"I won't leave you alone"

My mother used to be a nurse. A young man of about thirty would often be admitted to the internal medicine department of her hospital. His name was Nikolai, and he had a heart condition (a congenital defect). He was very handsome and cheerful.

Then one day, right after graduating from medical school, a young eighteen-year-old girl came to work at the hospital. The new nurse's name was Tonya. She often visited her friends in the internal medicine department, where Kolya spotted her. He really liked Tonya and began to show her attention, giving her flowers and perfume. One day, he put a ring on her finger and said,

"Marry me."

Tonya jokingly replied,

"You're still sick. When you die, I'll be left alone..."

And he said,

"I won't leave you alone. I'll take you with me."

They joked like that all the time he was in the hospital. A few months later, Kolya died: his heart stopped beating. Two months later, a drunk stabbed Tonya while she was on her way to a call—she had twelve stab wounds.

The entire hospital gathered for the funeral. The coffin was carried all the way to the cemetery (more than 5 kilometers). Tonya lay in the coffin in a white dress, like a bride. When they arrived at the cemetery, a shiver ran down my mother's spine—Tonya's grave had been dug next to Kolya's. So they buried her next to her "groom"...