I met her in a game. That is the simplest way to tell it, and perhaps the least accurate way to explain it. There was nothing remarkable about the beginning. She was playful, quick-minded, naturally interestingโthe sort of person who catches your attention without trying. I was curious about her before I had a reason to care, and I had no idea how difficult her place in my life would eventually be to describe.
Later, I came online and she came beside me. I sent her a request, and she accepted. At the time, I was the only boy on her list. I never knew what made her accept a stranger or whether she could have imagined that this ordinary interaction would become a memory neither of us planned to make.
She once asked me to play on her second account. I offered to play on her main, but our ranks did not match. Her rank had to be pushed before we could finally enter the same game. It was a small problem, and we found a way around it. Then we started talking every day. She shared her stories, and somewhere in those ordinary conversations, she became someone I expected to hear from.