When I come to, there's a tall figure sitting on the floor a few feet away from me. He reaches towards me, but stops when he sees my eyes are open. My vision is still blurry, but I recognize his voice as soon as he speaks.

"Hey, Catnip."

Suddenly my vision clears, and he's there. All I want is to touch him, kiss him, prove somehow that he's real. That he's more than a hallucination. I try to sit up, but he stops me.

"You're too weak," He says, "I shouldn't have come. But I had to see you, if only for a few minutes. I'm going to get you out of here, I promise."

I have to say something. "This is impossible. You....You're dead."

He sighs, pushing a piece of hair behind my ear. I look into his eyes, and try to convince myself that he's really there. But I can't. I tell myself it's only a dream.

Why don't I just let myself hold onto the little hope that I have? Because I don't want to hurt myself more. If I let myself believe that he is real, it will only hurt more when he disappears. And I know he will.

He's standing up now. To leave, I know. He leans down towards me, and kisses my forehead. He says only four words, but those four mean more to me than anything in the world.

"I love you, Catnip."

Then I feel a sharp pain in my back, and everything goes black.