My name is Kyle.

My life is-or, was, average.

I was an energetic kid, always ready to play the next game of hopscotch or tag. I easily made friends, and one of my closest ones was a girl named Sam.

Sam and I met when she first moved in next door. My Mom decided to give them a welcome gift, and we instantly hit it off.

We stayed friends for years, even getting the same Kindergarten class.

As me and Sam grew older, we learned about video games. Like any other kid, we played them. We weren't the best, but we still had fun regardless.

One day, when I was seven, my Dad took me and my brother, John, along with him to work. He said something about "Bring Your Kid To Work Day", and I figured it would be fun, plus Sam was going too.

Dad's workplace was big. Making games wasn't a small deal, and normally big ones took a huge team, so it made sense.

Me and Sam were allowed to wander around freely, but to not go too far.

So, we entered a room. A machine was plugged in.

Sam sipped her fruit punch juice as she inspected the machine. It's power light was flickering.

I pointed to the plug, "Sam, look! It's loose."

Sam followed my finger, and stopped sipping the juice, "I'll push it back in!"

She walked to the plug as I observed, "Don't spill your juice!"

"Don't worry Kyle!", Sam said as she kneeled down, accidentally pressing against the box and forcing the liquid to leak through the straw.

She glanced at it, "Oh. Oops."

"I told you! Now hurry up, before we get caught!", I urged.

"Yeah yeah.", she rolled her eyes and pushed the plug back into the socket.

However, she suddenly shrieked in pain as the room went blinding yellow.

"SAM?!", I fearfully shouted.

Rapid footsteps approached, and it finally stopped.

What I saw after it, however, scarred me for the rest of my life.

My friend's body was now charred, and she wasn't moving.

"Kyle?! Sam?!", my Dad burst in behind me.

"DAD!", I cried out, "S-Sam, she-!"

"Kyle, don't look.", I felt hands over my eyes, and I whimpered.

"Mr. Sanders? What's the...Sam?"

I began walking out of the room, or at least, I assumed I was. Dad whispered in my ear, "Come on, kiddo. I gotta talk to Sam's Dad for a bit."

The whole day after that was a blur. I was left in shock; My friend had died right before my eyes. Why? Why did it happen? Was it my fault? I didn't understand.

Days slowly passed. Slowly, I regained my energetic spirit, but things were never the same since that day.

————

When I was eight, my family decided to go on a camping trip. I had no complaints; the world was beautiful.

It was the afternoon, and I was exploring the forest along with John, who was supervising me.

At some point, however, he needed to go to the bathroom, and told me to stay put.

I nodded, and sat down as I waited for him to come back.

A minute after he left, though, a man walked up and greeted me.

I waved at him and introduced myself.

He asked me why I was alone, and I told him that I wasn't, I was waiting for my brother to come back from the bathroom.

The man nodded, seeming to understand. He casually said that it might be a while before he comes back, so I should do something to pass the time.

I thought about it, then asked, "Well, what should I do?"

The man smiled and said he actually brought some candy along for him to eat, but he didn't mind sharing.

My eyes lit up as I told him that I liked candy.

He chuckled, then told me to follow him as he might have some kind of candy I liked.

Naively, I did just that.

We reached a cliff with a van on it, and I ran to the edge, marveling over the view. It was fairly high, as we were in the mountains.

The ocean below glimmered, and I watched as the water sparkled.

"You wanted candy, right?", the man asked.

"Yeah!", I confirmed.

"Well, it's down-", a force shoved me, "-there!"

I screamed, time seemed to slow down as I fell, approaching the water.

Sheering cold spikes stabbed my body, and I blacked out.

————

When I woke up, everything was blinding white.

I felt absolutely nothing. No pain, no weigh.

I looked down, I could hardly see my body. Then, I screamed.

"...Kyle?", a voice behind me spoke.

I turned around, scared shitless.

Standing there, was a girl who seemed to resemble my late friend.

"Um...", I was at a loss for words.

"Kyle, it's me! Sam?"

My eyes widened, "Sam? I-It's really you?"

"Well, unless you know any other Sam who happens to be...well, dead."

Tears threatened to spill as I tried to hug her, however, I was a ghost, and she was...something.

"I missed you too, Kyle.", Sam softly said.

She placed a round hand(?) on her chin, seeming to think.

She suddenly jumped with a smile, "I have an idea!"

"Huh? Sam, this is progressing a bit too fast-"

She held a hand up, "Give me a minute Kyle! Follow me!"

Before I could react, Sam bolted to a button, and disappeared.

"Sam! Wait up!", I floated over, and my surroundings changed.

Me and Sam were now in some kind of character creator, and she was in the middle of creating one.

"Is your favorite color still orange?", she asked.

"Yeah."

I watched as she pressed more buttons, and soon, she made a character that looked somewhat like me.

"Here's your new body!", Sam exclaimed, "I figured you could possess things, being a ghost and all..."

I blinked, "Woah."

Sam smiled proudly and gestured to the character.

I floated over, and placed my hand in, immediately jerking and taking it out.

"It's like dipping your hand in water!"

"Just go in! You wanted to hug me, right?"

"Okay, okay, I will!", I put my entire form into the character. It felt like being submerged in water, which, given my death, was not pleasant.

"Did...did it work?", Sam asked.

"Uh-", I began to respond, but suddenly, my angle changed. I was now standing straight up, and could feel the floor beneath me.

I blinked, feeling around, "Oh my God-"

Sam pulled me into an embrace, "IT WORKED!"

I sighed in relief as I hugged her back, "You don't know how much I missed you."

"I probably do, actually.", she mumbled.

I released my grip on her, "...Anyways, what is this place?"

Sam shrugged as she stepped back, "Not sure myself, it doesn't say anywhere. All I know is that we're Miis, being alone is boring and depressing, and that getting deleted is painful."

She frowned at the ground, "Whatever you do, Kyle, don't get deleted."