The date 18 July 2027 will always stick in Hannah’s mind. It was a scorching hot day as she sat on the bus and thought about her decision. She was so deep in thought she had missed her stop. Through the heat and sweat she felt her heart and her brain turmoil and her heart palpitating. She had been thinking about it for weeks but now she felt she had to bite the bullet. She got off the bus and walked slowly home, dazed with anxiety. She went in and put her shopping away before heading upstairs. “ Is that you Hannah?” a weak voice called from the bedroom. “ Yes it’s me, I’m just coming”. She climbed the stairs and pushed open the door. Her husband’s sallow and pitted face stared at her. He looked skeletal as he lay on top of the bed in pyjamas that were now far too big for him. A syringe driver fed merciful pain killers in to him constantly. A colostomy bag hung menacingly by his side. This was a far site from fine figure of a man Phil had been up until three years ago. He had been a joiner and after a lifetime on building sites he was as fit as a fiddle for a man of 52 years with a tall muscular frame, a full head of black hair and muscles that were testimony to carrying heavy joists up ladders for 30 years The consultants words haunted her every day or at least some of their words did “ stage 4....inoperable....palliative...6 months......”. These words went round and round in her head like a monstrous carousel she couldn’t escapes told Phil about her shopping trip and he listened intently. He liked to hear what was going on outside his prison cell of bedroom. How have you been since I left? “Quite bad” Phil said. Hannah knew that “Quite bad” meant “really bad” as Phil was not a complainer and he tended to down play his illness. “The McMillan nurse came in and gave me my meds and adjusted the syringe” “Phil” Hannah said seizing the moment albeit very hesitantly. Maybe he would hate her for what she was going to say but she had to say it. “ You don’t have to go on suffering this terrible pain” she said her voice quivering and tears running down her cheek. Phil didn’t reply “You know you can get help if you think you’ve had enough and can’t go on” “ Help to die you mean?” he said in a soft voice “Yes Hannah” said before the emotion completely overwhelmed her and she began to sob and cry uncontrollably. Phil was silent. He had already been given his death sentence and the only question that remained was when and how he would die, naturally or thanks to the Assisted Dying Act 2025, with the help of a doctor? He had thought about this ever since the pain, the terrible pain had permeated every inch of his body. He now realised that Hannah had been thinking about the matter too and that this had clearly distressed her terribly. He should have brought the subject up. He felt guilty for not doing so. He took Hannah by the hand and he found new strength as he squeezed her hand tightly “Life is for living” he said “and living includes loving and I love you so much I never want that to end even if it means suffering this dreadful pain. I know that the day will soon be here when I will be taken from you but when that will be, will be God’s decision. Even then I’ll love you from wherever I go and ill wait for you there until we meet again. Whenever you look at the horizon remember I’m just over it waiting for you and that that's only your lifetime away. Its my love for you that helps me through the pain and its my love for you that stops me ever wanting to die”. They both lay for some time, hand in hand. They were silent, a silence where speaking seemed unnecessary in fact unwanted in a mood that only true love can create. Eventually Hannah spoke “Fancy some tea?” “That would be great” said Phil, his voice still very weak but maybe more confident. Ten minutes later Hannah returned with the tea. “I’ve brought you a fruit scone, your favourite, will you manage it?” There was no reply and as she looked over at the bed, Phil lay still, the stillness of death. She shook him and spoke to him but she knew he had gone. She sat on the bed and cuddled his lifeless body. His face she noticed was strangely peacefull now that the pain he had lived with for so long had now gone. She wept. The funeral took place three weeks later. It was a sunny spring day where the white cotton clouds hurried across the blue sky and swathes of daffodils swayed in the mild spring breeze. “We commit Phillip’s body to the ground, ashes to ashes dust to dust...”the priest said. Hannah cried but as she looked out across the distant horizon she knew that that was where Phil really was loving her and waiting for her.