Silence in the room. A chill running down on his spine. Excitement or fear? The boy couldn't say which one was it. What he could say was: Midnight Pumpkin knew he was there.

-Did the game break the fourth wall?

Saying that Chris thought. [You are mine] never played with this factor, only being a simulator of life rather than interacting with the real life. The fact that this girl mentioned "screen" made Chris a bit wary.

Maybe because he was taking too much time, she asked.

[Hey hey, can I know it?]

Blushing, the girl fidgeting asked. The gesture could be described as cute if she wasn't wearing a pumpkin on her head.

Curious, Chris asked.

[Why do you want to know it?]

If this was an online game, he wouldn't even think about sharing his own name. No matter the gain, it wouldn't be worth the risk. However, this was being made offline since the snow cut off the internet, leaving no risks to share his own name.

Even then, Chris wanted to know why did she want his name.

The girl looks at Chris.

[...I, just wanted to see if this is real or not. Every day, everything looks the same and I don't know how different today will be from yesterday.]

He reads carefully. She looks down.

[Every time, I need to be forced to participate in something I don't want to. I don't have choices, I don't have a voice, I don't have a life. I'm a puppet, controlled by someone I can't go against. That is why-]

The girl looks up.

[I wanted to know. I wanted to know if this is real or not. If I'm being me or not. If you are real or not. I just don't want to fake it anymore, I can't take this anymore!]

She embraces herself.

[All this time, the only thing I can see are patterns! Patterns that will never be broken! Everybody just lives as they told them to, and I can't go against it! Even though I know this, there is nothing I can do to escape this! I hate it!]

 What kind of face is she doing behind that mask?

[So, please! Please, tell me!]

The girl looked again towards Chris almost if making eye contact.

[Who are you?]

...

[My name is Chris. Chris Chambert.]

Chocked by the response, the girl opened her teary eyes.

[It's nice to meet you, Midnight Pumpkin.]

Chris, after typing his last response, smiled towards her. With the hands on the keyboard, he wrote.

[I know that everything here is fake and already planned beforehand, but I hope this proves that, at least, I'm real.]

With her hands covering the mouth, Midnight Pumpkin cries. Seen her like this, the boy needed to ask.

[Is this a good answer?]

Cleaning her tears, she said.

[Yes! The best!]

[][][][][]

And then, they often meet.

[Hi, Pumpkin.]

[Good morning, Chris!]

Around the time to go to school. Pumpkin, the killer, was waiting for Chris outside's his avatar house to go together to the school.

[Do you really have to go today?]

[I can't skip it anymore or else I will be expelled!]

In the game, [Game Over] can be created by several ways. One of them was being expelled from the school by not following its orders. Not only it would make the [Game Over] screen, but you would need to start the game all over again.

Pumpkin reluctantly accepts.

[Fine, hurry up then!]

They ran and managed to get inside the class in time. The class was the same as usual, a cutscene which Chris skipped for the free time between subjects.

Well, it would be normal if...

[Hey, Pumpkin.]

[What is it, Chris?]

[Why are you...here?]

Standing up near his chair, there was a black cloaked figure with a pumpkin on her head. She tilted her head and said.

[Why can't I be here?]

-That is not the issue here...

The boy sighs.

[I mean, can you be here? Aren't you a wanted criminal? Wouldn't the NPCs found it weird that you are right next to them?]

She thinks for a moment.

If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

[The would be the case if they noticed me here, but...]

[But...?]

[I'm for Chris's eyes only to see.]

She breaks the pumpkin's mouth to reveal a mischief smile to the boy, who blushes in real life.

-Dang...having my real name being called sure is awkward.

[][][][][]

[So, where we going today?]

Chris thought.

[How about the amusement park? There are a ton of things to enjoy there.]

[I have never been to an amusement park! Let's go, let's go!]

After school, they went to the amusement park. Arriving at the plaza, Pumpkin looked at every direction as a child in a toy store.

[So cool! There are so many fun things to do here! Hey, Chris, what is that?!]

She points out.

[That's a rollercoaster.]

[It's going so fast! How the people are not dying from it?!]

-Well, if that happens, the park would have some trouble...-He makes a dry laugh.

Chris asked.

[Want to go in?]

She excited responded.

[Yes!]

The amusement park was a peculiar place in the game. In each of the attractions, there were cutscenes about the ride and the heroine's reaction. You could see if she liked or not, making her being more interested in you or more annoyed at you from how you treated them.

In each of these cutscenes, you could see the image of the heroine in the ride, sitting right next to you, making it more real for the player. Normally, that is the case, but, with Pumpkin...

-...

A blank space. This would happen if you went to the rides alone, with the text box saying [If only I had someone to share this moment, it would have been perfect.].

[That was amazing! It went zoom and fush so fast! I was so glad we went on it together!]

-...

Chris just stared at the screen, looking at a happy girl. How can she say that, when she was not even there to see it? Was she really there? Actually, is she even supposed to be there? Such questions appeared on the boy's mind.

