She closed her eyes and sank lower under the bubbly foam that filled her bathtub. Her head lolled back against the cool porcelain, a stark contrast to the warm water that held her in its loving embrace. She took a deep breath, flooding her senses with the sweet scent of the lilac essential oil she had poured in only moments before submerging herself. She allowed her mind to drift as she soaked, recollecting on the past year.

These last few months since losing her husband so young had been hard. Everyone told her not to marry so early, but the pair were blissfully in love and never worried about age as they said their vows. Forever lasted only two years before he was so cruelly taken from her. She could still remember the biting winter wind blowing through her open door as two men in military uniforms told her he was gone. Her heart froze solid in that wind and had yet to thaw.

She tried her best to continue her life with the gaping hole that he left behind, but as the world started to turn green, her heart turned blacker. Why should everything around her be allowed to grow and thrive while the love of her life lie six feet below ground? It was horribly unfair that she had to suffer while everything else flourished. It wasn’t until a quiet summer evening that her world began to brighten.

She was sitting on her porch in the fading evening sun, a glass of tea in her hand. She watched cars pass by, and with one, passed the scent of a lilac bush. Lilacs were the flowers that they had at their wedding, as the beautiful color and intoxicating smell perfectly encapsulated the romance of that day. She hadn’t touched anything lilac since he departed the world, and she felt sure that this was a sign that he was well in the next life. Happily, she went inside and drew a bath, pouring in the oil that had been the last gift he gave her before he left this world.