Summary

Cory’s coping mechanism after Alby’s death has become an obsession as he has spent years working out the idea for his own video game. Cory is completely “preoccupied by the idea that when someone you loved died, you could spend the rest of your life searching the world for that person and yet you would never, ever find him or her” (407). He is fixated on the idea that Alby is somewhere in this world and that he could find him if he only knew where to look. The thought that Alby might still exist somewhere, in some reincarnated form, provides a sense of comfort for Cory as he works through the healing process.

Though his thoughts are still preoccupied by Alby, Cory has managed to lead a productive life. He has a job at a computer store in Northampton, which connects...