She found herself starting to wake up every morning at 3:30 am, the same time she would back in high school when she would wake up and the first thing she would do is text Clay. It’s been ten years now since she’s seen him. A week after they graduated from their high school, and they went their separate ways. Bay moved into her new apartment in the town her college was in and Clay started his journey in the army. Neither of them thought years would pass before they were going  to meet again.
Life kept coming with all of its ups and downs and time kept on passing by. Bay double majored in college in fashion and business and then started her career at Nordstrom. Clay started his training to be in the Army. Every day, she would wake up having him on  her mind not knowing where he was, was a concept she couldn’t wrap her head around.
The memory of their last day together still lingers around in Bay’s mind, every detail of their last day together, as one. It started with a cup of coffee and a walk on the beach. They ended up in her bedroom, laying in bed just looking deep in in each other’s eyes. Saying nothing, just letting the tears roll down their face and .They knew that in less than 24 hours they would be going their separate path of life. The thought was that they would see each other again in a few months, then years past. Things changed, they promised to write to each other and they took their first step away from each other. The first letters always were love ones, telling each other how much they love each other. Weekly letter became monthly letters then no letters came in the mail anymore. They knew in their hearts that they would always be there not matter what happened. Their love for each other was so deep that nothing would separate them. Then distance finally was starting to hit them, they couldn’t hold each other or be able to explore the world together. Thousands of miles were in between them now.
One day unexpectedly she felt a familiar presence. It was grocery shopping day and she headed to a farmers market that was located at her elementary school. It was a hot summer day and she wanted to make lemonade so she went to a lemon stand and started picking a few. A hand reached across from her to grab a lemon.  She was raised her head and that’s when she saw Clay. He stood six feet tall wearing his black combat boots and his army uniform.  His hat covered his hair that was once styled long on top and short on the sides, he would always have it gelled back. Now it’s all cut off, his jawline sharper, and his eyes carried new stories. Their eyes once again met and their smile grew bigger than ever.
“What are you doing here?”, Bay asked with her voice shaking. She was frozen, then a big wave of relief  came over her body. He’s alive.
“ I need lemons for my lemon water, silly!”, he said as if time had not passed by.
Bay couldn’t resist any longer, she dropped everything so she could hug him and hold him again. Unexpectedly someone aggressively  bumped into her, all of her attention shifted to them. They walked along as if nothing happened and Clay was gone.
She picked up all of her belongings and ran to the parking lot to try and find him, when a car hit her. Sirens were heard a few moments later. Then she was rushed to the hospital.
Clay was in the corner of the room watching doctors and nurses rush in and out, trying to stable her. He watched silently until she was stable enough to just have one nurse come check on her here and there. Bay had tubes, wires, and needles all over her.
When the nurse came in to check on her, Bay kept on mumbling the name Clay. The nurses were a bit confused why she was doing so. One nurse was searching through her purse to see if she can contact a family member. An EMT came in with a document that was dated five years ago to this day November 8th. Clay approached Bay on her left side and reached for her hand. The document was a death statement issued by the Army to inform the family and loved one that, Clayton Jarvis, had unfortunately passed away on the battlefield.
Bay was trying really hard to open her eyes, a tear rolled down her face. Clay reached for her hand as she took her last breath.
         The heart monitor went flat and the nurses hurried around to bring her back. She was gone.