'Clare…Clare!'

Distant voices filled her head as she felt a sudden wave of fatigue wash over her. A certain force seemed to be tugging at her very soul, beckoning her to travel back to where she came from.

'… It seems like the time has come.'

Everything around seemed to glow with blinding brightness and her vision blurred momentarily before regaining focus. She felt a little light-headed as her body swayed, her knees buckling and forcing her to sit on the bed.

'You can feel it don't you, Clare? The power of your comrades calling you back.'

Any trace of energy in her body seemed to be sucked out of her as she felt herself slowly fall sideways onto Teresa's lap, unable to muster any strength to lift herself up. All she could see was Teresa's face smiling down at her.

But inside her chest were both feelings of apprehension and a certain longing for something that was soon to be no longer within her reach. Soon, she will be gone from this place, gone from where Teresa was, back to the real world, back to a world without Teresa. This place, those times spent together, would be relegated to nothing more than a faded fragment in the tresses of her memory.

'Teresa…'

She had no more tears to shed. The amount of tears that had fallen from her eyes had far exceeded their limits. As she started to feel herself drift and fade away, there was nothing else left in her that could summon the sorrowful lament that came in the form of tears.

'I don't have to worry about you anymore. You've matured into such a strong individual. And most importantly, you have found people who you put close to your heart…Your comrades, your friends. They will be the ones who will be by your side and see you through to the end of your life, Clare. I have nothing left to worry about.'

She had no doubt that this would be the last time she could ever see Teresa with her very own eyes, the last time she could feel Teresa's touch. Even miracles had to have a closure- and this was the dusk of the miracle that had been bestowed upon her.

She felt Teresa's finger caressing her cheek, the smile on her face suddenly emanating with such sadness. She wanted to raise her hand to grasp Teresa's, to interlock her fingers with Teresa's, so that perhaps, just maybe, that could keep her here a little longer. A little longer here with Teresa. But she couldn't.

I love you, Teresa. The words that she hoped would manifest into a voice resonated in her mind instead. Her lips would no longer move on her command.

As she felt her eyelids slipping down ever so slowly, she fixated all her remaining concentration on Teresa, wanting to imprint her face forever in her mind.

'I love you too, Clare.'

The single tear that streamed down beside that faint smile was the last thing she witnessed in a world that she could never return to.