I yawn and stretch as I wake up, Just lying there in a kind of daze as I recount the events of yesterday. Quite a day, I admit.

Almost killing a complete stranger who stole my prey, buying her dinner to make myself forgiven, adding her to my friend list, and then, asking her to meet me somewhere.

The two of us.

Alone.

I'm pretty sure there's a term for that, but I don't know it.

I shake my head, what am I thinking of right now? Just relax, calm down, nothing is going to happen to you. As long as you act natural.

Actually, you know what? Don't act natural, that usually gets you in trouble.

Should I log in now? No, Akemi said two p.m., it's barely ten a.m. I would probably look like an idiot that's too eager, showing up so early, and I might scare her off.

Wow, wow. Look at me, social genius.

I yawn into the kitchen and slap a piece of bologna between two slices of bread. I hate sandwiches, but that's always what I end up making. That's another reason I like Midgard, the food is better. 

Programmed food is better than my cooking? Yes, that's about right.

The morning is cool and misty, a chill runs down my back as I pedal, but I ignore it. 

The cool air, the wet mist, it all feels damp, and cold. Unpleasant. 

I come to the graveyard I pass every day. I like to tell myself I take this path because it's usually deserted, but the truth is, the graveyard is what really incites me to go this way. I keep looking at it as I pass. Looking for some sign of... well, not of life, but a sign of something. Acknowledgment? Presence? 

This is the resting place of my late parents.

They're buried in the same ground, right next to each other, as if being close together denies the fact that they're really down there so that no one can see how smelly and rotten they've gotten. 

The first gravestone I see is my mom's. She's buried under a stone slab, nothing fancy or special. Yeah, when a big-shot actor or singer who was a complete asshole dies, he'll have his name up on gods frigging doormat. But my mom just has a flat rock with writing on it, yet she was the kindest and most self-sacrificing person I knew. Well, she wouldn't have wanted too much attention, anyway. She was the type of person that liked helping people, but didn't like getting noticed. I still think that that's some kind of cruel irony, she definitely went out with a bang.

I get on my knees, bow my head, and talk as if addressing my hands. "Mom, dad, I met someone just the other day in Midgard... y'know? Her name is Akemi, she seems like a nice person, we're going to hang out this afternoon," I pause, not really knowing what to say. "I wish you were here, I don't know why, but I'm kind of nervous. Not that I'm ever really comfortable around people. I wonder if that's it?"

I sit there in silence for a bit, just thinking of my parents. Picnics in my favorite park; climbing up a cherry tree, but never being able to reach the lower branch; being lifted up to it by my dad.

My first bike.

My first time seeing an online game. My dad freaked out, thinking I was going to become an otaku since I'd discovered gaming at such a "young age" (9 years old).

All the times I used to smile.

The time when I stopped.

I feel something wet on my left hand, I look down in surprise and realize that tears are dripping from my eyes. Not a stream, heavy drips, like the type of rain that hurts instead of soothes. I know that rain all too well.

I wipe them roughly away, cursing myself. I've had enough.

I mount my bike again, kick off and pedal as hard as I can back home. It never is pleasant, facing your parents, especially when you're alone like me.

A car honks as it screeches to a stop and comes within three feet of flattening me, but I ignore it.

I sigh and pick up the pace. 

I can't believe I talked to and cried over a pair of decomposed corpses.

This world sucks.

***

Two p.m., that sure went by slowly. I think I tried counting the amount of beats my heart was going. I gave up around seven hundred thousand. 

I put on my trusty headset, connect the dangling wires, and let the machine just do its thing. I  speak my username, then my password, and I'm immediately sent to my solace. I sigh in comfort and smile, caressing the edges of the coffin gently until I doze off and reawaken as me, the hero. 

I'm racing over a palace, the people in the courtyard milling around, doing their business, look tiny toy figurines I used to play with. I think I may have spotted He-Man somewhere in that crowd. To each their tastes, I guess. 

I'm flying over a forest in which a party of adventurers clash with a troupe of orcs, steel and flames flashing in the air. A dragon circles a tower of darkness, crows and spirits swirl like a funnel cloud, speeding after the monster. A mini-boss, if you can believe it. Finally, a small town where players mill around and clamor like ants in a nest. 

My body slowly materializes above the bed I'd went to sleep in the night before. I thump down onto the soft mattress.

I take my time, enjoying the sensation of the familiar, fluffy fabric underneath me. So much more comfortable than my real bed. So much more sensational, so much more how I imagined. This is definitely how a world should be. 

