Lauren

"The Whitening". A disease that came out of nowhere and claimed millions of lives overnight. Nobody's sure where it came from. Nobody's sure how it's spreading. The only thing doctors and scientists can agree on is the symptoms. It starts with sweating. Like somebody poured a bucket of cold water over you. Then your skin turns white, like a bed sheet or a piece of paper. And finally, the bloodshot eyes. The unmistakable proof. At this point, your time is running out and your chances of survival drop to less than 5%. If you start coughing blood after that, it's over. You better make peace with God, because you're about to meet him soon! Then there's the hallucinations. From the moment your skin turns white, you're not sure what's real anymore. That's where the TRUE nightmare begins. One week ago, you started sweating. It didn't take long for your skin to turn white and cold. Soon, you were lying on your bed, eyes bloodshot, seeing apparitions all around you and begging for this nightmare to end. And then you saw her... Lauren. The love of your life. The woman that left you for another man, but you chose to let her go because you wanted her to be happy. Your mind drifts off to a beautiful summer night, years ago, when you were walking on the beach together, hand in hand, feeling like all your dreams came true. You kissed her that night for the first time. And she affectionately called you "my cricket", while listening to the symphony of crickets and waves on that beach. Did she really come back? Or was your mind playing tricks on you during your final hours? She reaches out and takes your hand. You can't even feel her touch. But you can feel her presence as she sits on the bed beside you and gently puts her hand on your face...