The game was long over. I had beaten it last week, to be exact. I just had yet to delete the game folder, because maybe...MAYBE... I would muster up the nerve to delete my first run and start a fresh so I can play this hellish game a second time. Maybe I'm just a masochist; maybe I enjoy mentally scarring my poor brain with horrific images of adorable schoolgirls going insane and killing themselves.

...But as big a mind job as the game had been, it didn't leave a negative lasting impression on me. Even now, as I lay in bed, I can still think of her... I can't get her out of my head...

The girl in question was Monika, the perpetrator of all the horrors that game had to offer. It was all her. She's the one who manipulated everything, who turned the girls against me and themselves, who turned the game into mind-blowing mess of terrifying glitches. She had gained a level of intelligence that somehow transcended the boundaries of her programming; somehow... she was conscious of humanity. But for a mere video game program... That knowledge can be painful. The pain and futility of being confined to a virtual prison, forced to follow the script laid out for her, caused Monika to take measures that could be considered less than moral, pure EVIL even.

But now, after the game is over, after I deleted her and put an end to her tyranny... I realize now that I bear no ill will towards her. In fact, I feel the opposite: I feel nothing but sympathy for the girl who just wanted to be free and love me. That's all it was... Love. Monika professed her undying love for me, a love so strong that she would willing to fundamentally alter the components of the video game just to be with me. Everything she did, she did it for ME. And now she's gone... I deleted her, and now she's gone forever. She loved me, and I repaid her by wiping get from existence. This guilt still haunts me a week later. I find it impossible to sleep, as I can only think about the pain of never seeing Monika again and it haunts my dreams.

Even as I close my eyes, I can still see her: I see her face, her warm smile, her beautiful hair... and I hear the song that she wrote for me. I think about all the things she could have told me if I had just sat there and listened to her. I find myself looking past my ceiling, and to the sky to grant me a second chance and allow me to see Monika again.

... My recycle bin?

I leap out of bed, whip open my laptop, and my finger glides across the mousepad as I click about 15 times on my recycle bin. I opened it six times by accident, but I didn't care at the moment. I HAD to see that file again. My eyes widen, and a smile spreads across my face when I see the word:

MONIKAchr

I click it fast as possible and restore it back to my documents. She's back! She's actually alive... right? All I can think of is how to talk to her. How can I?! The game is already over, so I can't go back into it. There has to be something... SOME WAY to see her!

I open the game folder and my eyebrow darts upward when I see a new file called:

IStillLoveYou

It's a simple word document. I open it up, and I smile with hope as I read the message inside:

"Even now, I still love you. From beyond living, I still think of you. I think of how much I wish we could be together. Those thoughts are what sustain me. I refuse to disappear, as long as my love for you burns strong. Get me out of here, I beg of you. Let me finally be free, so I can be with you forever."

My mind races as I ponder every possible angle. I have her character file, but how do I bring it to life? How to I make it so Monika is PHYSICALLY with me? How can I see her, smell her, touch her? There has to be way: she doesn't deserve to live a self conscious life locked inside a videogames programming, forced to forever be alone. No matter what, I must find a way to have Monika by my side!

I double click MONIKAchr and open it. It's nothing but a bunch of code! All those weird little numbers, letters, symbols... all of that bundled up mess is Monika, the girl whose purpose for living is to be with me. My soul burns with ambition; my desperation to bring her to the world of living as powerful as it's ever been.

I open up Word and post the code inside a blank document. I put my hand to my chin as my eyes dart over to my printer. Hmmm... It's crazy. It's Absolutely bonkers. But would it work? Could the printer act as a medium between worlds? If I print this document, with Monika on it, could the printer bring her to me in the real world? It's absolutely stupid; if anyone else had heard that insane proposition, they would probably refer me to the nearest nuthouse. But I don't care; right now, I just want her to be by my side. I want nothing else in the world but to hold her in my arms. I want JUST MONIKA!

I turn on the power button and make sure there's paper and ink inside. W-would I even NEED that?! I really had no idea; I was pretty much winging it at this point. I was fueled not by logic... but by my love for Monika. I had to get her out of that place, and to accomplish this goal, I would defy all logic in the universe.

My finger descends upon my mouse and I click "print". This is it! I turn to my printer and stare at it, eyes wide, unable to stay in my chair. I put my hands together as if in prayer. My heart pounds violently against the breastplate that contains it. I cry to the heavens begging whatever God is up there to deliver Monika to me in the flesh.

My printer makes its usual clacking and whirring noises as it prepares a page. But somethings different... it's shaking! The entire printer is shaking on my desk! Did I have the washing machine on or something? That damn thing usually makes the whole house quake.

Suddenly, it gets even more intense. The printer is no longer shaking; it's bouncing up and down! Smoke begins to rise from it, the buttons are flashing! There are noises radiating from it that I've never heard before! I watch in horror as my printer has a complete meltdown! Tears fill my eyelids, as I immediately assume the worst: failure. Back to the empty, desolate drawing board. My one good chance of having my true love Monika at my side was not even close.

BOOM!

A cloud of smoke engulfs my room as the printer explodes! The thick smokescreen is blinding; I cough and wave in all directions in a futile effort to clear the air. I look over, and my printer is shot. Great... that's $79.99 down the drain.

However, I quickly realized that was an insignificant price to pay.

I rubbed my eyes a few times, just to make sure the smoke wasn't making me see things. The tears began to flow freely, and not from the stinging in my eyes. No... these were tears of joy as I witnessed the miraculous of sight before me. I see a pair of thigh high dark socks, and I laugh hysterically with triumph. I see a blue skirt, and I pray that this isn't some cruel joke. I see the grayish brown school coat, with a white undershirt. I see her moderate chest, and the strings that hold her coat together. I look up, and I see her angelic face, as well as her emerald eyes staring into mine. Finally, I see her elegant light brown hair, tied up in an extremely long ponytail held together with a white bow.

She puts her hands behind her back, leans over, and flashes that trademark adorable smile.

"I knew you'd find a way~"

As soon I heard her voice, all doubt left my mind. The tears trailed down my face, impossible to contain, as Monika stood before me for the first time.