over.

Spencer adjusted the microphone and began strumming the guitar, drawing curious looks from the people nearby.

"This one's for Candace Green, the love of my life."

Then he began to sing, his voice clear and gentle.

The crowd fell silent as his love song filled the plaza.

A few young women nearby watched Spencer admiringly, whispering excitedly to one another.

"He's so handsome. She's so lucky. My boyfriend would never do anything that romantic."

"I'm seriously going to cry. I've never heard this song before. Do you think he wrote it himself?"

"Yes," Hailey answered before she could stop herself.

She wasn't sure whether she'd meant to answer the question or had simply been caught up in the memory.

She'd first heard that song when she was 16, at her high school's holiday celebration.

Spencer had written the song himself, both the music and the lyrics. He'd performed it as the grand finale, dedicating it to Hailey without revealing that they were dating.

Except back then, he'd said Hailey's name, not Candace's.

The auditorium had erupted in cheers, whistles, and excited screams.

A few days later, Spencer had joined the school radio station. From then on, Hailey heard his song playing every day at lunch.

Everything had seemed so perfect back then.

But those days were gone. The song he'd written for her was no longer hers alone.

And she was no longer the one he loved.

The young women turned to her in surprise when they heard her answer. One of them quickly offered her some tissues.

"Hey, why are you crying? Did the song really move you that much?"

Only then did Hailey realize that tears were streaming down her cheeks. She took the tissues and wiped her face, then slowly shook her head and wheeled herself away.

The 19th item on her wish list was to revisit her old high school. With her old student ID in hand, Hailey returned to the campus she knew by heart.

There was the track where Spencer had pulled her along during a half-mile run, the library where they'd struggled through homework together, and the school building where he'd carried her on his back after she'd sprained her ankle.

Everywhere she looked, Hailey was reminded of the time she'd spent with Spencer. But now that she could no longer walk, all she could do was gaze at those familiar places from her wheelchair.

Eventually, she reached a quiet corner of the school garden and stopped in front of a fringe tree. It towered over her wheelchair.

Spencer had planted it eight years earlier as part of an Arbor Day project at school.

The trees their classmates had planted had all died over the years. His was the only one left.

It wasn't because his tree was any hardier than the others. Spencer had stopped by every day to check on it, watering it and occasionally adding fertilizer.

Throughout the rest of high school, he'd kept it up through every season.

When Hailey had asked him why he cared so much about one little tree, Spencer had taken her hand and led her over to it.

He'd cleared away the weeds at its base, revealing a message carved into the bark near the roots.

"Spencer will always love Hailey."

Eight years later, the little tree still carried the promise he'd made to her.

She took out the small knife she'd brought with her and began scraping away the words, one letter at a time, until nothing remained.

For a long time, she stared at the bare patch of bark, smiling even as tears rolled down her cheeks.

Spencer had promised to love her forever, yet he couldn't even keep loving her. In the end, his promise had been nothing but a lie.

After a long while, Hailey finally left the school, hailed a cab, and headed to the vital records office. She wanted to register her death in advance.

The clerk frowned when she explained, "We can't register a death until someone has actually died."

Hailey took out her assisted-dying approval letter and medical records documenting her severe depression. She handed them to the clerk, speaking as casually as if she were discussing the weather.

"I don't have any family left, and I'm getting divorced soon. Once I'm gone, there won't be anyone to handle this for me. I figured I'd take care of the paperwork myself so no one else would have to."

The clerk looked over her documents, then went to speak with a supervisor.

After some discussion, they agreed to keep her documents on file, explaining that the death could only be registered once they received an official death certificate.

Hailey made a note of the requirement, thanked the clerk, and left.

She was about to hail a cab outside the building when she heard a familiar voice. She turned to see Spencer getting out of his car, staring at her in disbelief.

"Hailey? What are you doing here?"