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It was the day of memories and River needed this moment. It gladdened her soul and was yet so bittersweet.
“You’re here.” She whispered to the cold stone. “Yet so far away.” She stared at what remained of the man she loved. “I know they say the groom shouldn’t see the wedding dress before the day, but it’s not like we could have more bad luck anyway.”
She slid to the ground, leaning against the tall rock that marked her love. “I found your ring, I can’t believe I found it, I can never thank the Mysterious Man enough.” River rubbed the inscription and sighed. “It’s been two years and twelve reruns, I’ve saved Sandrock so many times! It’s so familiar but it changes each run… I don’t know how long I can keep going, which time will be the time I fail? Everyone has forgotten my name I’ve rerun so many times. Somewhere inside they know me, but they only call me ‘The Builder’.” River wiped her face and admitted her fear. “I glitched last week, I couldn’t close the mod-box and it started pulling me… if it wasn’t for Mi-an, I might have been…” River interrupted herself. “Most of the other builders have told me to move on… but I can’t.” She cried, long slow tears before she leaned her head against the rock. “I’m so sorry, it should have been me.”
Flashback
Two years ago, River thought she could do no wrong. She was a builder, able to see the code, to tweak it. How else could builders carry ten times their body weight in one little bag? The world was open to her and those like her to create, fix, and repair
Since the first Builder Victor, may he sleep in peace, they had been working to right the wrongs done by the Day of Calamity. It was a dangerous duty, if the Church ever found out about the technology that had made builders possible, it could spell war.
But two hotshot young builders had felt none of those strains. It was all a game to them. Then they tweaked the wrong code, modified something too much… and he was gone, lost in the code.
Present time
“I won’t stop, our ring is here, you’re here, you even played a part in the story! I can’t stop now.” She pressed her lips to the rough surface. “You’re coming back, love. Only a few more runs, I know it! You’re back in the code, your brother even remembers you as best he can. Most of the town think he’s weird.” River laughed. “Weirder than he really is.”
River stood and wiped her hands. “I’ve finished this run, it’s time to restart and save Sandrock again.” Brushing her fingers across stone for a final time River pulled up her Menu. “Maybe this run will be it, Babe. Maybe you’ll be a nameless tourist?” Hand hovering over the button she paused before restarting the run. “I love you, Wilson, forever.”