I get up and find myself face to face with my face. 

I smile at my hair. Same, good old, bangs-to-the-side hair. Somehow, it just doesn't mess for long. You can ruffle it and it'll stick up on end, but it'll always fall back to the way you originally had it. Maybe one of the most useful magics of all magics in this world. 

My appearance, like my other self, has very dark brown eyes, almost black. I also bear medium longish black hair falling a little onto my eyes, an oval, pale face,  and a half-assed beginning of sideburns. I flit through my inventory and boop on dark green pants and a leafy green shirt. Great, I look like Peter-Pan decided to leave Neverland and just passed his growth spurt. 

I pull a long stick from the sheath on my shoulder, about the length of a cricket bat, and it immediately begins to extend. It seems to expand, getting longer and heavier until I'm holding a smooth, solid five foot long oaken staff. I run my hand along the wood and come up without so much as a splinter. The wood would snap clean in two before it started to peel. 

My ears twitch, which they are programmed to do at random. It gets annoying, but some people think it's cute, and it's become pretty trendy. 

Oh yes, did I mention I have pointy ears? Yes, I am an elf, after all. 

I walk out of my room and head downstairs. My throat seems to be plugged up with something. My heart is beating pretty fast. That's weird, it's been several hours since I biked.

There are a few people in the restaurant section, some turn their heads towards me as I come down, a few mutter tired greetings, then they go back to their meal, completely ignoring my mental crisis. 

Outside, the air is frigid and a gust of wind sends goosebumps up my spine. Although, my face is on fire, so it's actually pretty warm. 

My heart is pounding harder with every second that seems to pass. I wouldn't be surprised if I was steaming where I stood. I glanced down to make sure I hadn't melted a hole in the snow.

My inventory tells me no cloak or jacket. The thin vest I'm wearing isn't enough to brace against the gusts that rip right through the meager fabric.

I whip my staff out of its sheath. Time for a bit of showing off.

I thump it on the ground and speak: "Tepeo!"

A rune blazes into being before me, resembling a winding hook. It rises into the air briefly, then scatters into floating sparks. My body immediately feels as if I'd been standing in front of a blazing fireplace. It doesn't help my heart, though.

"Hey, Hide!"

Akemi is jogging towards me, a scarf around her neck but, besides that, dressed in exactly the same way as yesterday.

Help me. I want to run. I want to melt into the ground into a tiny puddle. Maybe I'm snow. Maybe I'll melt in the heat of my spell. Maybe this'll go fine if I can melt. Please. Please? Please!

All that in the amount of time it takes for her to reach me.

She walks the rest of the way, then steps in close, "Hey, that's warm. Is it a spell?"

I grin nervously, my mind going haywire at my immediate lack of personal space. I'm sure I looke like a total fool, and that is not helping my case at all. I shrink my staff and place it back onto my shoulder pouch, "H-hi, Akemi."

She smirks, "That's me. Nice staff, are you good at magic?"

"Um... About average by elf standards." I suddenly get an idea. "Compared to you're pitiful warrior magic though, I'm a bona-fide master."

She frowns a bit (ohmylorddidIscrewupkillmenowIdon'twannadielikethissssss), then realizes I'm teasing her and hits my arm playfully. I give off an almost audible sigh of relief.

"You're hitting me a lot," I note, not complaining, exactly.

"Only when you deserve it," She says, her eyes glinting, "So, what did you want to do?"

My stomach clamps up, the butterflies are gone, replaced with honey bees. I hadn't thought of anything to do today. Oh no, what's gonna happen to me? "Um... what do you want to do?" I ask with a bit of a mumble.

"Oh no you don't! That's the boy's job," She scolds, her eyes narrowing, but the corner of her mouth twitching all the same. A normal girl would probably have said something like I don't care, anything is fine. Why can't all girls answer like she did? 

"I... um... you really don't think you should choose?" I ask weakly.

She shakes her head, grinning with all her teeth, so I figure she isn't as disappointed as she pretends, "You really are thick. You really didn't think of anything?"

"Well, neither did you," I respond defensively.

"Like I said, boy's job." She sighs and plants her hands on her hips, "Fine, we'll find something to do later, let's go for a walk."

"Okay, sure, let's go."

I make a mental observation that she had just decided what we would do, even if that's the 'boys' job and make a mental note to analyze what happened intently and recreate that very fortunate situation every time I talk to someone.

We walk down the road to the nearest forest.