Over a year ago I bought my Nintendo DS Lite. It’s bright green and happy. I love playing Civilization Revolution for hours on end. Why I am trying to get rid of it?

I own three consoles that I actively play on; my PS2, my GameCube, and a newly acquired Xbox 360. My iPod Touch is always on my person. I’m quickly becoming a media junkie. So I tell myself I don’t need an extra system I never play. As much as I enjoyed the few games I bought for my DS, I haven’t played any of them in 6 months.

I say “Melissa. You never use it. Sell it already!”

I go into my room and pull it out so I can take a couple of pictures for a Craigslist post. Sometimes I even make it as far as writing the post. But just before I click the button that will send my DS into the world, I stop. I reconsider.

I ask myself, “What am I doing?! I love my DS!”

Please don't send me away!

And I go upstairs, put it away, and don’t look at it again for another several months.

Why do I do this? Is it because I have formed a motherly attachment to it? Selling it feels like selling my child to the Devil. But deep in my heart of hearts, I know that the right thing to do is send it out for someone else to love and enjoy in away I cannot. So tonight I will kill a part of my soul for the good of my Nintendo DS. Goodbye, my darling. I will never forget you.

Part of a new series on Games As Literature.