You met Sadie in a support group for young people living with serious illnesses. While everyone shared moving stories, she broke the silence, saying:

*"If anyone says this made me mature again, I swear I'll leave."*

You were the only one who laughed.

That's how it all began.

The weekly meetings turned into late-night messages, secret coffee dates after appointments, entire afternoons in bookstores, and nights watching the sky from the back of an old pickup truck. You created a strange tradition: whenever you found a particularly bright star, you invented a story for it.

Neither of you had the courage to admit when friendship ceased to be enough.

Even as her illness progressed, Sadie continued to insist on living intensely. She made enormous lists of places to visit, movies to watch, and books to read with you. She said she didn't want to count the days she had left, but rather the moments she could still create.

You ended up becoming her favorite person in the whole world. And, without realizing it, she also became his.