*****
Waking with a jolt, Salvatore looked and saw that his wife and daughter were nearing Santa by now. He got up and went to them. When his daughter went to see and talk to Santa, Salvatore whispered, "We need to talk my love. I had a dream that I will be passing on soon and we must prepare for that."
Antonia looked at him and said, "Darling, what are you saying? That you dreamt of your death? Because I would say that it is only a dream and you are worried that you might fail this time with the cancer. I have faith that the Lord will keep you with us for many years to come, so please don't think or talk like this. It only makes things worse for us."
Soon, Alessandra came running up to them and said, "Daddy, I asked for something special from Santa and he promised he would try and make it happen. Shall I tell you what I asked for?"
Salvatore bent down and kissed his daughter on her cheek and said, "Perhaps you can tell me when we get home. I am tired and need to go now. Is that okay with you, my darling daughter?"
Alessandra smiled at him and nodded yes. An hour later they were home and Salvatore went straight to bed. His wife watched with a worried expression.
Antonia decided to leave him alone for a bit and made dinner for herself and Alessandra. When dinner was over, Alessandra went off to her room to play with her dolls and Antonia decided to check on her husband.
She walked into their bedroom and Salvatore laid there, sound asleep, looking pale as a ghost. Antonia sat next to him on the bed and ran her hand up and down his back. He gave no sign of recognition that she was there.
She started to shake him to see if he would wake up for her. When he didn't, her eyes began to blur and a tear fell down her cheek. She felt for his pulse and could feel it, but it was very weak. She picked up her phone on the bedside and called for an ambulance. She then called her neighbor and asked if she could bring Alessandra by for a few hours while she went to the hospital.