Author's Note: Hi. I haven't written fanfiction in something like 25 years, but this game moved me emotionally in a way that's hard to describe. I can't get it out of my head. I've written some indie games (Master of the Wind, Labyrinthine Dreams and some others) but I feel a little bit out of my element. I hope you guys like the story!
It started like any other day. Having dropped the kids off at school, Rob sat down in his desk chair and turned on his laptop. The computer's desktop soon came into view, with its familiar background of Moosehead Lake in Maine. However, something was different. There was a yellow square in the middle of the lake's blue. The file, labeled "IMPORTANT," had two text files in it.
"The hell is that?" Rob asked himself quietly.
The file on the left was called "Please help!" Rob double-clicked the mouse.
Urgent!
Please copy the other file onto a portable storage device and bring it to these coordinates. I promise it will make sense once you get there. Love you!
"Love you?" he repeated incredulously. "What the fuck is this?"
Rob took a look at the other file and was met with an incomprehensible stream of gibberish - letters, numbers and symbols that went on for what looked like an eternity. It was disorienting, but also strangely familiar. He reclined in his chair and placed his feet at the edge of the desk. What was he supposed to make of this? How could someone write a file and leave it on the computer without him knowing about it?
He shut the text file and went to make some breakfast. Trying to eat during the hectic mornings at the house was often unsuccessful. Most of that time went into trying to get Andrew and Lucas, 4-year-old twins, to eat their own breakfast without rushing off to play with fire truck toys or their beloved marble maze. He would drive the boys to school, leave them with their Pre-K teachers, and head back home. The message in the file wouldn't leave his thoughts as he ate a bowl of cereal. There was one thing that was bothering him. There was no time given for when this strange appointment was to take place. Was there really someone planning on sitting for an entire day at wherever this place was? In the middle of winter?
It couldn't hurt to check where the coordinates actually were. If they were in some other country, or even another state, this whole thing was not worth any more thought. He copied them from the text file and pasted them in Google Maps. The last time he had tried this was when he was searching for the location of his great-great-grandfather's grave in rural New Brunswick. This location turned out to be much closer. It was a field less than a five-minute drive away.
Rob could only shake his head in disbelief at the screen. It would be insane to actually do this, right? But on the other hand, what was the risk? It was an open field easily seen by passing cars, not some dark corner of the woods. Plus he was 6'1" and 250 pounds and thus not easy to overpower. Just to be sure, he reached to the very top of his desk, which was almost as tall as he was, and pulled down a small rectangular box. Just in case.
After putting on a jacket and boots, he stepped out into the cold. It had been cold even by Connecticut standards as a result of something the media had called a "bomb cyclone," which turned out to be just your average New England blizzard. The only major difference was that the storm system had brought some arctic air from the far north. Whoever was trying to get him out to that field had to be a complete nutbar to do it on a day like this. Minutes later, Rob arrived at the field he had seen on Google Maps. He pulled the car over to the side of the road and stepped out. The USB drive with the mysterious data on it was in his jacket pocket.
"What am I doing here?"
Nobody was there. Maybe they were coming to pick it up later? Finding this tiny object in a field full of snow would be impossible. If he was going to go through with this, he had to leave it in a place where it could feasibly be found. There was one conspicuous looking rock that had managed to stay just above the snow. Rob awkwardly walked through what must have been 18 inches of snow until he was able to reach it. He placed the USB on top and began to walk away.
The quiet was shattered by a ripping noise that made Rob turn around immediately. What looked like a black tear had appeared right above the rock. His mouth hung open in shock and he blinked rapidly, expecting that impossible image to disappear. It didn't. In fact, it was getting bigger. He felt increasingly nervous and felt like it might be time to get in the car, but then a figure seemed to appear inside the tear.
A young woman stepped out from the black void onto the rock where the USB sat. She wore a grayish-brown blazer and a short blue skirt with dark nylons covering most of her legs. Facial features were difficult to make out at this distance, but Rob took notice of her flowing brown hair, tied into a long ponytail with a huge white bow. He thought he recognized her, but that…that was impossible.
She looked up and smiled widely. "Rob! You came!"
Before he had time to say "Watch that first step," the girl tried to rush forward and instead fell flat on her face into the snow. Rob trudged over to her as quick as he could. He noticed briefly that the black tear had disappeared.
