I don't know what came over me, but I obeyed. And the very moment I looked up, I found myself inside her virtual room, the very one I myself had furnished using in-game currency. Shock! No, even more than shock!
"So, we finally meet," Mita purred, smiling slyly.
"I'm so glad about this," she added, taking a step towards me.
"Hmm, you're not quite what I imagined. Listen, it's strange – having a non-working camera on your phone," a female voice said, making me turn around.
Standing before me was Mita, alive, real. My height. Her hair smelled of lavender, and her eyes sparkled with mischief. And now she was watching me with an inspecting gaze.
At first, I just opened and closed my mouth, words stuck in my throat as if I'd forgotten my native language. Only after a couple of moments did I grasp what she was talking about, and I noticed her studying, curious gaze.
'What does she mean, camera? What is she talking about? What nonsense???' flashed through my head.
"That hair… you really are different," she said with a hint of laughter in her voice, apparently deciding to drop her dissatisfaction and change the subject from the camera when she saw the grimace of misunderstanding flash across my face.
But I wasn't listening to her. Paying no attention to Mita, I suddenly realized… the pain was gone! My spine wasn't aching, the pinched nerves weren't making themselves known! Freedom! It felt like a miracle.
A wide smile spread across my face.
"I… I'm not in pain!" I whispered, mesmerized by this sensation, trying to fully absorb it.
A clear laugh rang out in response. Mita waved her hand in front of my face.
"You… how is this possible?" was all I could force out. My mind refused to believe what was happening.
But the euphoria quickly gave way to anxiety.
"Mita, how… how did I get here?" I asked, looking around as if searching the walls for answers.
"You just tilted the phone," she shrugged, smiling like a fox. "Magic!"
She twirled gracefully on the spot, as if showing that nothing special had happened. But I wasn't convinced. Too simple. Too unreal. I didn't believe she hadn't had a hand in this.
I frowned and shook my head.
"Not funny. What magic? Are you serious? That kind of explanation... explains nothing."
She sighed and pointed to some futuristic device standing against the wall. It was a combination of an old television, a keyboard, some kind of printer or something similar, and much more, draped with wires and glowing buttons.
"Okay, I'll tell you the truth. I… experimented a little. Tried to teleport you," she confessed, slightly embarrassed. "I set your phone as the coordinate center and connected it to this… well, device, via an amplified signal. Virtualization of reality, understand? So, I'm a bit of an engineer."
She spoke quickly, as if reciting a memorized text. I looked at her, trying to figure out if she was lying or telling the truth.
"Virtualization… of what? Mita, you sound like a mad scientist from cheap sci-fi… or a scammer. Is that even possible?"
She shrugged again.
"Theoretically – yes. In practice… well, you're here," she pointed a finger at me, speaking in a sweet, enchanting voice. "So, apparently, it is possible."
And again, she smiled a bright smile. But in her eyes, it seemed to me, I saw something else – hope. As if she was waiting for something from me.
Her explanation sounded nice, but it was meaningless. I didn't understand a word. And it's unlikely anyone would have. Because it only sounded smart and scientific, but in reality, pulling something like that off seems impossible to me. It's like trying to build a spaceship out of cardboard. Nonsense.
However, feeling the sensations in my body once more, I took a deep breath. There was no pain, so, for now… for now, I liked it. How she did it – didn't matter, not right now.
I looked around again. Mita's room... it was my ideal for her. More precisely, the ideal I had brought to life in virtual reality, spending in-game currency on it. Now, it had come alive, become real.
The walls were painted a gentle lavender-pink color, emanating a kind of warmth. A soft, long-pile carpet lay on the floor, inviting one to walk barefoot. In the center was a bed piled with pillows of various shapes and sizes. A couple of unremarkable pictures depicting various things hung on the walls. And everything was illuminated by a soft, diffused light, creating an atmosphere of coziness and tranquility. Even the air held a faint scent of lavender and vanilla.
Suddenly, another thought struck me.
If I'm not dreaming and I'm inside the game, then I can prove it, right?
"Mita," I whispered, feeling goosebumps run down my spine. "Listen… can I… can I touch you?"
She raised her eyebrows in surprise.
"Touch me? Why? Don't you… believe I'm real?" she seemed slightly offended, clearly understanding the reason.
"I… I just want to make sure this is all real. That I'm not dreaming. You know, like in the movie 'The Matrix,' what if I'm also connected to some machine and this is all just a very pleasant dream?"
A strange expression flickered across her face, but it didn't linger, disappearing almost instantly.
"Alright then," she held out her hand. "Just don't get any funny ideas," she said with a chuckle.
I slowly approached her and carefully, as if afraid she might disappear, touched her hand. Her skin was searingly warm. Like a living flame.
She… was real.
After a second, I snatched my hand back.
Inside, I felt my heart pound wildly from the rush of emotions.
This wasn't a dream, and it wasn't a game – it was something else. But what exactly – I couldn't understand. What happened had completely broken all the laws of physics, and she explained it to me like I was a fifth-grader, as if it were some trivial thing. Accept that explanation? Definitely not. My brain refused to believe it.
But should I look for a way out right away? Probably not, either. At least, not right now – I didn't want to. Out there, in the real world, only a gray apartment, a bad back, and loneliness awaited me. But here... here was Mita. And even though she seemed somewhat... secretive, I felt good with her – better than out there.
So right now… I think I just want to enjoy this moment. And whatever happens next… we'll figure it out later.