Swiftcurrent Creek August slipped away into a moment in time.

She was here. The sky all but reflected in her eyes still, cerulean and soft.

Tangible, even.

Her gasp of his name--how many times had he wished to hear her say his name just one more time?--it seered him.

And then she was gone. As if he had finally jolted his mind back to the harsh reality of a world she did not exist.

And it was a single tear that fell as he moved to crack his head again, as if he could somehow pull the pain from his heart to elsewhere before he would slowly slump to the ground, succumbing to a fever that had begun to ravage his body as he drifted to a blissful unconsciousness.