There was almost no information about Midnight Pumpkin in the game. It was a serial killer, it attacked the player, it appeared for the mini-games and disappeared after the final confrontation against the heroine. That was it, nothing more. It appeared and disappeared as it wanted. A phenomenon which nobody could explain why it happened.

(A character with no back-story in a game where you want to know them better. Isn't this ironic?)

As Chris had thought. A ghost trying to be a character. It existed, but there wasn't any info about it. Even after playing two days to get to know her, Pumpkin never revealed something about who she truly was. She just wanted to be together, together with Chris.

And, he enjoyed. Unlike the others heroines, she responded on her own when Chris talked with her. Unlike the others heroines, she would say her true feelings without them being forced by certain choices. Unlike the others, Pumpkin was real.

Hence why Chris thought it was fine to enjoy those moments a bit longer.

[I'm happy you liked! Wanna go to another ride?]

Again, the same excited response.

[Yes!]

[][][][][]

After enjoying the afternoon going to all the attractions, the both walked together in the park. They didn't need to talk, just feeling the accomplishment of creating happy moments was enough for them.

Even then, the girl had something she must say.

[Hey, Chris...]

Pumpkin looked at Chris. She was so near that her head was filling almost all the screen.

[I wanted to thank you for today. I had a lot of fun!]

She smiles.

[I never thought I could experience something like this. This is all thanks to you Chris, so, thank you!]

He also smiles. A smile which she cannot see.

[I also had fun today with you, Pumpkin!]

Pumpkin says, happily.

[Me too! I wonder if this will continue to grow the more I know and stay together with you.]

(Looks like I'm getting on her good side, isn't it?)

Altho you could know the heroine interest for you, there wasn't a way to figure out if that was a good interest or not. That was also the reason why the game was popular: you need to pay attention to the details in order to have the best ending possible.

The fact that Pumpkin said that line was enough to make Chris think it was going for a good relationship. With confidence, the boy said.

[I also want to know you more. Learn who you are. Not the murder who others made you be, but the girl who enjoys spending time with me.]

 It was a line full of pride!...until he realized what had written.

-Isn't this like a pickup line guys use?! How could I write something so embarrassing as that! Somebody, please, kill me! I don't even want to hear the response anymore! Delete it, please!

 Despair for those who only thought of hope. Chris panicked while looking for a way to erase that line. As a matter of fact, there isn't one.

[...]

She thinks. She thinks for a while. She thinks for a minute. She thinks as her figure is not moving anymore. She only thinks.

Seen her like this, Chris asked.

[Hey, are you alright?]

[...Sorry, I need to go. Bye.]

As if late for an important meeting, Pumpkin ran away from Chris. Leaving the boy alone.

-...Guess this is it for today.

He exits the game.

[][][][][]

In the next morning.

With the risen of the sun that passed through his window, Chris slowly got up from the bed. Stretching himself, he turned on the PC and went to the bathroom to clean himself.

Returning to his room with a toothbrush in the mouth, he realized: the snow storm finally passed!

-Yasssh!

The tiredness went down the drain. He needed to check something important. Something he was deprived of the whole time inside the house.

-It's back! The internet is back!

There was a signal for the Wi-Fi. He was no longer limited to off-line communications. Of course, that also meant the school would return, but for now, the joy of being online.

Sitting in his chair, Chris moved the pointer to the browser icon in his workplace. With the pointed on top of the icon, he would click it, but, near the icon, there was the shortcut for [You are mine].

It made Chris think.

(I don't need it anymore. I can play my favorite games now. I'm not forced to have just that.)

He was right. He only played the game because of not having an internet connection. True, he enjoyed when playing it, but now it was just passing waters.

(Even so...why did she run that time?)

It should be just passing waters, but the curiosity took over the boy's head. There was something he wanted to know.

Why did he want to know? Maybe, because he cared for what he gained after fighting so hard for it or just because he felt there was a need to clear the game after playing it for so long.

-Well then, guess I need to finish it.

He clicked on the shortcut. There were many answers he wanted to know and the only way was to experience himself, rather than searching online for them.

-I think this is what they say when you are fascinated with a character.

Chris laughs at himself. He never thought it would happen to him. Tired of waiting, the boy watched as the game opens...only to be shown the message about the computer couldn't find the game files.

-...Huh?

Rubbing his eyes, Chris read it again. It was true.

-What in the world...

Again, he tried to open the game. The same message appeared. [The files couldn't be found. Please, ask help if the problem persists.].

-But how so?

 Yesterday, it was running perfectly. There were no problems.

 (So why now?)

-Maybe something with the disk reader? - He mutters to himself.

 It may be. He was playing non-stop for two weeks, there was the possibility of something happening with it. The possibility of something happening to the disk didn't even cross his mind.

Opening his computer's CD reader, a small part of him was happy because it wasn't a problem in it.

The problem was:

The game disk was gone.