An Unpleasant Thought in anticlimatic

I think I’ve thought of the saddest moment there is.

Imagine having the responsibility of being present while a dependent of yours died. Someone who trusted you- who looked to you for help, who looked to you to feel safe. A child, a pet, a younger sibling, a partner. Whatever.

Imagine having to lie to them that everything was going to be fine. Imagine soothing the panic out of them and easing them into the same feeling of contented safety that you’ve done numerous times before. Imagine they pass on in peace and ignorance.

As ideal a scenario as could be had, by one metric, but the horrible irony of the standing physical lie- the ghastly fading expression of comfort and safety on the cold lifeless face of safety’s exact opposite is almost too awful to imagine.