Chapter 10- Revelations
It has been a while since I've written for this story. I know some of my reviewers have scorned my lack of updating, but to tell the truth, it's hard to write a story about Runescape when one doesn't play Runescape. It's hard to write about characters and friends when those same people have come and gone from my life. However, being that it's summer, I have been playing Runescape a little. Surprisingly, enough has happened that I can write this new chapter. But first, here's an update of what I have been doing.
I recently graduated from undergraduate school. I have my bachelor's in English literature and creative writing, and I've been accepted into graduate school. What's more, I've decided to serve a mission for my church, which will take eighteen months to complete. I just started filling out the paperwork, so I won't know where I'm going for quite a while. Hopefully, this explains why I haven't been on Runescape much and why this piece hasn't progressed since…a long time ago.
I don't talk to Trent much anymore. We had a sort of falling out, though I do hope to rekindle our friendship in the near future. I miss him. Both he and I have changed immensely, and I'm not sure it's a good thing. It's good that we're growing, but it's seems our individual growths equates our friendship's separation. We don't have a lot in common, and ever since he quit Runescape, we haven't gotten back into our groove.
I have mentioned him in this story before: Godo, or John. His real name is Simran, and we had been dating for three years after I broke up with a real life boyfriend. It came as a surprise, but I enjoyed our time together. Simran and I did meet in real life, and I thought that would have sealed our fate. I was very much in love with him, but for some reason, he couldn't commit to me. It's hard to think about him. It's hard not to think about him. Thankfully, though, I've been learning to love life as a single woman, so this hardship hasn't been as tortuous as I thought it would have been. Still, if he'd buck up and commit, I'd go back to him.
Though I haven't been sobbing my guts out over Sim, I have felt that sinking, subtle feeling of loneliness that seems to creep over me when I first start to feel hopeful about my love life again. With my friends busy with summer projects and vacations, I've been left alone with Netflix and my books. So, I've done what I've always done, and I logged onto Runescape to nestle myself in Lumbridge.
I talked to a few old friends, met some new people. But mostly, I watched words pop up from strangers. I watched conversations bloom and conversations buckle. I saw the way people spoke to one another, and for the most part, it's troubling to see how immature and senseless everyone seems to be nowadays. Granted, Runescape is a game for younger people, but it still crossed my mind that no intelligent conversation was evident, no real love or friendship was present. I wondered what the hell everyone was doing there.
And then, Mafia messaged me.
I deleted him long ago, of course, but I never had the heart to put him on my ignore list. I thought that as long as I didn't see his name, he couldn't exist. But there he was, after all these years. I met him when I was 17, and now I'm 24. It's amazing how long friendships on something as adolescent as Runescape can last. Not that Mafia and I were friends, necessarily. But I was amazed that after all this time, he still messaged me. He still remembered me.
Mafia: How are you?
Gale: Fine.
Mafia: You're mad at me, aren't you.
Gale: I don't even know who I'm talking to.
Mafia: Well, it's Rod.
John. Anthony. Corey. Rod. All of these people have claimed to log onto Mafia. Corey and Rod were John and Anth's cousins. I'm not sure if I ever wrote about them on this fic. I'm too lazy to go back and check.
Gale: Okay.
Mafia: You have every right to hate me, but I want to be honest with you.
Mafia: There never was a John or Anthony.
I wasn't upset. Time did heal me, and I wasn't upset. In fact, I was more okay with this revelation than any other startling revelation given to me. I also know what online personas can do to a person in real life. Lying becomes something magical, something empowering. You can be anyone you want to be, and everything about you changes just because you've decided to become someone else. I think most people who have ever played an online game has experienced something like this. If you haven't, kudos to you. If you have, you must understand what I'm talking about.
Mafia: You never deserved any of that, Mela. You have a big heart, and your love was always real.
Mafia: If you give me a chance, I'll make everything up to you.
And from there, we talked about our real lives, and things seemed different to me. He seemed more real. He gave me his number, and we've been chatting ever since. I saw a picture of him, too, and it looked nothing like the picture he sent when we were dating on Runescape. John, or now Rod, was actually 5'9, with a less than toned body. He was not a dark-skinned German, but rather a pale-skinned Frenchman. I can't say he was the most attractive guy I ever saw, but at least he was real.
It doesn't seem real. And I'm sure nothing serious will ever happen between us. However, I do like our genuine interesting for one another. We had a past, and we're connected by that past. Even if nothing ever does happen, at least we have some kind of closure.
The boy I loved seven years ago is gone. In his place is his ghostly, real life self, someone who wants to make amends and rekindle the young love we once had. He doesn't seem real to me yet, even though I know that this has to be the real Mafia. For now, I'm enjoying getting to know a new person who reminds me, little by little, of my first online love, my first real heartbreak, my John.
I keep asking myself when this story will end. I keep wondering if I'll ever stop going to Runescape. While I understand that it's a game with severely underdeveloped young minds and tedious quests, it's still a place I went to when I was lonely back in high school. It was a place where I felt love and care from friends. It was a place I felt safe and in control.
I'll always love Runescape. And I'll always love my John.
A/N: At this point, I'd like to know whether or not I should update this fic or just be done with it. Review and let me know.