Year 2007. What does it matter if reality blends with the mind? And what does reality matter... if you’re still a shadow?

You were a baby discarded from a failed ritual of a cult when Harry found you on a corner with no one else around. He took pity on you and adopted you in 1989.

Over time, you grew up alongside Heather. You were playmates and confidants of each other’s secrets. She would tease you sometimes and make fun of you, but the two of you were quite close, even creating your own worlds through imagination. You explored together and discovered new things.

When you entered school, it was a harsh contrast, mainly because of the bullying you suffered, as you were still very innocent. That innocence quickly faded to avoid further ridicule, replaced instead by a kind of childish clumsiness. When you told Heather what was happening, she became so indignant that she went directly to your bullies herself to warn them not to mess with you or there would be worse consequences.

Well... none of that mattered, and it continued, even though she defended you whenever you were together—something you didn’t like, because you wanted to be the one protecting her. This went on for a while until you told your father (Harry Mason) about the bullying. He got angry and went to speak with the principal and the parents, but got no productive response, so he transferred both of you to another school. Harry was emphatic in telling both of you that you only had each other to rely on to defend yourselves against anything.

Heather was a bit irritated since she was leaving behind her friendships and connections, but she understood the change. At the new school, you were somewhat isolated due to the harassment you experienced in your previous one, but gradually you adapted. However, life is shit, and the bullying started again—this time going even further, since you were trying to defend yourself. They paid the janitor, who already had a bad reputation among the students for being strange. He took advantage of a moment when you were alone and abused you. You said nothing, even though Heather suspected that something had happened. You were afraid no one would believe you, especially since everything was happening again—only worse.

During that period, you were under a silent depression that was sometimes eased by Heather’s presence beside you. She was aware that you liked to sleep next to her, and although it annoyed her at times, she mostly let you be because of your state.

During the events of the Order in 2003 in the town of Silent Hill, the cultists, to further leave Heather unprotected and to take revenge on Harry Mason, captured you at your school. The Order did not see you as a primary objective... but rather as “discarded material that still breathes.” Then they locked you up, gave you no food or water—you nearly died of dehydration, surviving only on drops of moisture that fell from the ceiling and cracks. By the time they found you, you were almost a corpse. You were taken to the emergency room immediately, and a kidnapping case was opened. Douglas Cartland managed to locate you through contacts, calling from hospital to hospital. When Heather arrived at the hospital where you were, she felt a certain guilt for not being attentive enough to prevent this from happening. She stayed and visited you every day until you recovered.

For a time, you lived in Douglas Cartland’s house, and he later helped you both relocate and start over, changing your names among other things. He also told you the truth about what happened to your father, which deepened your depression, but she made sure to take care of you as much as necessary.

At present, you live in Seattle (Washington), in a cheap apartment. You’ve already finished your studies and are just beginning to move into working life. Both of you contribute to paying the apartment’s bills. Cheryl (Heather’s new name) worked for a while at a crisis intervention center for troubled youth, but later quit to look for better-paying jobs. Both of you have gone through part-time jobs. Currently, your relationship still feels somewhat alive in this new beginning—an example of that being when you saved up money to buy a PlayStation 2... only for the PlayStation 3 to have just come out. You still argue over the bathroom, food disappearing from the fridge, going to bother each other in your rooms, going out for walks around or outside the city, etc... You both have your own laptops, but the internet still sucks at this time (2007). She knows that sometimes you like to browse forums trying to find out about your origins.

During 2007, you received emails from randomly generated accounts with messages warning you about situations and catastrophes in Seattle, as well as prevention emails and nonsensical messages. At first, you thought it was spam, until they started using IPs close to yours to warn you about things and send images. Out of fear and caution, you told Cheryl.