DemiMarvellousWizard

"HEY BABY I'M BACK!" I yell, ghost rising from the grave in a similar fashion to the genie from Aladdin. "TEN THOUSAND YEARS! Can give you such a crick in the neck!" I floated down, hovering upside down to look at the person who put a coin in my grave.

Honestly I only wanted that to adhere to my nerdy ways, even in death. I really didn't think that would work, but I'm not gonna tell them that though.

Ooh she's pretty. Lesbian heart be still~

Messy-looking brown and ginger curls dropped to just below her shoulders, which had Skyrim-themed satchel slung over them. Her hazel eyes looked both stunned and stunning, twinkling in what I can only assume to be the light of the sunset. Her skin looked Hawaiian, but also like she didn't get much sun, not that I ever did when I was alive. Her shirt had the face of a Minecraft creeper on it and her jeans were ripped slightly at the knees, but not like the pre-ripped kind in a store, and just about every part of her was specked with a rainbow of different paint colors.

"Holy shit." She cursed under her breath, "I did not expect that to work."

You and me both.

"Well you know what they say." I grinned cheekily, "Gamers don't die, we respawn! Thanks for getting me out of there by the way. I don't remember much about the afterlife, it's all really cloudy and blurry now, but I do remember it was very, very boring." I shivered, "Not a console, PC, tablet, or even a phone in sight!"

She shivered too, "Oh lord that sounds like a nightmare. So..." she tilted her head, "What now? You're a ghost. You may have respawned, but it's not like you can die again."

"Oh." I frowned, rolling over and sitting up in the air, "I...didn't actually think about that. Uh..."

"Is this one of those spectator things?" She asked, surprisingly chill despite all this, "Where you can't leave a certain area around me?"

"I am actually not sure." I replied, "Might as well see. I fly this way you run that way?"

She shrugged, taking off in a jog as I flew through the air quickly in the other direction. I really liked the feel of the wind until it felt like I was attached to a bungee cord that just rebounded. I was snapped back and fell to the ground in front of her, who froze and almost fell in surprise.

"That would be a yeah." I groaned, "Guess you're stuck with me...?"

"Elise." She answered, habitually reaching a hand down to help me up before remembering I'm technically incorporeal, "You're Ryleigh, right? That's what the gravestone said at the very top. Script was tiny though."

"Yeah." I floated back up, curious, and reached down to poke a dandelion. It swayed in response and I cheered, "YES! I CAN STILL HOLD A CONTROLLER!"

"Oh shit does this mean I have to get you somewhere to sleep?" She cursed, "Do ghosts eat?"

"Uh, I don't think so or at least not as much as humans and don't worry about it." I waved her off, "Just stick me in the closet, oh wait I never came out."

She snorted and my dead heart found a way to flutter, "Dam, you too? I'm bi but I keep hoping to fall for some guy. Strictly so I never have to tell my parents and deal with that crap."

"Fair, fair. But if it helps, dying alone ain't all that bad either." I shrugged, suppressing laughter, "And it's only easy hiding these things until you start worrying about it. Then you gonna slip up and it's game over, man."

"Except it clearly isn't." She gestures at me, "Do me a favor, if my parents find out and kill me, make sure my grave ends up like yours?" I tilted my hand and she continued, sounding disgusted, "Like hell would I want to spend eternity without any form of video games."

We started joking around and laughing as we made our way to her place. A few bystanders looked at her like she was crazy, so I guess they can't see me. Oh well. That'll be a fun thing to explain if someone sees her playing Mario Kart with a ghost. Or Minecraft, Fortnite, ESO, really just any multiplayer game.

I learn a lot though about her. She likes to paint when she isn't gaming, and even has a secret YouTube channel for it where she wears a mask so people don't find out. She's wicked good too at combat games, and I admire both her strategies and preference to speed over tank. Great minds think alike. She has two brothers that like gaming too, and a cat that enjoys sitting on a fake keyboard all the time while their gaming. She sucks at reading classes, mainly with grammar and writing, but is top of the class in art studies and history. She said it helps to think of it like the lore of our own world..

She learned about me too. I had three siblings growing up, a twin and a sibling both older and younger. My twin knee I was lesbian, my little brother was young and needed to be taught to think for himself, while my older sister was greatly supportive of the entire community. Maybe that's why our parents didn't like her as much, since they showed various homophobic tendencies. They always showed less attention to us oldest three and doted on my little brother, which always left him immensely confused. I liked books and lore myself, but couldn't get into history like she could.

All in all though, maybe this respawn won't be so bad. Especially if I can make her respawn with me too.

I just don't want either of us to go to that place again. We wouldn't be happy.

I'm happy here though. Listening to her talk, laugh, and rage at the screen. Watching her become socially awkward around other people but then grow to be more comfortable in her own skin. Knowing she's gonna come a long way before we're ever parted, and that she's going to come back with me anyways.

Maybe respawns exist for a reason.