I am still pondering on what we saw on Melissa’s page, despite Sarah’s continuing doubts about its authenticity. Can it be a hoax? Is there any correlation at all between the page and Jane’s encounter on the island, or was it just a weird coincidence? 

I am confused, but the one thing I do not doubt is Melissa’s death, so long ago. Worse still is the fact that memories I had wanted buried for ever in the deepest cellars of my mind have come back to me, intact, in the sombre colours of nightmares. The years when Melissa and I walked those streets, in the old town, are happy years for me, at least by comparison with what followed; I had wanted to forget that time of loneliness and horror forever. 

Yet, some of the posts on the page are incorrect. I noticed some errors of names  of streets or buildings, and some photographs have just been lifted from current sites on the web. For example the picture of Chi is not original work, such as the screenshots Jane took, but an existing view from one of the Second Life websites. Other material is manifestly genuine, including the pictures of me and my class. So it may well be that someone – someone alive now, who may have known Melissa – has in some way gotten possession of some of her photographs and of her biography, and constructed that page. But for what purpose, and why bother attracting my attention to it?

Could it be some familial relation? I cannot recall if Melissa had siblings. Some facts have escaped my memories completely. But others are clearly engraved, as if it was yesterday…

So I am counterattacking, determined not to let myself be depressed. I am exercising ferociously, I’ve cut down on booze, and I am running ten kilometres twice a week. Jane calls frequently, making sure I am not hiding in my corner, and also to chat with Sarah. 

I merely wish providence would allow me to finish this story, started some years back in the beautiful city of Berlin…

Picture source: Broken Reality by Karen

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