كان أول ما شعرت به أملاً، إذ كانت عيناه مفتوحتين تلمعان بنورٍ متألق لم تره فيهما من قبل. صلّت إلى الله أن يمنحها لحظةً واحدة على الأقل، كي لا يرحل دون أن يعرف كم أحبّته رغم كل شكوكهما، وشعرت برغبةٍ لا تقاوم في أن تبدأ الحياة معه من جديد، فيقولا ما بقي بينهما دون قول، ويُصلحا كل ما أفسداه في الماضي. لكنها اضطرت أن تستسلم لعناد الموت.

“Her first reaction was one of hope, because his eyes were open and shining with a radiant light she had never seen there before. She prayed to God to give him at least a moment so that he would not go without knowing how much she had love him despite all their doubts, and she felt an irresistible longing to begin life with him over again so that they could say what they had left unsaid and do everything right that they had done badly in the past. But she had to give in to the intransigence of death. (Love in the Time of Cholera)”Gabriel Garcia Marquez