The room at the inn faded as his vision dimmed to be replaced by the sight of his own room. He stretched and got out of bed as the voice of Hanna spoke in his head.

     “Your play session was eight and a half hours. While you were under, you received one call. It was marked as potential spam.” 

     He stood up and felt awkward in his body, four days spent in virtual reality, even if it was only eight hours in real life, left a small disconnect. He went to the bathroom, examined himself in the mirror, feeling slightly uncomfortable. It felt awkward seeing himself as the wrong gender. This was probably why people demanded the game not allow users to be the opposite gender. He felt bad for transgender people who would have wanted to use the game to have an affirming body.

     “Sam, are you there?” Kat asked, knocking on his door. 

     “Yea, I’m up,” he frowned, spending four days as Myrra, with her almost musical voice, made his feel clunky. He finished in the restroom and made his way to the living room.

     “Hey, you look normal,” Kat said from the couch. Sam plopped down next to his sister, who pulled him into a cuddle hug.

     “Course I do. That’s only a game, after all. Did you expect me to come back looking like a little girl with flowers growing in her hair?” he giggled, his voice, which had always sounded androgynous, ringing as unmistakably male in his ears.

     “I mean, you were pretty into your character there. Even called Moria your mother.” 

     “Because she is,” he retorted, “Myrra’s mother, I mean.” Wanting to change the subject, he continued, “I'm hungry.”

     “Me too, but I don't want to cook anything. Let's just order something,” she offered with a frown.

     “Ooo how about pizza? The fruit Mom gave me was good, but I want something else.” he asked excitedly. His sister looked at him with a raised eyebrow, making him blush and stammer, “What?” 

     “Nothing…” 

     He blushed slightly and playfully shoved her. 

     She laughed and asked, “So you enjoy the game so far?

     “Yeah, I'm having a lot of fun. And it sounds like I got a really cool start.”

     “Sam, you got a start that people would literally hack your account for if they could. You have the potential to be the most powerful player in Loreth online. I mean, your potential is already similar to mine, and I am several levels ahead of you.”

     “What was your tutorial, by the way?”

     “Oh well, since I was a beta player, I didn’t really have one. I was mostly just enjoying the time. Using it to familiarize myself with my weaker abilities. The standard tutorial is a day long. Yours was just weird.”

     “Well, Mother did say that she asked the Great Goddess for as much time together as she could.”

     “Sam, you need to be careful. Don't let yourself get sucked in too much. It’s not a healthy coping mechanism.”

     “Don't worry, I won’t,” he snapped, receiving a disbelieving stare from his sister.

     “You've been out of the game for thirty minutes and acted like Myrra two times and called Moria your mother three.”

     Before Sam could reply, the door rang and Kat went to answer it. She came back with two pizza boxes and some breadsticks. They decided to pause their conversation while they ate. Kat went to the kitchen and grabbed a couple of plates for them. After serving themselves some plates, they sat back down and started to watch anime on their TV. They ate their fill and put aside their plates. Sam snuggled up to his sister, as they decided to finish the episode they were currently watching. She smiled down at him, and he blushed, smiling back.

     “I’m going to take a bath,” he said after the show finished, not wanting to give his sister time to resume their conversation from earlier. He stood up and started making his way to his room.

     “Ok, I’m going to hop back online. When you are done, join me.”

     “Will do,” he said as he went to his room. 

     “Do you love her?” Hanna asked.

     “What?”

     “Moria, do you love her?”

     “I mean, it's a game. But it feels so real. She treated me so well. Just like her daughter. Even my sister said it's not normal.”

     “So why can't you let yourself love her?”

     “Because she isn’t real,” he countered, his words causing him pain. “Getting attached to Mot… Moria would just leave me hurt again when the game stops.”

     “What if it never does?”

     “Then I don’t know. I'm going to go take a bath now though. I’ll be back in a bit.”

     “Ok, Sam, enjoy your bath,” Hanna said just before he unplugged the CID.

     Grabbing a towel from his closet, he began to look for something to wear. His eyes fell on a pretty flower patterned layered skirt that he would wear occasionally. Feeling in the mood, he grabbed it and a comfortable shirt. Then went to the bathroom. 

     He started to run himself a bath, adjusting the temperature to his ideal lukewarm. While the tub filled, he took off his clothes, tossing them into the laundry basket. He needed to make sure to do his laundry before his sister did. Once the tub got full enough, he slipped into it and let out a sigh of relief. Four days ago, no nine hours ago, he started the game. He hadn’t even had his first adventure yet, and so many things happened already. 

     Though maybe that's just life, after all, it was supposed to be hyperrealistic. To the point where he was certain he wouldn’t be the only one to get confused. He was sure he would adapt, though. He did just start playing, and he was sure he would see more NPC-like behavior that would help reinforce the fact it was just a game. The Priestess also confused him, her belief seemed so real. Even when she was bowing to him, it didn’t feel like some AI script running in a game.

