Phantasmagoria

''RARRRGGGHHHHHHH!!''

I scream at the top of my voice as I close my eyes.

I just want him gone.

I want Wraith to disappear.

Be gone forever...

I open my eyes, and see the destruction I have caused. When I said I wanted him gone, I...never imagined the T-Rex to crumble to pieces of dust. In fact, the whole landscape...begins to crumble around me. I hear the violence of it all, the roaring cries of the death of this world.

Is this all...my doing?

Am I really destroying...this game?

I close my eyes once more, wanting this all to stop.

Silence.

I open my eyes.

Every thing is so...calm...

Peaceful...

Tranquil...

''You did it. You actually did it,'' I hear Kelsey's voice break the quiet. I find myself back on the ground again. The scenery has changed to that of a beach; the sky above is a bright blue, there is a warm yellow sun glaring at us to our left, and the ground is covered in fine, dusty white sand.

''I did what?'' I ask her.

''You defeated Wraith. He's...gone,'' I hear her say.

I...defeated him?

I did?

I did?

That can't be right. He's impossible to defeat. How could I have done so...

''Look how calm every thing is,'' Kelsey says as she looks around the landscape. We both observe our surroundings. It does look calm.

''Are you doing this? It's beautiful,'' I remark. Kelsey walks forward, bends down towards to the sand, and grabs a handful.

''No, this isn't me. I think it's...Diana,'' she says as the sand trickles out of her hand.

Diana is doing this? I walk over to where Kelsey is standing and look out beyond the sea.

''Wraith...is really gone?'' I ask. I don't believe he is gone; knowing him, he might be hiding some where.

''No; I think he has been finally gotten rid of. Congratulations, Mr Williams, you've defeated the boss!'' Kelsey says as she shakes my hand.

Defeated the boss?

I thought Diana is the boss. But, thinking about it, I can see why Wraith must have been the boss. He was worse than any game villain I've ever heard of. Even worse than Bison and Ganondorf put together.

''So...what happens now?'' I ask her. Kelsey looks at me and then smiles.

''The moment you've been waiting for. You get to meet her,'' Kelsey says.

Meet...Diana?

Now?

FINALLY!

Inside I am excited, but nervous, relieved and scared at the same time. I don't care if she reads my mind, but, I gotta tell you, I seriously think I may be staining my drawers right about now.

''You are one different guy, Mr Williams,'' Kelsey says.

''Different?'' I say back. I'm...different? I've never heard that comment about me before.

''Yeah, different,'' she repeats.

Different. I hope it's in a good way.

''It is,'' she responds. I smile at her comment. It's nice to be paid a complement once in a while. Even by a weird girl in an imaginary video game.

''Hello, Mr Williams!'' I hear a female Irish accent call out to me. It's none other than Cara Flynn the gate keeper.

''Hello, Cara,'' I greet her back as she bounces on the sand to come over to me. She lands right next to me as sand flies in all directions.

''We haven't got time to spare! We must meet her now,'' Cara says.

''What's the rush?'' I ask her. I thought we had plenty of time to spare. I mean, I've just beaten Wraith, shouldn't I be given some respite?

''There's no time to rest! I thought you would like to meet her?'' Cara says excitedly as she takes me by the hand and leads me away from Kelsey.

''Yeah...I would...but...I don't know...how to be...,'' I stammer.

''You don't have to be anything! Just be yourself,'' Cara reassures me. Myself.

Myself.

Being myself is being...

A war vet.

A father.

A husband.

A brother.

A friend.

A...

Destroyer of ghost consciences.

A murderer of imaginary worlds.

The bringer of Wraith's demise.

Who am I now?

''Why don't you let Diana find that out?'' I hear Kelsey say to me as she stands on the beach.

I will let her find out.

Let her see what I am.

Will she like me, though?

Or will she hate me?

''This door will lead you to her,'' Cara says. She points to it in front of her, but I don't see any door.

''What door?'' I ask her.

''In front of you,'' Cara replies.

Uhhhh...

Where?

''Trust me, there is one. You just don't see it yet,'' she responds.

Ok, I think I've had enough of cryptic answers and hidden messages, so I'm just going to stretch out my hand and open this door.

''Oh, so there was one,'' I say aloud as the door opens up wide and completely blinds my eyes. I close my eyes instantly and shield my face from the blinding whiteness.

It's so white...