{OLIVER}

"From the echoing echoing words you whispered // From the twinkling twinkling in your eyes // I sensed a slight and different movement // Overflowing emotions // That halo of yours is so brilliant"

- Starlight Keeper (by momocashew)

"Hello, Oliver," I warmly greeted the Vocaloid as he appeared in the white expanse of my window, the final few pixels combining to form his iconic sailor hat. Slowly, the young boy opened his single yellow eye, staring back at me with a gaze full of awe and wonder. His navy coat swivelled around him as he turned to the left, to the right, to look behind him, his golden curls swaying in the air. Nearby, his bird, an American goldfinch called James, chirped at the strange space.

I didn't want to interrupt him from exploring that place, but my impatience was still tugging at me. "Oli, I'm over here!" I called out for the Vocaloid again, waving at my screen. Thankfully, he heard me and faced me again, his head tilting to the side.

There was an apologetic gaze in his eye. "Um..." He mumbled in a melodious voice. "Excuse me, but my name is Oliver, not Oli..."

Oh god. He's cute.

I fought back the urge to squeal as I smiled at him. "Ah, sorry about that. I just have a habit of calling you 'Oli' when I see fanarts of you," I replied sheepishly with a shrug. "I hope you don't mind,"

Oliver returned my smile with a wide grin. "Oh, it's okay! I don't mind it at all!" He chirped while waving both of his hands, the sleeves of his oversized coat slipping down his arms.

I take that back. He's not just cute; he's adorable...!

"Um... If you do not mind me asking..." The young vocaloid called out for me politely, his British accent showing in his words. "How do I leave this place to reach you? Fukase said that after I enter this white space, I'm supposed to reach my hands towards you, yes?"

I nodded, taking the cue to stand up from my desk and step towards my bed, pulling my chair aside in preparation for Oliver to come out. It was the first time he ever came out, after all. And even though the others could step out of my computer all by themselves without me doing anything, I anticipated that the younger, inexperienced vocaloid would have a harder time.

I was proven right when I heard panting sounds coming from my monitor. As I took a glance, I noticed that Oliver was hopping on the spot, his hands reaching out for me but not reaching reality as he should.

Oh right. He was kind of the shortest of all the Vocaloids that I owned. I giggled softly as I asked him: "Do you need any help, Oliver?"

"I'm... hah... fine..." The choir boy replied breathlessly, making it clear that he was having a hard time reaching for my reality. "I just need to jump a little higher...!" He declared as he paused to readjust his hat a little.

"Here, let me see if I can reach for your hand," I chuckled as I stood in front of my computer. Deep down, I was questioning why I would say such an impossible thing, but considering how the Vocaloids have been jumping in and out of my computer lately, who's to say that I couldn't reach into their world too?

... My hands were instead greeted with a smooth, warm surface. Or... maybe not. I thought to myself in disappointment. It was short-lived, however, as another set of hands was soon holding tightly to mine. Oliver's small, child-like hands seemed so tiny in mine.

"Oh, I finally reached you!" He sang out in joy from the computer. I took a glance at the screen and nearly had a double take; Oliver's face was zoomed in to appear close to me. It seemed like we were only a few centimetres apart. My eyes were practically boring into his single yellow eye.

"You startled me, Oliver!" I exclaimed, truly not expecting him to suddenly jump towards me like that. The young Vocaloid was quick to respond apologetically. "Oh, I am sorry! It's just... when I saw your hands in front of me, I felt like trying my best to reach for them!"

Oliver, you poor, pure Vocaloid child. You have no idea what those words mean to me...!

"It's fine, just hold on tight, okay? I'm gonna try pulling you out of my computer..." I explained without really paying attention to how ridiculous my words were, gripping tightly to the small hands in my palms. A single hard yank on his hands was enough to not only get him out of that screen, but also to have Oliver literally headbutt me into the ground behind me. Thank god for the carpeted floor of my room; who knows what would have happened to me if I didn't have a safe landing!

Brushing that thought aside, I directed my eyes back to the young boy, who was now lying on the floor next to me, his left hand rubbing his temples, his hat nowhere on his head. "Are you okay, Oliver?" I hurriedly asked while looking around for his missing hat.