     He began to wash, although he only bathed twice, it felt strangely normal. Ordinarily he would take a shower, but he needed to relax, and showering is for getting clean, not relaxation. He began to wonder what he would look like as a girl. It wasn’t the first time, and he knew damn well it wouldn’t be the last. 

     He liked being a female presenting boy. He had looked into gender-affirming surgery, given he spent the majority of his time online. And it didn’t appeal to him, well it’s more like he wasn't satisfied with the results. Granted, it was better than what they had nearly seventy years ago when they first started being performed regularly. He sighed again, no matter how many times he had these thoughts they were always the same, always circular.

     “Maybe I should ask Mom to make me a girl in real life too? Well, I already prayed to every earth god. None of them replied,” he giggled his habits as Myrra slipping out again, “Mommy if you can hear me, I wish I was a real girl,” he said softly his voice almost sounding like Hers.

     He laughed again and finished cleaning his body before washing his hair with shampoo and conditioner. He had been growing for several years now, which didn’t help avoid any confusion. Though it hadn’t really gown longer in a while. He really liked his hair, he had dyed it once but when it started to fade it started to look bad, and he didn't want to dye it the same color again. They had to bleach it again, so he decided on his natural color. 

     Once he rinsed the conditioner out of his hair, he drained the tub and got out. He started to blow dry his hair. Brushing it as he did, it may be considered girly, but he really likes to keep up his appearance. He got regular pedicures and waxes, preferring smooth skin to body hair. He was pretty popular at his local salon, the women there loved him. After blow-drying his hair, he put on his clothes. The skirt was one of his favorite pieces of clothing, but he didn't get the opportunity to wear it much. He decided to go to the corner store and get some quick snacks. As he left his house, he made sure to grab his phone and CID.

     “Welcome back Sam.”

     “Hanna, can you do me a favor? Can you call me Myrra?”

     “Of course Myrra,” she replied, a smug tone in her voice as she spoke, “Your outfit is cute, by the way.”

     “Thank you,” he replied, his cheeks turning pink. “Let's go to the store, can you send messages to Loreth Online?”

     “Yea, I am able to.”

     “Please tell Kat that I'm going to be a little late. I'm going out to the convenience store.”

     “I’ve sent the message, miss Myrra,” Hanna said, making him feel all tingly. He decided not to correct her. As he walked down the street he felt a little nervous, unlike when he was in the game, he wasn't an adorable little girl. It made him feel exposed and vulnerable. He had a strong urge to run away. Unlike the last time that he wore this skirt, he was alone. 

     She uttered a small prayer to her mother and continued down the road.

     Having steadied her nerves she felt much better, even Hanna remarked that her vitals had improved. She smiled happily as she continued to walk. Several people looked at her as she walked down the street. She heard one person say under his breath how cute she was. It made her blush, but also felt incredibly good to hear.

     She lived for these small pleasures when she could imagine what it would be like. To be someone else, to have a family, to have friends. She only had her Sister, but now with Moria and her other sisters, she felt like she had another chance at a family. It had been her and her sister for nearly twelve years now. And while she loved her sister, she wanted a mother to hug her and provide the support she couldn’t get from her sister. She wanted a father to provide the stability that came from having someone who would always be there for her.

     While she was lost in her thoughts, she arrived at the store. As she browsed around, she saw the younger man behind the counter following her with his eyes. He looked to be around sixteen, nearly the same age as her. Her sixteenth birthday being in a couple of months. The stares she received were a little awkward, but she found the idea behind them appealing. He looked at her not as the boy she was, but the girl she was dressed like. Although she wasn't sure she liked boys that way, it was nice to be admired. 

     She grabbed a couple of canned teas, a bag of chips, and some cookies. Then took her place at the back of the line. No one paid her any mind, one woman commented on how cute she was. She softly thanked the nice lady, not wanting to talk too loudly in case her voice gave her away.

     “Your sister sends the message. Got it, I’ll be waiting in our room. Don’t take too long, else I’ll have to punish you.”

     Thanks, Hanna, she thought to herself.

     “You’re quite welcome, Miss Myrra.”

     It only took a few minutes, the older lady had trouble using her phone to pay.

     “Next, please,” the teen said in a bored tone.

     “Hello, how are you?”

     “I'm good, how are you doing?” he asked, his voice perking up.

     “I'm good, just came for some snacks,” she giggled.

     “Good choices, those are my favorite chips,” he remarked.

     “They are pretty good, aren’t they?

     “Yea, what's your name, by the way?”

     “I'm Myrra,” she smiled.

     “Oh cool. Well, see ya around I guess,” he chuckled shyly.

     “Uh… sure,” she replied awkwardly, tapping her phone on the pay pad and leaving the store. Her heart was pounding in her chest. Was he hitting on her? Part of her was scared, and the other part was thrilled. Feeling a strange wave of happiness, she started walking home. Practically skipping in joy as she walked.