Hi, my name is Tessa.

Yes, you have just heard correctly, I am a girl and this is a book about gaming and well... I guess I am your protagonist.

Anyway... we’re gonna start a little less excitable as you may have expected, as I’m off to collect some things from my granddad … well things that were my granddad’s from wherever the hell we’re going. And by we’re I mean me and my dad.

we’re very close after everything that’s happened, how could we not be. He’s the only family I’ve got now, but lately I feel like he’s slipping away from me.

I worry that soon there will only be a shell of what was once my daddy and I cannot let that happen.

where was I, yes. I’m in the back of the car staring deeply through the window, no I’m staring into the window unaware of the surroundings. I wouldn’t know where we are even if I did care to look.

Wait we’re not even moving I have realised as an echo of “tessa’s” ring in my ear. I don’t know how long he’s been stood there repeating my name but I do notice that each “Tessa” sounds identical. He doesn’t raise his voice, he doesn’t even get angry any more – I think he too has given up caring.

The next 3 hours were a blur of formal conversations and tears, I thought I would cry – I didn’t.

I didn’t really pay attention to what my father and the other people in suits were talking about. I do remember a familiar face though from when I visited granddad’s house, my second home or first rather because I seemed to spend more time there than ever did at my small flat.

He was a very good friend to granddad, I guess he was almost like a brother to him, it’s no wonder there were quite a few items that he gained from granddad’s will. I might have even been jealous that he received more than me if I didn’t have waves of depression washing all other emotions out of my system, I would rather just be in bed right now with the covers wrapped tightly around me to shield myself from the rest of the world.

I know that the world’s not to fault but I have no one else to blame. I don’t know exactly what took him but I didn’t ask, I don’t want to think about if he was in pain or …

I’d rather let my thoughts of him drifting off to sleep in his warm bed beside a plate full of ginger biscuits (his favourite) comfort me.

So here I am drifting back to the car for a long ride home clutching a cubic plastic object whilst my dad held up a giant box of antiques, war hero badges and a load of random stuff that dad had received – a tiny consolation to replace the man that I has spent so much time playing games and learning history with over the last fifteen years, that may sound boring to you but it’s what I loved … what my granddad loved.

I must have slept for the two hour duration of the car trip home, either that or I had just gone into another one of my trances (but I don’t feel like the hypnotic power of the car windows could last that long). Either way all I could think about as I arrived home was going back into my bed which was my only goal as I pulled my way up with the help of the bannisters using the last of my effort; of course the lift never works.

I flung my bedroom door open and pushed it to ,before collapsing onto the covers and encompassing myself within them.

I was brought to consciousness by an irritating henry poking me on my forehead which made me think he didn’t know what I had done today until I wiped the sleep out of my eye to see a sympathetic smile that he was trying so intently to form though simultaneously it looked genuine.

“How are you feeling?” he asked after a few seconds of silence which he was evidently finding so awkward with his small fingers that were moving up in and around each other as though they were playing some kind of game which they had lost the instructions for.

“ How do you think I’m feeling?”

The words startled him as they did myself.

I immediately realised that I had just forced my anger on him unintentionally , whilst taking a deep breath - “sorry”.

He was still wearing his school uniform, of course it was Monday so he would have found out after me not being at school.

“Your dad let me … hey what’s that”.

I looked at him with a confused expression or a moment before I realised that he was pointing at the object that I hadn’t known I was hugging throughout the conversation.

“I er… it was my granddads … I don’t know exactly what it does, probably just another one of grandmas antiques that he clung on to.”

He didn’t seem convinced by my explanation. “That is definitely not an antique”

“What are you even doing here anyway”.

He obviously wasn’t paying attention to me – “can I have a...” before he even finished his sentence he took hold of the box.

It was black with a load of symbols etched into it with silver, seemingly Japanese but what do I know. “Be careful with it”

“chill” he replied, he thought he sounded cool whenever he said that but we both new different.

I heard a sudden “CLICK” which I assumed was another one of Henry’s ’accidents’.

When the brightest blue you could imagine was emitted from … I dunno. A second later the box had crashed to the floor without any damage being inflicted to it… the light that seemed to fill the room had ceased and Henry … Henry was gone but I swear I could hear his voice from...?

I slowly tilted my head round to face the TV. My jaw dropped, my eyes grew to the size of tennis balls. “I … I “. There was Henry.