Illya was strolling along a pathway in a park. The sun was setting and it was casting a glow on the trees. It was beautiful, but it wasn't quite right. He stopped to try to figure out why that was. I am not sure where I am exactly and I do not remember how I got here.

"Illyusha?"

Annoyed that someone had called him with such familiarity, he turned in the direction of the voice. To his surprise there was a woman sitting there smiling at him as he approached. "Do you know me, Madam?"

"I do and you know me, too."

"I do not think…"

"Look at me, Illyusha!"

He stared at the woman and felt himself getting weak in the knees. He sank onto the bench next to her. "Mama?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes, my son."

"How are you here?"

"I am always around you, Illyusha. You cannot always sense me, but I am there. Right now, you are sleeping, but before you fell asleep, you thought about me because tomorrow is my birthday. You thinking about me and our Roma blood thinned the veil between Life and Death enough for me to enter your dream. That has happened to you before. Remember when Fekla came to you?" *

"Mama, I have missed you so much! I have so much to tell you!"

"Not as much as you might think, Son. I see what goes on in your life. I see the good you do in the world, along with your partner, Napoleon."

"He has become more than a partner, Mama; he is my family now. He has taught me that I matter. After losing you and the rest of the family during the Great War, I shut down and refused to get close to anyone because losing someone else would hurt me too badly. He had to work to become my friend and he did. He never stopped. He put himself out there to the point where if I were to continue to hold him at bay, I would have to admit to myself that I am a coward. I did not want to think myself a coward, so I opened up to Napoleon and let him into my heart."

"That is the best thing you could have done for yourself," Mama said. "I am so glad you have someone to lean on for support when you need it." She reached out to stroke his face. "I must go now, Illyusha. I love you. I have always loved you. I will always love you. And I am so proud of you. Goodbye for now, my son." She started to fade before his eyes.

"No, Mama! Do not go! Please stay with me?"

Napoleon was awakened by his partner yelling, "Mama, ne ostavlyay menya! Pozhaluysta ostan'sya! Ne ukhodi! (Mama, do not leave me! Please stay! Do not go!)"

"Illya!"

Illya's eyes snapped open and he sat straight up in his bed. He looked around wildly for a moment before remembering that he and his partner were in a cheap hotel in Reno, Nevada, having completed their mission earlier in the day and getting some rest before heading back to New York.

"Are you alright, Illya? Bad dream?"

"Not really; that is the answer to both questions."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really. I will tell you, but after we go home because I need to process it some more."

"Fine."

"Napoleon, Polya, I will say this: I am truly glad you are my friend. I…I love you."

Napoleon's eyes widened in surprise. "That must have been some dream! I love you, too. Get some sleep. G'night, Illya."

"Good night."

*references my tale: "Little Angel" which is Chapter 28 of "The Prompt Stories."