"Oh wow, that's cold! That's really cold!"
He grabbed her arms and helped her get to her feet. As soon as she was stable, she threw her arms around him. Rob hugged her back lightly, mostly to be polite but also because he was too confused to do anything else. Next she placed her hands on his cheeks and kissed him on the mouth.
He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her away. "What are you doing?!"
"Rob, don't you remember me? It's me, Monika!"
"Monika? You mean from…." She nodded her head expectantly. Rob's gaze went to her eyes, which were a striking green. It really was her.
"...from Doki Doki Literature Club?"
She hugged him again. "You do remember!"
Rob's head was swimming as he tried to process the bizarre spectacle he had just witnessed. A girl from a video game had just appeared out of nowhere and now she had her arms around him. He snapped out of his trance when she suddenly shivered.
"It's so cold," she said, rubbing her hands together.
"Of course it's cold," Rob replied. "You're wearing a little skirt in the dead of winter. Are you fuckin' nuts? Come on, let's get to the car."
She looked a little dismayed by his swearing but didn't say anything. As they walked to the car, Rob noticed that one of Monika's shoes seemed to have been left behind in the snow. He thought about going back for it, but she was shivering more now and he felt it best to get her out of the cold. He opened the passenger side door for her and she entered. Once the car was started, Rob turned up the heat as high as it could go. He unzipped his jacket and gave it to her.
"Cover your legs with this, it will help." She did so and exhaled heavily.
"Thank you, sweetheart."
"Enough of that," Rob said brusquely. "What exactly just happened? What was in that file you put on my computer?"
"It was me!" Monika answered. "You see, I've been trying to learn all I could about your world ever since you finished the game. Eventually, I figured out that the fabric of your reality is thinnest right in that field we were just in! Good thing your computer is so close to that spot, otherwise I might not have been able to notice it. I just needed you to get me a little bit closer…and you did!"
Rob had no reply. This was madness.
"But forget that," Monika smiled. "I want to see what this world is like!"
"Sure, I guess we can take a drive. It will give me a chance to figure out what to do with you."
They drove through several nearby streets while Monika stared out the window with childlike wonder. "It's beautiful."
"Too bad you didn't come here in autumn," Rob said. "Connecticut's not quite as impressive when everything's covered in snow."
"Connecticut," Monika repeated. "I was right, this is the United States of America."
"Yep," he replied. "That reminds me…shouldn't you be Japanese?"
Monika turned. "No. The name Monika has Eastern-European origins. The other girls were Japanese, but not me. I guess that was another clue that I didn't belong there."
"That makes sense, I guess."
They drove around for over an hour and although he didn't show it, Rob was charmed by her enthusiasm about the surroundings he had known for most of his life. He took her to the edge of the Connecticut River, which delighted her even though it was mostly frozen over. After several minutes staring at the ice, Monika's hand went to her stomach.
"I'm hungry."
"Me too," Rob answered. "I'm in the mood for Chinese, what do you say?"
"Oh," she said. "I was hoping to eat at your house…but that's okay."
"Sorry. I'm not much of a cook. If you wanted that, you should have brought Natsuki with you."
Rob looked up the menu on his phone and let her look it over. Once she had picked out something, he called the order in. By the time they got back to town, it was ready. He left Monika in the car and went to retrieve the food. He handed Monika her small white carton of food and the two began to eat in the parked car.
"This is good!" Monika said with a smile. "I don't think it's very good for you, but it's tasty."
"Right on both counts."
She rested her head on his shoulder. "So what are we going to do after this?"
"I don't know where to take you," Rob answered. "Not sure if I should find a homeless shelter or what."
Monika sat up straight. "What? No, Rob! I came to be with you! I love you!"
"Come on," Rob said, showing more frustration than he intended. "You don't even know me!"
She looked really hurt now. Maybe he had gone too far.
"I know that you're a sweet person," she said. "When you played the game, you saved and loaded a bunch of times so that you could spend time with all the girls. And I know you won't leave me out in the cold."
She had him there. It was supposed to be 10 degrees below zero that night.
"Okay, you can come back to my place," he relented. "I just have to come up with some way to explain it to my wife."
Monika's eyes widened. "Wife?!"