A Lesson in Dying

What could I have done when there was nothing that I could do but wait?

I gasp for air through my tears. A tsunami of grief has plunged deep into my chest pushing away all in its path, leaving a hallow in its wake. She told me that she was not afraid of dying because she would be gone.  She was afraid for me and the others, the ones left behind, because we would suffer the emptiness, the missing of her. She craved peace and release from the piercing wretchedness that overwhelmed her when medications failed.  She just wanted to go to sleep and not wake up.  This morning her wish was granted. She's gone.