What if the last thing a dying person sees was not what they wanted?

Emily was a hospice nurse for nearly 20 years and has seen thousands of people die. She was trained to know what each patient preferred to see when they die and how they wanted it to happen. She was taught that this was the most important thing to ask. When a patient passes away they are more likely to be at peace and more comfortable with their fate if they have what they wanted when they were dying.<br><br>Emily saw a patient come in the hospital that had 12 hours left to live. She asked the patient what he wanted to see when he dies. He told her he wanted to see his first love, Mary, from high school. He said they had only dated for one month in their junior year and hadn’t seen or talked to her since. He said she was the love of his life and he would do anything to see her one last time. Emily said she would do her best to make it happen.<br><br>She was able to find Mary and arrange a visit for the next morning. When she woke him up the next morning he was weak but still awake. Mary showed up and he was overjoyed to see her. He told her he was sorry and that he still loved her. Mary told him that she had been so confused when he stopped talking to her but she had moved on. He asked her to forgive him and he died. Mary left the hospital in tears and Emily felt that she had helped this man die in peace.<br><br>But when she went back to check on him she found that he had died 20 minutes earlier than expected and his wife was sitting right next to him. He never mentioned a Mary in any of his legal documents and his wife had no idea who she was. Emily knew this patient was the man she saw the day before. He had been so weak that he had died sitting up, something she has never seen before. She immediately called a meeting with all of her coworkers. They knew they had to keep this quiet. His wife was buried with the ring he gave Mary and a photo of them together. Emily’s hospital did a great job of keeping the patient’s wife calm and understanding. They told her that he was given a powerful medication that made him die suddenly so he didn’t suffer.<br><br>But Emily knows what happened. Emily knows what he really saw before he died.<br><br>*****<br><br>Years later Emily is working at a different hospital. She is working with an elderly patient who has only a week to live. Emily knows the man well and knows he has no living family. She asks him what he wants to see when he dies. The man is quiet and then tells her he doesn’t want to see his ex-wife, Diane, from high school. He said they dated for nearly two years but she left him for another man after she got pregnant. He told her they had never been more in love but she left him when they needed each other the most. He said she was the love of his life and he still thinks about her to this day. He told Emily he never wanted to see her again. Emily said she would do her best to make it happen.<br><br>Three days later the man was awake and Emily was the only nurse on duty. She asked him again what he wanted to see when he died and he told her the same thing. She called the local high school and was able to find the last known address of his ex-wife. She went home and picked her up, telling her that the patient was awake and wanted to say his goodbyes. Emily had no idea if the woman would still be in love with the man or if she even remembered him. When they got to the hospital he was still awake and Emily could tell he was excited to see her. He told her that he was sorry and that he still loves her. She told him she was sorry too and she still loves him. Emily watched in silence as they talked for hours. The man died a couple hours after she left and Emily knew he didn’t see Diane when he died.<br><br>Two weeks later Emily gets a phone call from the hospital where she used to work. The patient she saw die a few years earlier was being rushed to the ER. His wife was at his side, screaming in agony. His heart was still beating when he died. Emily was immediately flown in to work with them and the patient’s wife was sedated. When Emily was alone with the body she immediately noticed something was wrong. The patient was in the same position he was when he died before, sitting up. But the man who was minding the body told Emily he had been in that position since they put him on the autopsy table. This man had been dead for over two hours.<br><br>And when Emily went to check his vital signs she noticed something else. His heart rate was exactly 76. Emily knew that no one was minding the patient so she snuck into the autopsy room and checked the man’s pulse. His heart was still beating.<br><br>And the patient who died sitting up had a heart rate of 120.<br><br>Emily knew she was on to something big.<br><br>She worked with the man who had minding the body and they were able to keep him alive for the next few days. They were able to run every test in the book and found that the man had a very rare condition where he was able to live forever. He was given a new identity and he was placed in the care of the man who was minding the body. He was given a new name and a new story. Emily made sure he never told anyone what really happened.<br><br>And she made sure that the patient never died.<br><br>*****<br><br>Years went by and Emily had completely forgotten about the two patients she had muzzled to death. She had long forgotten the names and stories of the two patients. She was working at a new hospital and had gotten herself into a relationship with a man she had known since high school. He was charming and nice and Emily felt like she was the luckiest woman alive.<br><br>Until the night he confessed to being a serial killer.<br><br>He told her that he had been doing it for years. He was a police officer and had been muzzling patients for over 10 years. He said he loved being able to kill someone and see them die peacefully. Emily was horrified when he told her that he had started doing it after his own mother had passed away in agony from cancer. She was given a powerful medication that made her die within minutes. He had seen it happen and he said he could never get over it. He said that she deserved better and that he was giving her something better.<br><br>Emily knew she couldn’t tell anyone. He was a police officer. He was charming and nice. She had known him since high school. He said he was sorry but that he needed her help. He said that he was tired of muzzling patients and he needed her to help him.<br><br>He told her he wanted to see his ex-girlfriend, Sarah, from college one last time. She was his first love. They dated for nearly three years but she left him for a man she met in business school. He said she was the love of his life. He said she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He told her that he would do anything to see her again.<br><br>He asked her to help him see her again.<br><br>Emily knew what he was going to do. She knew what it meant. Emily knew the man was the man who had been muzzled to death by his wife. She knew that she had to help him see her again.<br><br>But she was scared. She knew what it meant to be muzzled. She knew it wasn’t right. But she was also tired of muzzling patients. She was tired of having to do it for someone else. She was tired of doing it for herself.<br><br>She agreed to help him.<br><br>She knew he would have to find a way to make the man die peacefully and then she would have to find a way to make his ex-girlfriend show up.<br><br>She knew it was going to be a lot of work.<br><br>And she knew that she was going to be in big trouble if they got caught.<br><br>She knew that she would have to take her share of the blame. But she also knew she couldn’t let him do it again.<br><br>And so she helped him.<br><br>She helped him kill his ex-girlfriend and she helped him kill his ex-lover.<br><br>And she was rewarded with a life with him.<br><br>But she knew that they couldn’t do it forever.<br><br>And she knew that she couldn’t let him do it again.<br><br>And so she tried to stop him.<br><br>And she tried to run away.<br><br>But he couldn’t let her.<br><br>He couldn’t let her tell anyone.<br><br>He couldn’t let her live.<br><br>And so he killed her.<br><br>And he killed himself.<br><br>And no one ever knew what really happened.<br><br>And no one ever knew what they saw when they died.<br><br>But Emily knows.<br><br>And Emily is terrified.