Evelyn was blinking sleepily before she even realized that she was awake. As consciousness sank in, she groaned and sat up, nearly punching herself as she moved to rub the sleep out of her eyes. It took much less effort than she was used to, and as that realization set in the memory of the previous day came flooding back. She stared at the back of her hand.

I didn't die, and I'm healed.

She moved her fingers, then rubbed them together, wondering at the smooth sensation of her own skin and how lightly she could touch her fingertips together to feel it. She pulled her hair from over her shoulder, combing them through it and feeling delighted again at how soft it was.

She took a deep, easy breath full of crisp air, but felt no urge to cough. Her forehead wrinkled in confusion as she exhaled, looking around. Her surroundings weren't the ones she remembered falling asleep in.

I’m somewhere else? Again?!

She was resting on soft, springy grass that was already rising back up from where she'd flattened it. Everything was barely lit in a dark, blueish glow, reminding her of the filters movies used to show night time scenes. Trees so dark that they looked like lines of ink encircled her several feet away. She looked up through their sprawling bare black branches far above to a stunning aurora borealis sprinkled with stars.

Her heart skipped a beat in joy.

I’m outside! I’m really, finally outside!

Evelyn began to push herself to her feet enthusiastically, but stopped midway, slowly sinking back down into a sitting position as a cat-sized betta fish swam past in the air, leaving bright rainbow sparkles to fade in its wake. She looked closer at her surroundings and began to notice familiar inconsistencies.

The trees were just shadow without any texture until she focused on them, when they seemed to snap into clarity, then fade back into obscurity when she looked away. Each blade of the blue-green grass was identical in shape and height, growing in impossibly neat rows without any weeds or flowers breaking through as far as she could see. Even the stars far above her weren't truly scattered, but the same speckles repeating in a grid pattern behind an aurora that looked more like the shape of a hanging curtain.

Everything was made up of what she remembered of the outdoors, inaccurate, sloppy recollections from her childhood mixed in with the surroundings she'd had for years. She let out a deep sigh.

Oh. I’m just dreaming. Well, at least it’s pretty.

She leaned back on her arms tentatively, but they held her weight without an issue. She turned her head up towards the stars. Even though they were fake, they were still beautiful. They glittered like jewels in more colors than she imagined existed in reality.

Occasionally, more long-finned fish floated past her, ignoring her completely as they wove through the trees like they were seaweed. She recognized them from the last documentary she'd watched before she'd turned off the television for the last time; a light hearted affair on the beauty of aquariums. She let out a light scoff.

I guess if I'd last watched something on bears or dinosaurs, this dream wouldn't be as peaceful.

She held out her hand as an impossibly large clownfish swam just within her reach, and swallowed her disappointment as it moved through her hand without slowing down.

Despite the beauty, the area felt desolate. Unlike what she remembered of being outside, it was very still, without any sound but a faint breeze creaking through the trees. There didn’t seem to be any bugs or animals other than the fish. She felt a bitter pull in her chest.

Even here, in my dreams, I'm lonely.

Evelyn let out a heavy sigh and stood up without much effort, which brought another smile to her face as she brushed herself off. It felt incredible—she simply thought and moved without needing to make a plan or to ration her energy for each step. Even her dreams hadn't allowed her to do so in years.

The soft fabric of her dress easily fell into place as she straightened it. She was still wearing the beautiful Soul Circle cutsew and a pair of long bloomers underneath. The luxurious items made her smile, then her face twisted into another frown as she remembered exactly who had put her in them. It felt as if she'd already committed the pointed dark face and bold white eyes to memory.

Can you dream within a dream? Was that real? He was so…

She wasn’t sure how she wished to end the thought. She shook herself, giving a tiny slap to her own cheeks.

Who cares! Whatever he is, he’s not here right now. I can deal with it when I wake up.

Evelyn picked a direction at random and began to walk. The trees slowly spaced out and the grass became longer until she was walking through a field of knee high blades. There were more fish in the sky; this time they were striped black and white bannerfish with yellow tails, shaped like arrows and the size of kites. She reached out towards one as it came closer, and once again it swam through her fingertips without pausing or even looking at her. Her smile faded again.

I haven’t been able to touch an animal since they brought in those therapy dogs a few years ago. Even when I was in the hospice home, that old cat refused to come anywhere near me. Must’ve sensed my awful personality…

It’s weird… I’m dreaming about all the things I want. To go outside, to walk, and now, to touch an animal… but I guess that’s as far as this dream goes. It’s not like I’m going to make any friends here either. But now that I’m well, maybe when I wake up—

The hope was abruptly crushed as she remembered the demon’s words.

Animals cannot survive Below.

She looked back up at the sky, where the massive school of bannerfish seemed to be swimming up towards the aurora. Her chest hurt slightly.

Does that mean… even though my hands work now... that I’ll never get to touch anything soft and warm and alive with them?

For some reason, Az’s face came to her mind. His skin had looked soft, almost like it could be a little fuzzy, but she sure as hell wasn’t about to pet him, no matter how desperate she got. She felt herself scowling.

He can’t really mean to keep me like a pet, right?

Oh no, am I going to have to worry about him petting me?

She shook her head violently to banish the horrifying mental image of long pointed fingers scratching under her chin and forced herself to stop thinking.

Thankfully, a distraction had appeared; there was a new sound hidden in the softly rustling grass. She listened carefully, and smiled again as she began to walk towards it, enjoying the feeling of the springy grass under her bare feet. It was the faint sound of trickling water.

Water… I wonder what that will feel like now!

It took a bit longer than she’d expected to reach the source of the sound. The grass stopped beside large, smooth boulders surrounding a deep blue pool several feet across with a black center. The water was falling into it, dripping from matching rocks floating in the sky.

These boulders all look identical, just different sizes... what is this, a low budget video game? I wish I had just a little more imagination!

She stepped onto one of the rocks carefully. Even though she was moving easily, she wasn't certain she'd keep her balance if she slipped. The water didn't seem to be leaving residue on the rocks, and on closer examination, she could see that the water wasn’t falling down, but flowing up from the pool and dispersing into mist as it hit the floating boulders. Despite the abundance of streams, the trickling noise was barely louder than than the constantly-drizzling sink in her previous hospital room.

Evelyn stopped for a moment to admire the way the aurora was shining through the fog, then took another careful, curious step forward. The water falling up towards one rock was close enough to touch, and she began to reach her hand towards it.

“Eve! Do not touch that!”

The sudden voice startled her so badly she nearly fell into the water she was being told to avoid as she spun towards it. “Huh?”