Arthur stood atop the newly completed Glenwood Dam. The wind brushed his face, but he didn't feel the cold. He only felt the profound pride of finally reaching the project's end. Below him, the water that once flooded these valleys was now controlled, trapped behind reinforced concrete, ready to power thousands of homes.

  His phone buzzed in his pocket. It was his mother.

  "Artie? Did you finish?"

  "It's done, Mom. The inspection passed an hour ago."

  "Oh, thank goodness," she sighed, relief evident in her voice. "Your father and I are already at the venue. Elena is... well, she's pretending she isn't nervous, but she’s reorganized the seating chart three times."

  Arthur smiled, his hand instinctively touching the velvet box in his pocket. He and Elena were getting married in two days. They had bought a cozy house with a garden—she wanted to grow herbs; he wanted to build a garage for his own engineering projects. It was a simple, perfect future.

  "Tell her I’ll be there before she knows it, Mom," Arthur said, chuckling as he walked toward his car. "I just need to sign the final safety logs."

  He wasn't arrogant about his success. He knew this dam was the result of five years of sleepless nights, budget cuts, and grueling labor. He respected the process.

  As he drove down the winding mountain road, the rain began. It wasn't a storm—just a slick, sudden downpour, exactly what the weather forecast had warned about. Arthur took the curve at the speed limit, careful as always.

  But the truck careening into his lane wasn't careful. Its brakes had failed.

  The headlights blinded him. There was no time to be a hero. No time to think of a witty last line. There was just the crushing sound of metal, a flash of pain, and then... a single thought.

  Elena. I promised I wouldn't be late.

  Chaos erupted on the mountainside. The ambulance arrived at the crash scene with a police escort, sirens wailing against the rain. The paramedics worked with desperate efficiency, retrieving the two victims from the wreckage. Both were rushed to the nearest hospital.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Arthur’s condition was critical. His body was broken, a grim testament to the violence of the impact. He was transferred directly to the emergency operating room. The truck driver, who had sustained only mild bruises, was monitored in the recovery ward.

  In the midst of the chaos, the police called Arthur’s family after retrieving his ID from the wreckage. His parents' faces paled at the thought of their only son dying just two days before his wedding. They refused to tell Elena anything until they arrived, fearing she would collapse on the spot.

  The surgery went on for nearly six hours.

  At 8:00 PM, the illuminated IN OPERATION sign above the surgical doors finally turned off.

  In the waiting room, the silence was deafening. Arthur’s parents and Elena stood up, their hearts pounding, their legs barely supporting their weight.

  The doctor walked out of the room. His steps were heavy, thudding against the linoleum floor. He pulled down his surgical mask, revealing a grim expression.

  Arthur’s mother rushed forward, barely holding back her tears. "Doctor! How did the surgery go?"

  The doctor took a deep breath, unable to meet her eyes. "Mr. and Mrs. Vance... Arthur fought until the very end. But the damage was too extensive. His heart stopped beating before we could close the wounds."

  Arthur’s mother didn't hear the rest. Only the words "we weren’t able to save him" reverberated in her head. His father collapsed into a chair, hiding his face in his hands, his shoulders shaking with sobs.

  For Elena, the world simply shattered.

  They were only two days away. They were supposed to start their family. His gentle smile flashed before her eyes, the sound of his voice promising that they would finally live together for the rest of their lives. Now, there was only silence. Tears fell onto her blue dress, staining the fabric dark.

  Days later, Arthur’s funeral was held.

  Friends and family came to offer their condolences to the Vance family and to Elena. But Elena was like a ghost. After the burial, she never left Arthur's room. She sat there, staring at nothing, holding tightly onto the engagement ring the police had retrieved from the wreckage—the only piece of the future that survived.

  The world went black for Arthur.

  The velvet box in his pocket was crushed, but the promise remained. A promise he would never fulfill.

  Elena. I promised I'd be there.

  Arthur could no longer feel anything around him. He was just wandering in an endless, suffocating void. He floated there for what felt like an eternity, suspended in the dark.

  Suddenly, a blinding light pierced his fractured consciousness. The void shattered.

  Arthur opened his eyes...

  (To be continued...)

  Spotted a typo or a structural error in the text? Point it out in the comments! I'm forging ahead and building the next chapters at the other end of the tunnel, so I highly appreciate your help in keeping the foundation of this story clean and solid.

  Thank you for reading!