I remember when I was younger I lived next to the woods. Me and my sister spent most of our days running between the trees and splashing through the creeks, while the wind whipped through our hair in a frenzy and the branches slapped at our faces to scold us.

When we got older a building site wanted to destroy the forest for new houses, me and my sister were appalled, so we started a petition. We convinced people to sign it and eventually the operation got shut down. We kept the forest, rich in memories.

I stayed in my home town, and when my parents died in a car accident, I got to keep the house. So me and my boyfriend moved in, some people felt I was being disrespectful, living in their house right after their death. But it was what they wanted, after all, it was in their will.

When me and my boyfriend got married, it was a winters day. Snow was littering the hillside, painting the landscape in an angelic white, which glowed in the setting sun. We kissed under the arch while petals and snow danced in the air around us. My sister walked me down the aisle by my request. The band played well into the night, much longer than we had payed them for. And once everyone had left, me and my gorgeus new husband drove away in a car, letting all the world know we were married.

Me and my husband tried for children for years, but nothing worked. So we adopted a gorgeus baby named Saiba. I still remember bringing her home, her tiny hands reaching up, playing with the air, I remember the exact way the light made her brown eyes caramel. The feeling filled my heart with indescribable joy.

When Saiba brought home her twins for the first time I remember sitting them on my lap and letting them play with my hair. Their brown skin, a shade darker than Saibas, seemed to glow in the artificial light. And I swear I saw tiny halos glittering around their head.

Just a few weeks ago, me and my husband sat at the patio of our home. Staring at the flames leaping and dancing in the air, I reminisced at my life. My sister had died many years before, but I still held all our memories close to my heart. My grandchildren were in their twenties, but I will always see them as tiny angels.

I leant my head on my husbands shoulder, our bones were brittle, and our faces wrinkled. But he managed to make me feel like a lovesick teenager again. I felt my heart fill with pride at the life I lived. If I could do anything differently, if I could intervene. I would still stand at the sidelines and watch.

So I lie here today, the beeping heart monitor next to my bed, remebering something my teacher taught me about death.

“It is said, that in the final 7 minutes before we die, our brain relives the best memories, the ones we keep next to our heart.”

So I lie here today, reliving my best memories, and when I feel myself slipping off…

I welcome death with open arms.