"That'll show you, you big stiff," Toffee said. "You can't just toss me aside like a...."
And then, as Marc passed out, she, like the words she never finished, faded away into nothing....
"What a stunning girl," the judge murmured thoughtfully. "There's something so elusive about her."
At his side, Sergeant Feeney fainted dead away.
In his subconscious world of gently-sloping knolls and strange feathery trees, Marc lounged on the cool greenness and smiled up at Toffee.
"Sometimes," he said, "I'm not certain which is truly real, this world or the other."
"Reality is only relative," Toffee said sagely. "After all, if you didn't believe in me, I wouldn't exist." She leaned down close and brushed her lips across his. "You wouldn't even be able to feel my kiss. Reality can be happy or sad, depending on how you look at it. If you see only the happy side of things...."
She paused as the light began to flicker uncertainly in the glowing sky above them. "It's time for you to go back now; I'll have to continue this little sermon another time." She touched his cheek. "It's been a lovely day, Marc. Goodbye—until we can do it all over again...."
"Goodbye," Marc said, "and thanks."