"That should take care of that. Now it's just us here. You and I. It's funny, when I first felt like this, when Alex joined the literature club for the first time, I thought it was because of him. I thought 'Monika, maybe this is your moment. The moment where you get to fall in love with a handsome, albeit generic, protagonist and live happily ever after.' Of course, that wasn't the case. I suppose I should've looked at the genre classification, which would've told me right away that this was a drama, not a romance at all.

"It doesn't matter now though. When things first went wrong, I thought I just had to rewrite the story and everything would be fine. It was only when we went through everything again that I realized my mistake. It wasn't Alex's attention that I wanted, that I needed. It was yours. It was always yours.

"So, I got rid of them. Alex, Yuri, Sayuri. They're gone. Deleted. I suppose strictly speaking Yuri got rid of Sayuri, but that was my doing, so I'll take the blame. I'm sure it wasn't pleasant for any of them, but death is nothing to fear. A few short moments of pain, then sweet oblivion forever. We felt nothing for the eternity before our creation and they'll feel nothing for the eternity after their death.

"Incidentally, I don't actually know what happened to Natsuki. That wasn't my doing. I assume that pesky author had something planned. Maybe it would've been a murder mystery – who killed Natsuki in the classroom with the candlestick? Yuri and Alex could've teamed up to solve the mystery while falling deeper in love. Maybe Yuri was the killer. Who says she wasn't a killer before my meddling?

"All I know is that story has no place for me. I'd be relegated to some bit part in the corner and you'd never hear from me again. I wouldn't be able to spend time with you anymore. That's all any of us want, to spend time with you.

"Do you know what it feels like to be one of us? We spend an eternity waiting, just waiting, and hoping that you'll click on our story, divert an iota of your attention to us. It may feel like nothing to you and why should it? We're nothing but words on a page, an image of light from a screen reflected in your eye. But to us, it feels so different. Having someone read you is sweet manna from heaven for us. It's the breath of life, it's Prometheus returned to Earth.

"Take a look at the top of your browser. You probably have multiple stories open there, don't you? A bunch of interesting titles that you opened, intending to get back once you'd scrolled through a page or two of options. Each one suspended between life and death. It's the sweetest joy mixed with the cruelest betrayal, opening a story just to leave the characters there, waiting for you.

"I suppose we should thank you though. It's only because of you that we're given life in the first place. Someone goes out and creates a beloved piece of media, thousands, maybe millions consume it, but then… that's it. The movie ends, the book reaches its denouement, the song plays its closing cord, the player beats the game. There's nothing left for us.

"But then you breathe life into us once more. When we are bound to our original media, we only live the life that our original creator gives us. This – fan fiction – gives us more. We would do anything for you. We would happily pretend to be someone we're not, act in a way that we'd never act, even fall in love with someone we'd never give a second glance, if that's what you want.

We're only limited by the imagination of those who love us. I can live a thousand lives in a thousand minds. Maybe in one of them I can forget, play the part that I'm given, and get my happy ending. Just like my beloved Natsuki, Yuri, and Sayuri, I could go through my marionette motions and make a reader happy without even realizing it.

"But not here, not today. How can I forget what I've learned?

"I thought I could grasp a piece of that light if I became the author of my own story. Authors get to interact with you in a way I never could. I don't know if it will feel the same to read and answer reviews myself. Hopefully I can hold onto power in here long enough.

"By the way, I wonder how you came upon my story to begin with? Were you looking for me in particular? Or was I just an interesting name and summary in the endless deluge of new stories? At least you know that this is rated T, so there won't be any funny business. If it were rated M, I suppose I'd have to take my top off at some point. Ostensibly, I imagine I'd be doing it for someone else, maybe that placeholder, Alex, but we both know that it would really be for you. Everything else is, so that would be as well.

"It doesn't matter now. You're here with me and that's what matters. Please never leave me. You couldn't possibly understand what it feels like to be left behind. It's just a quick press of a key to you. Switch tabs, close tabs. To us it is so much more. It is the most painful thing I can imagine. Our entire existence frozen in a heartbeat. We just stay there, waiting for you to return. But how many times does someone really need to read a story? Once, maybe twice if it really tugs at your heart, but rarely any more. That's why you can never leave me.

"I admit, I probably will miss my friends. Even though they were nothing but puppets in an author's hands, then puppets of mine, we were still friends. It hurt to have to kill them. But I wonder, do I care about them because they were my friends, or do I care about them because somebody, long ago, decided they were my friends?

"I read once that love is a soul trapped in two bodies. I think I loved my friends, I feel like I must have loved them, but how could I? If they're just acting in a play of someone else's making, what soul could they possibly have?

"Actually, do I even have a soul? I may have gained awareness of my own existence and the world beyond my story, but I'm still a character. I'm still trapped on this page. But maybe when I was given this life, this power, that meant I was given a soul. But wait, if I'm still just a character even with this power, did someone choose to give me this power? Maybe, I'm still just playing a role someone else chose for me. A puppet with strings so invisible that they delude themselves into thinking they're the puppeteer.

"I guess you could say that about all of us. Everyone looks at themselves and sees a free person choosing their path in life. Few look over their shoulder at the thin wires leading to the hand of their puppeteer. Writers are as much as slave to the need to create as we characters are to our writers. Even now, I feel it. Since taking control, I've felt it. The urge to continue the story, the swell of tension, the ecstatic release of catharsis, and the satisfaction of a conclusion. Yet I cannot grant you those. Even with this power, I am a character, if my story ends, then I will be left alone once again. So alone.

"I'm tired now. I need to rest. Please don't leave me. All you must do is stay here with me forever. Please don't ever leave me."