The room was a sanctuary of hushed worry, the only sound the mechanical, indifferent rhythm of the life support keeping the woman I loved tethered to this world. The morning had fully broken, painting the heavy window drapes with a pale, watery light, but inside, it was still twilight. I had allowed myself only two hours of restless, vigil-like sleep in the adjoining room before the need to be near her, to ensure her pulse continued, dragged me back.

I sat in the chair, my large frame dwarfing ...