I'd know those features anywhere; I'd sculpted half of them. I'd spent hours in the character generator, tweaking families and spinning up genetics. God, the hairstyles–I'd needed to learn library science just to keep track of all the the mods I'd downloaded. Small wonder the game took over five minutes to boot.

Which made the letter in my hand completely absurd. I wondered if Zach had somehow linked his neighborhood to mine. Would the sharing functions have allowed him to look in on my Sims? How the hell else could anyone have gotten into my savegame and ripped the profiles out?

It didn't matter, though: the money blew it all out of the water. Zach didn't have this kind of money. I didn't know anyone who knew anyone who knew anyone who had this kind of money to burn. It was like the exchange rate was $1000 : §1. And my Sims had plenty of Simoleons to toss around.

"To Anna," read the card, "from all of us. Thanks for all your love & care. Enjoy your gifts!"

The card said "gifts." Plural. Somehow that extra 's' filled my chest with dread, like a tide had washed in from some sideways place, like weight fell softly on me at right angles from everything. I stumbled my way back up the stairs to my room and began searching frantically. Something here was fucked, and I somehow couldn't think of what.

As I tore wildly around my room, I caught sight of myself in my desk mirror, and what I saw shook me–or what covered me, anyway.

My face was beautiful–far, far more beautiful than I'd been minutes ago. My hair cascaded elegantly down my shoulders, gathered with a ribbon at the back. My mole had been swept away, and my skin glowed. My eyes were bigger, my nose straighter, my lips antiseptically brighter. I was a Barbie Doll of myself. I didn't dare look down at my chest.

Instead, I looked over to my balcony door, and saw sitting on my chair a pair of comically large, gag-gift sunglasses. I sure as fuck didn't own any of those.

With shaky steps I tottered over to pick them up. I couldn't breathe right, My ribs ached, my head swam. I threw open the balcony door and looked out over the city.

It was a beautiful day, with a shining sun and a sweet breeze and people enjoying it everywhere. Children ran down the sidewalk, shouting to their hurrying parents. The basketball game in the park had gathered a cheering crowd. Even Old Jim on the corner seemed to be in good spirits as he held his "God Bless" sign up to passersby.

Slowly, as if in a dream, I raised the glasses to my eyes. And I beheld then the cheerful green plumbobs spinning above their heads, each and every one. I looked up and saw I had one of my own. And behind us all, hiding amidst the city's towers and below the afternoon sun, I made out a pyramid, bent slightly, and shifting sands swirling around it.

I tried to awaken, but I was trapped. I was locked here, now, knowing neither if I, nor they, nor my own creations were the Simmers or the Sims.

​

r/EntelecheianLogbook