And then he opened them.
A strange sensation had woken him up. Though he was halfway up a desolate mountain slope, Mei was feeling surprisingly warm. The feeling ran through his body straight to his heart and enveloped him like another layer of fur. In fact, it seemed the freezing nighttime winds had stopped all of a sudden and all the snow on the mountain had melted away. Was this what it felt like just before death? Were his senses dimming along with his mind?
He got up and started to walk around to explore this feeling. Everything looked the same as it had just before, yet some how more beautiful, more pure. Every star in the sky shined brighter than it ever had before. And the full moon! It looked bigger than ever now, illuminating the entire mountain to an amazing degree. Mei stared enraptured at this sight of the moon.
"Beautiful night, isn't it?" came a voice from behind him.
He turned around to find himself looking into familiar green eyes.
"Gabu," he said. "It - it can't be you. You're dead, I saw your body."
"Oh, Mei," Gabu embraced him, wrapping him in a blanket of fur. "I'm so glad to see you again." Mei was amazed at how beautiful Gabu looked now. This wolf looked magnificent and strong, no longer the shabby, starving creature Mei had offered his flesh to last winter.
"It's just like before," Mei protested. "You can't be real, can you? Gabu! Promise me you're the real thing this time!"
The wolf pondered for a moment. "I think I'm real," he said. "I guess I wouldn't be able to tell you if I wasn't though."
"When you came back before, I was so happy to see you. But that wasn't you! I love you so much that I don't want to be fooled again."
"But when you thought you saw me, didn't you feel just as happy as when I was alive?"
"Even more! Because I had thought I would never see you again."
"Mei," he sniffed, "whether either of us is alive or dead, I will always love you."
Mei nuzzled Gabu with his tearful face. "I'll always love you too, so much."
"I know, Mei, I know. You were so brave out there, one little goat alone in the world. I don't know if I could have lived on like you."
"But surviving is hard," said Mei. "When we were in the blizzard, I was ready to die, to give my body to you. I said that you would have to keep living for the both of us. But, I didn't think I would have to be one who had to go on alone. And because I told you to leave, you ended up dying. I never wanted that!"
"Mei, it's all right," he assured. "Like you said before, everyone's life eventually ends. I'm just glad I could spend such a short time with you."
"Well, now I guess it's my turn now. Gabu, I don't know I've finally found you again, or if my mind is playing tricks on me, but I'm glad I can see you at last. What do you say Gabu? We've gone everywhere together up until now. I followed you into the river. I followed you up the mountain. But then I lost you. I was alone, with no reason to live without you. And now that I've found you, I'll follow you wherever you go."
Gabu backed up a little hearing Mei's offer. "Mei, are you sure you want this?"
"Please Gabu!" Mei cried. "I can't lose you again, I don't want to be alone anymore."
"Let me show you something." Gabu turned and nudged Mei toward two dark forms. Here lay both their bodies, the goat resting peacefully against the wolf. These two of them lay motionless on the ice, frost slowly gathering on their fur. Mei stared at his own body. What a strange thing, to see himself from the outside. Yet seeing his own body, he realized it wasn't so motionless after all. Slowly, his chest would expand, and a few moments later, contract again.
"Mei," said Gabu seriously, "you don't have much time. Before the sun comes up again, your body will be frozen for good."
Mei nodded. "But I could still wake up right now?"
"I think so. Think about this Mei, are you really ready to leave life behind?"
"I can't go back!" Mei insisted. "There's no way I'm going back to the Emerald Forest without you, and my clan would never accept me for running away with a wolf."
Gabu sighed. "Yes, if my pack and I were still around, I don't think they would accept me either. After my mom died, I was had nobody to turn to. Everyone made fun of me for being weak. They called me a coward."
"You're not a coward! You risked your life for me. How many of them would do something like that?"
"You're right Mei. That's why I always loved you. The wolf you saw in me, that's the kind of wolf I wanted to become. I thought, if I could give my life so someone else could live instead, I would die a happy wolf."
At Gabu's words, Mei felt slightly guilty about giving up on his own life so easily. Was it fair to give in after all Gabu had done? After all, unlike Gabu, Mei still had loved ones back in his clan.
"You know Gabu, I never got a chance to say good bye to my grandma. She probably thinks I'm dead now."
Gabu's ears fell. "Maybe jumping in the river in the first place was a bad idea. There was no one left in my pack I still loved. But I didn't think about whether you still had friends back home."
"But I already wanted to jump in the river with you!" Mei objected. "I couldn't stand living with my clan any longer. That rainy day, our elder told me the only way I could remain one of them would be to betray you. As we stood in the river, I knew it had to either be them or you."
"Well, I'm happy we made it this far. And whether you decide to wake up again or come with me, I know you'll do whatever makes you happy."
Mei looked into the green eyes of his friend, and then at the bodies huddled on the ground. It was an oddly tranquil sight, wolf and goat lying together in peace on a moonlit night. Finally, the two of them could go beyond this world of violence and struggle. Whatever it was beyond here, beyond even the Emerald Forest, Mei knew it would be wonderful as long as Gabu was by his side. But could he ever forgive himself if he never came back to his grandma? Neither option completely satisfied him.
"Gabu, if I did wake up, would you still be there for me?"
"I'll always be there for you Mei! No matter where you are."
Mei flung his hooves around Gabu. "Good, because I don't ever want you to leave me again."
The two shared a long, tearful embrace. Mei nuzzled Gabu affectionately, taking in the scent he hadn't smelled in so long. He savored the warm feel of his brown fur. "I've made my decision," he whispered. In his bliss, he barely noticed the warmth of Gabu's flank dissipate as it faded into a benign numbness. The sounds of breathing slowly grew quieter, until there was nothing left but silence.