Dreamjumper

Chapter Eight

I laughed out loud.

It made my lungs hurt, but I couldn't help myself. It was just too ridiculous. The nurses had put me on too much pain medication - I was totally hallucinating.

My suspicions were only confirmed when I noticed what this dream Alistair was wearing - a formal suit with a pair of gloves, all white except for black shoes. He wore his hair down now, flowing over his shoulders to reach his hips; and his eyes were still that same shade of brilliant purple. He looked even more "fairy prince-like" now than before; I'd have to tell Kim about our imaginary meeting.

"Hey there," I said, trying to suppress a giggle. I was talking to a hallucination - and I found that hilarious for some reason.

"Hello," he replied in his timid, serious manner. A smile played on his lips; he looked faintly surprised. "Were you expecting me?"

"No, I wasn't. I had no idea they gave me so much pain medicine," I said to my hallucination.

I had to admit, he was almost scarily vivid; somehow my mind had remembered exactly what he looked like from that night in the city. He looked so real, that I could feel my heart leap in my chest, as it would have in real life if he had approached me.

"Pain medicine?" He looked confused again, his eyes shining as he turned to face the window. "Oh, I understand."

He paused for a moment, trying to find the words to speak. "I know this may come as a surprise, but I am, in fact, not a hallucination," he said finally.

"That is a very hallucination thing to say," I pointed out, still grinning stupidly.

"It is?" he asked curiously, and with that he crossed his legs.

This would have been completely normal - save for the fact that he was sitting down while floating in mid-air.

"That's also a hallucination thing," I said, gesturing wildly at him.

"No, that is a dreamjumper thing," he said with a smile.

"It's a fairy prince thing," I insisted.

This resulted in a small laugh from Alistair, who then replied, "No, it is not. And thank God for that."

"What do you mean, thank God? Faeries are cool."

"Maybe to you. They are fun for a while, then they get a little too self-assured."

"How would you know, if you aren't a faerie?"

"Because, I already told you. I am a dreamjumper."

Though this conversation was very amusing, it was also kind of confusing. Maybe hallucinations worked like dreams. They weren't supposed to make a lot of sense.

"Where do I come up with this stuff?" I asked myself, leaning back on my pillow with a sigh.

"You are not making it up. I am real," Alistair replied.

"Yeah, right. Because a piano player from the city I saw once is totally going to come visit me in my hospital room for no reason," I said, rolling my eyes. This hallucination was getting pretty argumentative.

"I do have a reason. And it is a very good one," he replied. As he stepped down from his perch, he sat down on the windowsill; his silvery hair shone under the moonlight, which made him seem even more surreal.

"Okay, then tell me," I replied. I was curious to see what he would say.

"I am here to save you," he said vaguely.