"Ah... I'm okay..." He mumbled in reply, slowly opening his right eye to take a better look at his surroundings. After receiving a confirmation that he was okay, I quickly turned my attention to finding his hat on the ground, finally finding it strewn next to my study table. It must have fallen off after Oliver entered reality.

"Here, Oliver, I found your hat-" My voice trailed off after I spotted Oliver staring at my bedroom window, his gaze fixed on the sky above. Before I could ask what he was doing, he let out a quiet exclaim of wonder and scrambled to his feet, trotting over and climbing onto the small mattress next to the windowsill. His eye remained fixed on the wide space above, indigo clouds spread across a violet background and tiny pinpricks of sparkling white scattered everywhere.

"Oliver?" I called out for the young Vocaloid as I walked over to him.

At the mention of his name, the choir boy whipped his head around to face me. "What are those up there? Those little lights in the sky, I mean," He quickly asked, trying to hide the obvious excitement in his voice.

I chuckled at his child-like innocence. "You mean the stars?"

"Stars? Those are... the stars?" Oliver tilted his head at me and I couldn't suppress the small laugh bubbling in my throat. "Yeah, they only come out at night, and you can only see them if there aren't too many clouds up there. But when you do, they'll be sparkling up in the sky," I explained as I took a seat next to the ever-curious young Vocaloid, gently perching his hat back onto his head. Oliver turned his head to me for a little while as he readjusted his accessory and muttered a quiet (and very polite) 'thank-you', but it wasn't long before he was gazing at the stars in the sky again, a wide and content smile on his face.

"They're beautiful..." He marveled in fascination. "I remember singing about them before, but not really understanding what it meant..."

"Hold on... Oli, you've never seen the stars before?" Did the Vocaloids not take part in the music videos of their songs? It was a strange thought, sure, but since I had the opportunity to ask...

Oliver shook his head nonchalantly. "No, I do not think I have... I would remember it if I did see them before, though. I mean, they're so pretty to look at!" He mused in glee and returned to admiring the lights in the sky. Meanwhile, I was surprised at his response. In my memories of songs sung by Oliver, I could have sworn that there was a music video where he was dancing under a sky full of stars, but if he couldn't recall that...

Did that mean that Vocaloids have no clue of how they are portrayed in the music videos starring their voices?

" ... You know, there's one special type of star that not many people get a chance to see," I remarked in the sudden silence between us, trying to change the subject and get that thought out of my mind. As I had anticipated, Oliver's interest was piqued and he looked at me with his single curious eye. "What type of star is it?"

I cheekily grinned and lowered my voice to a whisper. "It's called a 'shooting star'. That's when a star moves across the sky on its own very quickly," I explained. "They say that if you make a wish on a shooting star, your wish is sure to come true!"

To say that Oliver was excited at the sound of my explanation would be an understatement.

In fact, he was beaming, the smile on his face widening and his eye sparkling with enthusiasm. "Wow!! I hope we see a shooting star tonight!" He giggled, his voice filled with the purest joy of a young boy as his hands reached for mine.

"If we do, I have to make a wish for you!"

~~~~~

The young Vocaloid did not know why his owner was suddenly blushing... or rather, it seemed like she was blushing, from what he heard from the others; red cheeks is the indication of a blush, right? Regardless, he kept his hands interlocked with hers as he glued his eye back to the sky, his heart full of determination to spot the fabled 'shooting star' that his owner was talking about.

In his heart, Oliver was so glad that he could finally talk with his owner now. By now, he was no stranger to the sight of his owner squealing at the cuteness of his voice or how she would fangirl over his voicebank being used in a cartoon show. Not to mention the number of times that she would keep calling him an 'innocent baby' on some occasions. Did it have to do with his age?

Either way, one thing was for certain; his owner really cared about him. As soon as he and the other Vocaloids came to life, the first thing she did was ensure that everyone was comfortable staying in her computer. Like her, Oliver did not fully understand the miracle that allowed them to come alive, but it didn't matter to her. She just took it in stride and talked to them everyday to make sure that they weren't lonely.

Thinking about this reminded him of why he thought of making a wish for his owner instead of himself. After all, she had been so nice and welcoming to him and the other Vocaloids since the change occurred... Surely, this wish was a proper way to thank her for all the care he received from her?

He sincerely hoped so.

~~~~~