A few weeks later, Jasper found himself at Kyla’s workplace through a new partnership project he managed to squeeze himself into. The team was lacking manpower and he volunteered to take on the additional responsibilities. During the site visit, he inquired about her in passing, trying his best to seem nonchalant about it. The response shattered his world.

“Hey, by the way, I heard one of my old friends works here now,” Jasper asked as he stopped by the vending machine and started pressing the screen to make his selection.

“What’s her name?” The machine whirred into action and a claw grabbed a can, dropped it, then retreated.

“Kyla, I think,” he tried to come off as nonchalant and bent down to retrieve his drink. When he stood upright again, the man was staring at him with a straight expression.

“Kyla Montgomery?” Jasper repeated, hoping it would ring a bell.

“Kyla Montgomery? Uh, I’m sorry to have to tell you this but Kyla passed away a few months ago.”

The voice kept ringing in his ears. Had the man said what he thought he said?

“That can’t be…” he trailed off. Jasper’s mouth went dry. That can’t be right.

“Did you know her? She was a star. It’s a real shame. She was so young, too.”

His acquaintance returned a perplexed expression. “I heard it was cancer.”

“Wasn’t treatable?”

“It was caught too late. I heard by the time she went to the doctors, it was already in the terminal stage. It’s a shame.”

Jasper descended into a solemn state. As they walked away from the vending machine, he had to consciously will his hand not to tremble lest he spilled the full drink in his hand all over the carpeted floor.

After a few minutes, he excused himself and left the building.

Jasper’s mind reeled. How could this be? Who had he been talking to all this time? Who was online?

That night, he confronted Charis in the game.

”You’re not her, are you?”

“What do you mean?”

“I went to your company today. They said you died. What does that mean? Who are you?”

“Can’t you tell it’s me?”

”If you’re Kyla, then how can you be dead?”

“I’m here.“

”What does that mean? Where are you?”

”I can’t tell you,” came her reply.

“I went to your grave today,” he said after a moment. “You’re really dead.”

“I’m here.” It seemed to be all she could give him.

“Where?“ Jasper asked again.

”I’m sorry, I can’t tell you.”

“I’m here now,” he said. ”But you’re not here anymore.”

”I’ve always been here for you.“

”So tell me where you are if you are who you say you are.”

“You’ve had no problem keeping a distance till now. It wouldn’t do either of us any good if you suddenly came closer.”

“What would happen?“

“We wouldn’t be able to talk anymore.“

“What happened to you?” Jasper continued.

“I can’t tell you. Please. Don’t ask any more questions. If you do, I won’t be able to stay here with you.”

“Did you tell anyone else about us?” He couldn’t help himself.

A notification pinged. Jasper had been online for four hours. The system suggested it might be time to take an eye break.

”What? No, of course not. How could you think that?”

”It would explain how your colleagues say you’re dead but I’m still able to talk to you. I don’t know if it’s really you. How do I know it’s really you and not someone else?”

”Please don’t ask anymore questions. I still want to talk to you.”

“Where did we first meet? When did we first meet?” He continued with a slew of questions, questions whose answers only Kyla would know, to ascertain the identity of the person behind the screen.

“Please stop.”

“Not until you answer my questions.”

She answered each one flawlessly.

“I’m sorry, Kyla. I’m sorry you died and I didn’t know.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

”That’s okay. I didn’t want you to know,” she replied.

”I want to see you,” typed Jasper. “I want you. I want you, Kyla. I want to hold you and to say the words I should have said to you a long time ago.”

“You can say them now.“

“I want to save them for when you’re in my arms.”

”What if you never get the chance? Indulge me. I’m here now.”

“I live for the minutes we spend together each day.”

“And I live for the seconds.”

”Where is that? Where do you live? Where are you right now?“

“That information is classified. I can’t tell you.”

“Can you answer other questions?”

“Please don’t ask any more. If you do, we won’t be able to talk. We won’t even have this virtual space. I don’t know if I’ll get another chance to talk to you.”

”Why?”

“Please, if you get an invitation to the event, you have to attend.”

”What event?”

”I want to see you—”

Spirit player Charis has logged off, the notification read.

Jasper remained in the empty chat room for a while longer.

Just before he was about to log off the app, an event notification pinged for players to gather at an event location. Jasper usually ignored such notifications, but this one caught his attention. It was addressed to ‘a selected group of non-spirit players.’

”You have been cordially invited to…” the message began. Jasper scrolled to the username list first to check out the profiles of the other invitees. He was surprised to find one of his colleagues also in the name list and briefly recalled a lunchtime conversation they had spent discussing the game.

Roland was a quiet colleague who mostly kept to himself. But he seemed like a different person when he was talking about Eternal Echoes. Rumour had it that his wife passed not long before he joined the company and Jasper recalled Roland verifying that when he said that Eternal Echoes was the only thing that has kept him going ever since his wife died. They used to work together and it got too difficult to carry on in the same environment after that so he settled for a pay cut at the new organisation.

