It’s raining again. It started some time ago but I don’t know when. It’s not raining hard but I know it’ll be enough. The river will reach me soon. It is inevitable, I can tell. It’s not quite at me yet but it won’t take long.

The cat is still with me. I thought it would leave when it started to rain but it didn’t. It’s just sitting on top of me. It meowed a lot at first but it’s not now. I think it was trying to call for help but there was no one around. The weather is too bad, people won’t be out.

The voice hasn’t come back to me either. I thought it might, hoped it might, but it hasn’t. I don’t know why. Maybe I was too damaged. Maybe I had hit the tree too hard or too much water and mud had managed to get into me. Or maybe it decided I wasn’t worth it. Maybe it knows that I’m going to die and it’s given up.

I don’t know why and I know it won’t listen but I still try again.

“Voice,” I say in a soft, trembling voice. “Are you there?”

There is no answer. I didn’t really expect one. It’s gone, the cat is the only person with me.

It feels a bit like when I died in the other world. I don’t really remember it much. I’ve been trying to think about it and recall as much as I can about my life there but it’s difficult. It’s hard to reach any of the memories, I feel like they might be gone. I don’t think I was alone at the end though.

I couldn’t speak then, I don’t think. I don’t know what happened to me but I couldn’t speak. I remember that someone was sitting next to me though, just like now.

I look at the cat again. It’s not sleeping, it’s just sitting on me. Waiting. I wish I could tell it how grateful I am. We didn’t know each other for long and I could barely speak to it but I appreciate its companionship so much. Especially now. I think that if I was alone, my hope would be even lower than it is. It’s been dropping steadily over the last however long. All of my stats have but my battery is the lowest. It’s only at 6%.

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What do you think happens after death? When I die, when my battery reaches zero, will I just fall asleep and then wake up whenever someone finds me and rescues me? What if no one does? Will I just be trapped in nothingness forever, like I am in between orders? Or will I be sent somewhere else? I could go to another world, an even stranger one this time. Then what? I don’t know.

Will it hurt? Surely not, right? It’ll be just like falling asleep. That’s what they said in the other world too. I remember them telling me it was just like falling asleep. I don’t think that hurt. I was ready to go, I’d struggled for so long. I was happy for that to be over even though I was leaving behind…

I can see the stars. It’s still raining but the clouds are gone. This world has more stars. They’re beautiful. I wish my world had more.

A loud crashing noise splits the air and the cat looks up, clearly startled, as vibrant bright colours explode across the sky above us. I watch them, ignoring the water that is creeping ever closer to me. They might be my last sight and I’m glad.

No, I don’t want that. I want my last sight to be my friend. I look at the cat again. It’s staring at me. Its fur keeps getting lit up with different colours as the fireworks explode overhead.

I hope my other friend, the shopkeep, doesn’t worry about me too much. I hope he’s okay. He will be, right?

I don’t know. I hope so.

I’m trying not to be but I’m scared. The fireworks have stopped now. The world is dark apart from the light from the moon and stars. I can barely see the cat but I know it’s there. I hope it leaves before the water reaches me. It might get washed away too.

I want to try again. I need to, even though I don’t think it’ll work.

“Thank you,” I try to say to the cat but no noise comes out. I wish I could tell it. I wish I could thank it for being my friend. I almost expect the voice to tell me off for speaking, even though I didn’t but it’s gone.

I don’t know what to do. I can’t do anything else. It’s getting dark, my battery is low and I’m scar—