Game: Mystic Messenger
Rating: Fluff
Game I put her in: Nancy Drew: Ghost of Thorton Hall

Jaehee: "See it's a series of puzzle games called Nancy Drew. This installment came out during October I think so it was their halloween special. Nancy Drew: Ghost of Thorton Hall. I. LOVE. This one." Jaehee and you were curled up comfortably under a fuzzy blanket as we sat in front of our computer. You had known she was one for things that involved using her brain and what better way to do that by planning a detective game with a haunted twist.

"I see." She smiled as she sipped the coffee you brewed. "Okay. Well I brought a notepad is that good?"

"Yes. They have a checklist in the game but it's good to write things down."

Her eyes lit up in interest. "Alright let's play."

Jaehee wasn't one for video games but she was kind enough to indulge you once in a while. Plus it seemed you had peaked her interest when you told her a story of how you used to play these as a child and pre-teen. "It's how I learned morse code." You had told her. After that she asked if you would show her one day and what better way to spend a rainy Saturday evening? None. There was no better way.

With a nice scented candle of vanilla cookies you both inched closer together and immediately you pressed the Senior Detective button. You were playing together so it would probably be more fun if the puzzles were more challenging.

The scene opened up with the protagonist, Nancy Drew, waking up in the middle of the night with her phone ringing. The caller Savannah Woodham. "She was in Shadow at the Water's Edge, that one Nancy goes to Japan."

"I'm guessing that was horror themed as well?"

"Yup!"

Jaehee chuckled at my enthusiasm.

Savannah informs Nancy that a young girl named Jessalyn has been kidnapped. She was last seen with her friend, Addison, at Thorton Hall. Savannah believes Jessalyn has been spirited away and hands the case over to Nancy since she's a skeptic. With that the game starts with Nancy in a dark moonlit as the Ferryman warns Nancy about a man named Wade, a crazed woman named Harper, and the ghost Charlotte.

"Okay let's play!" You say happily as you go through the gates. You're surrounded by woods with Thorton Hall seemingly a mile or two away.

"I like that Nancy doesn't believe in ghosts." Jaehee said as she took in the scenery. Immediately the drama sets in as you two meet your first suspect Colton.
"Ah, so he's Jessalyn's finance." Jaehee notes this down. Colton hands you Jessalyn's phone which is completely dead.

You enter the worn down two story building and see a shadow disappear up the stairs. Jaehee seems to take notice but says nothing as she takes a sip of coffee. You enter the parlor to your left and talk to a woman named Clara. "The mother." You say as Jaehee intensely listens to the mothers account. "Oh by the way you don't have to write down the phone numbers, they're automatically saved into Nancy's phone."

"Oh?" She taps her pen on the notebook. "Did they used to do that?"

"Not really. Well…I think in the old ones you had to write them down. In fact you used to have to write everything down. It was really fun." You smiled nostalgically.

"You seem to really like these games."

"I really…feel at peace when I play. I was pretty lonely in high school so I guess games were my escape. It's how I got my wild imagination." You felt a pang of sadness as you clicked the next conversation option on the list.

Jaehee reached out and held your free hand. "I understand how you feel."

"I know you always tell me how I freed you from that loneliness but it was the same for me." You put your hand over hers. "So I'm truly happy to share these silly games with you."

A light blush painted Jaehee's cheeks as she looked back at the screen. "I-I see that Colton has bad ties with his family."

You smiled at her shyness as you began to look around the parlor. You're able to investigate three portraits and without needing to be told Jaehee takes note. The both of you quietly read the book you find of "Females in Espionage" then go to look at the tea set in the corner. "That's a cute set." She comments as you brew a cup. "Th-that's a lot of sugar."

You click on the sugar cubes ten times. "Mmmm mmm!" You lick your lips as you walk away from the table before adding a napkin and oranges to your inventory.

"Oranges?"

"I believe it's for the phone. We might have to find some type of metal and some screws, connect all of them, and then your able to create an electrical current from the acid. That's probably how we'll charge the phone."

"Wow! I learned of the potato making electricity but not oranges."

"Yeah, I think science is cool!"

Your calming banter goes back and forth for a while. Sometimes Jaehee would jump when random shadows would pop up but nonetheless she seemed to be having a blast. The drama between the family, the sad backstory of Charlotte, and the mystery behind Jessalyn pulled you both into the story. Jaehee was level headed when it came to the puzzles and the both of you enjoyed solving it together. Sometimes you would both put your heads together and sometimes you would make it a competition to see who got it right first.

Jaehee yawned as she tried to figure out another puzzle. You patted her back and rubbed in small circles massaging the kinks out of her shoulders. "I think it's time we went to bed."

"Hmm…but I think I almost got it."

"Jaehee it's 1 in the morning. We have to open the shop in six hours." You warned as you saved the game. "We can play more tonight."

"Mmm…" She mumbled as she tapped her pen against the notepad.

You poked her cheek making her look up. "Time for sleep." You smiled.

"Ah…fine." She sighed as she closed the notepad. "We'll solve it tomorrow."

"Ha ha ha…I'm so happy you liked this game."

"I'm happy you shared a bit of your past with me." Jaehee smiled. "Never be afraid to talk to me. You've warmed my heart and it makes me happy to see I've warmed yours."

You felt her heart swell with love as you pulled her into a tight hug. "Thank you."