Our conversation lasted hours, but it only felt like a fraction of that time. I was surprised at how little had changed in our time apart. Erica-now Natalie-was still so easy to talk to. Video games, anime, YouTube, comics, music, our conversations always felt so natural and easy. We could have talked until we lost our voices and still had things to say. 

I had missed it a lot.

During our conversation, floating around in the back of my mind, were unanswered questions. Questions that I didn't ask, despite them being the obvious ones to ask.

Natalie didn't broach the elephant in the room either. I didn't know why-perhaps for the same reason I didn't. Or maybe it was a feeling of guilt. Whatever the case was, the uncomfortable nature of the circumstance wasn't something either of us felt should be addressed in our first conversation in almost four years. It just wasn't the time, and we both knew it.

It was almost 2:00 AM by the time our chat had ended and after the call I sat in silence, my eyes fixated on the screen-nowhere in particular. Even though I knew I had to be at work early to open, I had still decided to stay up late. I figured the value of talking with Natalie again after so long outweighed the value of having a full night's rest for my eight hour shift the next day. 

That would remain to be seen.

I closed my eyes and yawned as I rolled back in my chair. Sometime during our conversation I had turned the lights off in my room due to the strain it was putting on my eyes and now the glow of my monitor and RGB keyboard were the only light in the room, painting it with a bluish hue. Even so, there was still plenty enough of it to navigate.

I looked at the frog and turtle plushies that still rested on my keyboard and smiled, remembering what Velvetbear had said.

"I guess you guys are sleeping with me tonight," I spoke as I took them from their spot.

I retrieved the tiger from the edge of my desk and tucked it under my arm. Making my way over to my bed I said, "I didn't forget about you, Albert."

With as much care as one would take with a live hamster, I placed all three plushies beside my pillow, patting each on the head as I did so.

"Sorry for keeping you guys cooped up in there so long," I said, turning my attention to the chair where Albert hung.

I pulled him off and stared into his face. Scattered memories so foggy that I could hardly see them began playing I'm my mind. Times I had looked directly at his happy little face while I told him about my Lego creations or favorite cartoon. Nostalgia hit me hard and an unidentifiable emotion began to overcome me like I was a sponge soaking it up. I had to look away, as if Albert's face was a flashlight shining directly into my eyes.

I sucked in a sharp breath and spoke, "Oh, boy. That's… A feeling… Very strong…" Whatever had happened had momentarily disoriented me so much that my speech had been just a spew of words reflecting my reflexive thoughts. I stood there a moment, letting whatever it was I had just experienced settle. 

I elected to avoid any further direct looks at Albert's face and separated his hands. The Velcro patches on them were extremely easy to pull apart, the grip on the loop patch weakened as a result of the countless times I had done and undone the hands as a child. Despite this fact, the grip was still strong enough to support Albert's weight.

Such a resilient little guy.

I wrapped Albert's arms around my neck, and stuck them together once more, his body resting on my shoulder. He felt so much smaller than when I had done the same thing as a child... For obvious reasons.

I felt a twinge of disappointment and sighed.

"Yeah, I figured," I thought aloud.

I knew in the back of my mind that it would feel different, but a small part of me had hoped it wouldn't. Even so, it still felt nice having him back around my neck again-feeling his soft arms on my skin. A really nice hug…

As I turned off my monitor and climbed into bed, my thoughts settled on Natalie and how I felt the Monday I had returned to school not seeing them where we usually met in the mornings. That corner in the library where the morning chess games were being played.

A sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that I carried with me the rest of the day, affecting my appetite during lunch, concentration during classes, and even my motivation to play my usual after-school video games. I had tried to tell myself that they were probably just sick or had a family emergency-anything to get rid of the anxiety. But I knew deep down what had happened and as the days passed, I finally came to terms with the situation. Conceded that the only consistent friend I had in my life would no longer be in it.

Regret had consumed me briefly for not getting their contact information-phone number, email, or Steam account. I would have even been content with an Instagram account, despite the fact that I never touched social media. In the end, I resigned myself to the fact that I would never see them again.

But by some bewilderingly lucky chance, we had crossed paths once more.

I didn't know it at the time, but our paths hadn't just crossed.

They'd come together.