The rest of the email was as cryptic as its title. But perhaps Roland might have a better idea of what it was about. Jasper didn’t want to wait till Monday to look for him in the office. Besides, it was hardly the right environment to spawn such a conversation.

Jasper logged off and searched for Roland’s name in his list of contacts in his phone and texted him.

In less than a minute, Roland replied, confirming his invitation to the same in-game event and expressing his delight at the prospect of having company.

“What do you know about the event?” Jasper asked.

”What do you know about the game?” Roland replied with another question.

When it was clear that Jasper didn’t know as much about the game as Roland had expected, Roland invited Jasper to his place for a chat.

He was one of the lucky ones who had enjoyed a beautiful relationship with his wife and was miserable every day since she passed until he found the game—he didn’t play much. He mostly lingered in the chat room with a friendly companion who offered him comfort. Roland found it oddly similar to talking to his wife and it was eerily comforting to find a friend who knew and understood him almost as well as she did. Some of us are lucky twice. He quipped. Throughout the conversation, Roland seemed more cheerful than his usual self. But as he spoke, there were times when a certain expression crossed his face and he seemed to catch himself before saying something he wasn’t supposed to.

Jasper let Roland digress, respectful of his reminiscing. He felt a great deal closer to Roland now, knowing that they shared the loss of a partner in common. When Roland finally got around to addressing the matter that was the premise of this visit, Jasper asked. “What’s the event about?”

Roland paused for a moment before speaking. “My guess is as good as yours,” he said. “But I have a theory. I have to warn you, it’s going to sound a little crazy. I can hardly believe it myself.”

“Try me,” said Jasper.

Roland had found the contract that his late wife had signed with Memory Infinity.

”The group behind Eternal Echoes?”

”The very one. I’m not sure if you’re aware that they own many other businesses apart from game design and development, though they’re most well known for that.”

Jasper nodded. “What sort of contract was it?”

”I have it right here.” Roland got up from his seat and rummaged through a shelf. He pulled out a thin file. He opened his mouth, then closed it again. His eyebrows furrowed.

Jasper waited.

“I don’t know how to explain it exactly,” Roland said finally. “I think you should read it.” He held out the file to Jasper. “It won’t give you all the answers you’re looking for, but I think it’ll help you understand what’s happening a little better.”

Jasper looked at him with eyes full of gratitude. He received the file with both hands, touched that Roland was willing to entrust him with his late wife’s belongings.

Roland took a book from the shelf and started reading. Jasper opened the file and did the same. As his eyes scanned the pages, the words registered in his brain but it took some time to process their meaning.

“Do you believe it’s true?” Jasper asked after he had read the contract three times over.

Roland looked up from his book so quickly it was clear he hadn’t been engrossed in it. ”I have no way of ascertaining the facts, but I believe my wife,” he said.

“Do you really believe the person on the other side of the screen is your wife?”

“I’m already so blessed to be able to chat with her again day and night. I feel as if the person I knew and loved had never left my side. What does it matter if it really is her or not? It feels like her, and that’s good enough for me.”

Jasper nodded. “Where is she?” he asked. It was likely the same place Kyla was residing.

“That’s one of the things she’s not allowed to tell me.” Roland’s answer was disappointing, yet not entirely unexpected. “But there are ways to get clues to the answer we’re looking for,” he continued. “I asked her before what life was like there. She described everything that I used to dream about with my wife. Our dream home. A farm. With at least eight of each farm animal species we could think of. We’d grow our own vegetables too, and set up a hydroponics plant. As you can see, our apartment’s pretty cramped. Naturally, dreams of having a large plot of land were what we liked to indulge in. She introduced me to this new technology recently so I could share the dream. You don’t know how much nagging I endured before I finally caved and bought it so I could see what it was like.”

”What technology?”

”A VR headset that lets you customise your home to your personal preferences. It’s another product by Interior Dreams, another company owned by Infinity Memories. Apparently, the upcoming Ethereal Echoes in-game event is going to be an official promotional event for it. It’s about time too, if you ask me. It’s been about three weeks since the launch of their new product.”

“Did she tell you what the event was going to be about? What’s going to happen? Do you have any idea why we were chosen?”

Roland shook his head. “Beats me. I’m going because she wants me to. What can I say? A man finds it hard to say no to his wife,” he said. “Are you going to attend?”

Jasper fell silent for a moment.

“Did she ask you to?” asked Roland.

Jasper shook his head. “My wife doesn’t know about the game.”

“Not your wife. The one you love.”

Jasper’s eyes widened.

“You’ve got it written all over your face. And only love has the power of making one as strung up as you are,” said Roland. “Do you love her?” he asked.

Jasper was sure his eyes said it all.

“Did she ask you to attend the event?”

Jasper nodded.

“Then what’s stopping you from going to see her?”

“What?”

”What’s keeping you from seeing the woman you love?”

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. He would grasp any chance to see her for one more time. That evening, after he left Roland’s place, Jasper logged into the game and RSVPed. Spirit player Charis was offline.

It was a week before the event. Over the next few days, Jasper would check the chatroom incessantly and get hardly any sleep.