“You’ll always come out in my dreams.”

The finality in those sounded like a goodbye but dreams always happen when one closes their eyes. No one has to witness all the adventures I will play back to back. No one has to put logic in how I met Pio.

They can say he’s a hallucination I conjured up out of loneliness and depression over my condition.

He could be a side effect of my trial meds.

He could be a freak with a kink for the dying.

It doesn’t matter.

“Let’s dream together. Forever, Hayley.” Pio grabbed my hand, squeezing it in comfort.

His otherwordly majestic face smiled at me as it always has. He always had a way of making promises sound like something we’ll do next as if it were easy.

The day he came into my room asking for my oxygen tube to inflate his flattened pet, I screamed.

At least I tried to but he stole my voice.

Or at least lowered it.

From then on he visited me and took me to places I never thought possible. The underneath of a river. A mushroom hotel. And he took me there by flying too. Whenever I got too sick to continue he’d carry me in his arms let a surplus of mega oxygen surround us as we traveled.

“Its like air but you know, mega.” He’d explain.

Clearly he wasnt good at explanations. But he was powerful.

Whether he was good or bad was up to me.

“I’ve met many humans and they always tried to use me for their own benefit. You know riches and fame. Things that expire. I just want to have fun. Fun never expires.” He explained as we hung out with fairy mermaids.

When my illness got to terminal level, he told me he’d visit my dreams. Not that he can cure me. I was mad. Lashing out at him. All he could say was that he was glad to meet me.

Then I told him to never see me again.

The last stages of my life and I pushed away the only good thing that happened to me.

As my monitor goes faint, I wished to see him one last time.

Like a dream come true, there he was although he looked more human. He was wearing jeans and a T shirt not the usual high fashion coat you’d see on the runway thats far too overcomplicated.

“You’re her friend?” I heard Mom say through her tears.

“Online though.” He said, only looking at me.

As I was about to say I’m sorry he shushed me.

“We’ll always have dreams, Hayley.”