We walked along the beach at the end of the world, holding hands for the last time. I t was the summer of 1951 in hot Georgia. That very date was the day I, Brynlee Jacobs met the man I knew I was going to marry a handsome young man by the name of Ryan O’Connor. His sweet voice speaking to me for the first time reminded me of home. He laid eyes on me from afar and finally approached me. ”Hello ma’am, how are you?” he said a smile. I replied simply saying, “I’m fine.” Shyly. That was the start of a never ending love story. As days went by I fell more and more in love with Ryan. We did just about everything together. We went on dates, out dancing, watching movies and our favorite thing to do was go to the beach. We took a road trip to the beach closes to us. Ryan and I brought food to eat in the sand. I remember the sand between our toes and the hot sun hitting our bodies. As the sun started to set we ran along the shore line before laying on the beach looking up at the stars. We talked all night about our future plans and what we wanted to do with our lives as a whole. Years went by, good times and bad. Life happened, marriage, not long after children. We have a son and daughter, Jane and Andrew. They grew up too quick. They now are happily living their own lives. Jane and Andrew gave me 4 beautiful grandchildren.

Now in our late 40’s we decided to start traveling. We traveled anywhere and everywhere we could possibly think of. From Paris to London, to Tokyo. This lasted until we were in our mid 70’s, right before something tragic took place in our lives. I became deathly sick but I had no idea why. I went to the doctor and was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. The doctor put me on so many medications that haven’t seemed to help. After attempting for 5 years to get me healthy, the doctors came to the conclusion that there was nothing else they can do. That day they gave me 3 months to live. I didn’t want to just sit around and wait to pass on so I asked Ryan, “Can we travel one more time?” His reply was a quick, “of course.” After a few days of rest we packed our things and traveled back to the beach where everything started. We spent endless nights talking about all of the days we spent together. A night laying in same way under the stars the way we used to was more than I could have ever asked for. We fell asleep on the beach that night. I stared at him as he slept knowing that was the last time we would have nights like this. I fell asleep peacefully knowing what was happening next. I held onto Ryan tightly as I took my last breath. Ryan woke up with my cold body in his arms. He tried to wake me up by saying my name and slightly shaking me. Tears filled his eyes as he knew what had happened. Ryan picked me up and took me up to the beach house that we were staying at and immediately called for help. Not too long after, an ambulance came and took my body away. I was there, whether he saw me or not. I answered every question that he asked since that day. He became weak and depressed without me. A week later, Ryan passed away. The doctors said he died from a broke heart. Now we’re together again. Walking on a beach in paradise.