It is midnight. The streets of Rohan grow still as the people

in the town turn off their lights and head to bed. The night is

pitch black and the wind whispers softly, blowing the trees

and knocking against the window panes of some cottages.

In one house, a woman named Sara sits by her window

waiting for the doctor to arrive. Her beloved husband Ted

lies in his bed next to her. In the light of a single candle,

she cannot see his haggard face.

She could tell that he was in horrible pain, for even the

medicine the doctor presribed could not help him. Sara

clutched his hand in hers, feeling the coldness that crept

through his body. He is barely breathing now. She knows

he is slipping away fast. Part of her is thankful because she

can't bear to see him in so much pain, but the other part

of her wants to scream out in despair begging him not

to leave her.

Outside the house, Sara hears the soft rumble of wheels 

turning and the clip clop of horses' hooves echo through the

darkness. She tears her eyes off Ted and looks out the

window, expecting to see the doctor's coach pulling into the

street. Instead, she sees a dark, black coach with big circular

holes where the windows should be. The seats at the front are

empty, yet she can hear the sound of horses' hooves as the

coach slowly moves down the street.

She takes a deep breath and exhales slowly. It was the Death

Coach. Ted had told her about it and how it would be coming 

for him that night. Sara said there was no such thing. She did

not want to believe him. But there it was, rolling gradually up to

the house to stop by the front gate. The sight terrifies Sara and

she clutches to her husband's hand even tighter than before.

She did not want to let go.

Ted opens his eyes, smiles faintly and tries to squeeze Sara's

hand back. "Is it here?" he asks, his voice barely to a whisper.

She nods. "I love you," he says to his wife. She leans down

and kisses him, barely feeling his last breath upon her. The grip

on her hand loosened. She straightened up, looking sadly at

Ted's lifeless face through her warm tears.

A movement by the door causes her to look up. She sees her

husband's spirit standing by the door. Ted first gazes at his body

and then smiles at her. He turns, walks out the door and down the 

stairs. She moves quickly to the window and flings it open, hoping

to see her husband again. He steps out the front door, knowing

Sara is watching. He waves and she waves back, tears still 

racing down her face.

Her husband steps into the coach and closes the door behind 

him. The Death Coach rumbles back up the street, turns a corner

and then disappears. "Goodbye my love," Sara calls out softly.

Her husband's pain is over, but hers has just begun. With a heavy,

broken heart, she closes the window and heads down the stairs

to call the doctor and tell him that her dear husband is dead.