Bryan arrived at Dublin airport the next morning. He couldn't get an earlier flight because of bad weather so he'd waited all night in the airport lobby for an available flight.
On arrival Bryan ran straight to the exit, completely forgetting his luggage and headed straight for the taxis. Jumping in the first one that came along he sped home as fast as was legally possible.
The house was empty when he got home. No Sarah, No Sherry, no Chip. He immediately called up Shane to get Sherry's mobile phone number. Shane told him that he'd talked to Sherry and that she'd told him they were thinking of changing their plans and going by boat instead of plane.
Shane of course gave the phone number to him and Bryan called, but to his surprise their was no answer. Sherry hardly ever switched off her phone unless her battery was dead or she had no credits on her phone. And that was practically impossible as she always had spares in case she did run out.

He knew they were flying home that same day and decided to go back to Dublin airport and wait there for them. Sarah liked that airport and always used it as it was more convenient when getting to Bryan's house.
Bryan decided he would be able to collect his luggage too, so it would be a worthwhile trip anyway. He got in his land rover and drove to the airport. The airport was packed. Bryan went over to the luggage depot to collect his suitcase.

"Did you hear about what happened to that ferry?" a lady, who was standing only feet away from Bryan asked a gentleman next to her. "I know isn't it awful!" he replied. "All those poor people having to stay afloat, I doubt they'll all be alive!" the lady sighed.

Bryan couldn't keep quiet any longer "What ferry?" he asked them, suddenly feeling very sick. "Didn't you hear?" the lady asked him "there's been a ferry sprung a leak in the Irish Sea. Apparently there's lifeboats out and rescue helicopters and they've got survivors but I mean there can't be too many survivors can there? It took them over an hour to locate where the ferry went down!".

Bryan's face went pale "Please don't let them have been on that ferry!" he thought over and over in his head. In a daze he wondered off, dragging his suitcase behind him. "Why would they?" he told himself, though still feeling uneasy "Sherry only told Shane that they MIGHT go by boat, she never said for definite. Did she? He said they said 'might' not 'would'..."

"How rude!" the lady said to the gentleman at the luggage depot as they watched Bryan walk away "What's wrong with him?".

Bryan reached home and got straight into bed. He pulled the covers over his head and cried. He cried so hard his chest hurt. Then after a while he couldn't cry any longer. But his chest still cried and he started to feel sick. He ran into the toilet and threw up.

His phone rang. He quickly cleaned himself up as he answered the phone. "Hello" he muttered. "Switch on the telly" said the voice at the other end of the phone. Bryan walked over to his telly and switched it on. "Channel 1" said the voice which Bryan now recognised as Eddie's.

Bryan put on channel one and watched with amazement. There was a rescue scene. Helicopters flying around and waves crashing all over the place, while a timid reporter tried to explain what was going on.
"What am I supposed to be looking at?" Bryan muttered. "Sarah's there! I saw her" Eddie told him. Bryan sat up straight "Where?". "She was on a stretcher" Eddie told him "I don't know if they're going to show her again".

Suddenly the cameras switched to a shot of survivors, huddled together wrapped in blankets. Sherry was standing among them with an extremely wet looking Chip the dog.
"There have been many casualties but as yet no deaths have been reported" said the reporter "The extent of the damage here and the number of survivors is as yet unknown. We can only hope and pray that everyone escaped unharmed".

Bryan sighed and collapsed onto the floor, dropping the phone onto the floor next to him. "No deaths" Bryan heard Eddie yell happily down the phone.

When Bryan arrived at the main hospital where most of the casualties had been sent he was greeted by Sherry who ran down the corridor to meet him. "She's not too good" she told him "She rescued Chip and was under for a long time". Bryan put an arm around Sherry's shoulder as she led him to Sarah's room.

Sarah lay, white as a sheet, in a huge bed. "She looks dead!" Bryan thought to himself but didn't say out loud. He walked over to the bed while Sherry waited at the door.

Bryan stroked her cheek, the way he always had and was surprised at how warm she was. "Why didn't you go by plane?" he muttered softly to her.

There was a box on the dresser next to the bed. It was old and made of tin. Bryan wondered what it was doing there. "Who's is that?" he asked Sherry. "Open it, you'll see" she told him "It's what we were there for".

Bryan took the tin and opened it. Slowly he read the letter. Clutching it to his chest, he sighed. Now knowing all that Charlotte wished him to know, Benjamin's soul then left Bryan's body and flew away to eternal peace.

Beep beep beeeeeeee....

Sarah's heart monitor suddenly stopped. Bryan jumped off the bed where he had been sitting beside her. "Where's she going?" he yelled frantically. Sherry burst into tears, as doctors and nurses crowded into the room.
Bryan slowly backed off, away from the bed. Scrunching up the letter in his hands Bryan began shaking his head "No! No!" he yelled as tears started to fall down his face.

The doctors began CPR and tried desperately to bring Sarah back. Bryan grabbed his hair with both hands and yelled at Sarah "Don't you dare leave me now! It took us THIS long to find each other, I won't lose you now!"

Sherry grabbed his arm and tried to pull him away out of the room "Let them do their job" she sobbed "There's nothing we can do!".

The doctors stopped what they were doing and stood around the bed looking solemn. "Time of de.." one started, looking up at the clock.

"NOOOOO!" Bryan yelled, pulling away from Sherry's grasp as she fell to the floor sobbing uncontrollably. Pushing the doctors out of the way Bryan reached Sarah's bed and collapsed on top of her.
He felt a tapping on his shoulder "Go away!" he sobbed. Everyone in the room looked around at each other, confused as there was no one there.

Bryan looked up. To his amazement, there stood Charlotte Flemmings. She looked exactly how he remembered her, she was in the blue dress and she was smiling at him.

"Don't take her with you!" Bryan pleaded with the ghost. "It's not her time yet" Charlotte whispered. And with that a bright light shone down and she vanished.

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeee... beep beep.

Without opening her eyes, Sarah slowly raised her hand and stroked Bryan's hair.