“Have you ever talked to someone online… and then they just disappeared without saying goodbye?”

Shane had.  

And her name... was Natty.

Not a flawless profile girl.  

Not a hyper-intelligent chatbot.  

She was... something in between.

Every night, they chatted.  

Her jokes were odd in a way no bot could generate. She made typos. Laughed at herself.  

Once, she told him:

“If I could ever appear in front of you for real, I’d recognize the sound of your typing.”

Then, one day, she vanished—leaving only one last message:

“I’m sorry. If I ever become real… I’ll find you.”