It took Ray an embarrassingly long time to find the store.

Their mistake was turning off Google Maps before they got to its exact location. They made it to the street it was on and, out of habit, closed out of Maps and started scanning the storefronts. It took three passes back and forth before they remembered how much trouble Dare had finding the place and typed it into Google Maps again. The blue line led them straight to the shop, sandwiched between a deli and a vet clinic that Ray could’ve sworn were right next to each other. They stared up at its cheery exterior, Cures and Curses plastered over the doors in a font that Dare had described as Comic Sans’ hyperactive little brother. It was anything but intimidating – at least, to someone who didn’t know what Ray did about its owner.

It’s going to be fine. You look just like Dare, and Layla loved Dare when she met them.

Then again, they were fairly certain Layla was insane.

Ray shrieked.

Layla had, out of absolutely nowhere, appeared on the other side of the glass doors. Her light brown hair was tied back in a ponytail, and she wore an artist’s smock over her button-up shirt and work pants. In the flesh, Ray could tell that she looked disturbingly like they had used to apart from the strange accessories adorning her wrists and bright purple streaks in her hair. Her smock was covered in powders and stains – some of which Ray recognized from her sprite. Ectoplasm. Ray gritted their teeth and tried to keep themself from shuddering. Layla opened the door and held it for them with an only slightly demented smile. “Come in if you’re coming in, sweetie, and congratulations on finding the place! How’d you pull that off?”

Ray held their phone screen up. You have arrived at your destination, Google Maps proclaimed.

Layla threw her head back and groaned. “Those damn satellites, taking all the fun out of divination. Well, whatever. Are you coming or what?”

Ray stepped into the store, relaxing slightly at the ambient music drifting through it and the completely harmless shelves of DIY slime kits and fake skulls.

The real stuff was in the back.

“So, what can I do ya for?” Layla asked, walking behind the counter and resting on her elbows. “Something real or something fake?”

At that moment, Ray realized that they had entirely failed to prepare an excuse.

“W-well,” they stammered. “I’m – I’m new, here, in town? And I was – I’m into, like, paranormal stuff, and I was…” They stared at the polished granite counter. “Looking for a… job?”

Layla stared at them for a second, and Ray felt a chill run through them. She had a sprite like this in the game, blank-faced with an intense stare, but it did nothing to prepare her for the real thing. Layla was skinning them alive with her eyes.

Then she grinned. “Well, okay! One look at you and I can tell you’re the real deal. It’ll be nice to have someone who can work with the real stuff for a change.” She extended a hand. Ray shook it very gingerly. “You’re hired! Come by anytime and I will compensate you slightly above minimum wage!”

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“T-thanks.” Ray took their hand back and jammed it into their pocket. “I, uh… what do I…”

“Oh, it depends,” Layla said airily. “Bit of this, bit of that, depending on the day. Don’t worry, cutie, I’m sure you’re up for it.”

Ray was fully aware that she was really calling Dare cute, but still couldn’t help flushing completely red. “Okay,” they managed.

Layla’s gaze softened, and Ray was taken aback at how different her expression was from any of her game sprites. Gentle, almost. Pitying? God, Ray hoped not. “Want me to show you around? It’s really not that crazy.”

Ray nodded. They weren’t sure they were going to like anything they saw, but it was probably better to get the shock and horror out of the way now so they could actually function during their paid hours. They followed Layla into the back.

The room was a little like a supernatural woodshop. Various spell tomes lay open on the floor, jars of wriggling goo decorated the shelves, and a massive workbench was covered in something that could almost be mistaken for sawdust. Ray tried not to think about the ending that started in this room – the Extermination Ending. Please, God, don’t let me get the Extermination Ending.

“Here we are!” Layla said. “Only about seventy percent of this stuff explodes. But you shouldn’t need to touch that stuff anyway.” She gestured around. “Some incantations over there I’ll need you to recite, some undead tissue in those boxes for skin grafts… normal stuff.”

Ray had expected to feel physically sick being back here. Instead, it just felt dreamlike, surreal, like they were floating above their body. It was probably better than vomiting all over their place of work, so they decided to take it as a blessing. “Okay,” they said.

Layla nodded. “Person of few words,” she said. “I like it.”

Her phrasing struck Ray through the heart.

“I gotta – I – I need – go,” Ray stammered, and rushed out the door.

“See you whenever!” Layla called after them.

Ray made it around the corner and out of sight of the few pedestrians before they burst into tears.

Person.

Because in this game world, everyone automatically used Dare’s correct pronouns without needing to be told.

No more awkwardly introducing themself as nonbinary, no more timidly correcting people when they called them a girl, no more misgendering at all.

It was… God, it was freeing.

It was overwhelming, going so quickly from being terrified to seen.

Maybe living in this world wouldn’t be so bad after all.

“Hey,” Lukas called. Sam froze. Instinctively, they ducked their head under the water.

“So, uh…” Lukas cleared his throat. “Mind coming out? I mean – like – out of the well, not – shit.”

Sam took a shaky breath. Then they crouched back in the water and jumped, far past normal human limits, out of the well, landing in front of Lukas. They hugged their arms instinctively, trying to make themself seem smaller.

“Shit,” Lukas repeated. “That’s – damn, that’s impressive. Anyway.” He cleared his throat. “Suze, uh, talked to me about your whole gender thing, and… man, I’m – wait, no…” He hesitated. “Person, I’m sorry.”

Sam couldn’t help it. They laughed.

Lukas laughed too, awkwardly. “So are we cool?”

“I mean…” Sam shrugged. “You don’t have to call me ‘person’. Just Sam is fine.”

“But if you’re not a boy or a girl, what are you?” Lukas asked.

Sam turned their back to him and stared down into their final resting place. “Just Sam,” they said.

“Cool,” Lukas said. “And – hey.” He clapped a hand on their back. They did their best not to flinch. “I hope you feel really welcome here. It’s tough dying, but we’re all with you.”

“You don’t –” Sam stopped.

They were about to say, ‘You don’t know what it’s like’.

But for the first time… everyone here knew exactly what it was like. To die alone.

“Thanks,” they said instead. And smiled.

-Four Times Sam Explained Themself + One Time They Didn’t Have To by Ray Johnstone