Cheryl Heather Mason

"You've been with me for so long.
 * —Cheryl coming to terms with Harry"

Cheryl Heather Mason is the daughter of Dahlia and the late Harry Mason in Silent Hill: Shattered Memories. The manifestation of Harry in Cheryl's mind seen is oblivious that Cheryl is a depressed 25-year-old woman rather than a cheerful 7-year-old girl and searches for her throughout the course of the game.

Cheryl is the true protagonist of Shattered Memories; however, the player does not realize this until the very end of the game.

Appearance


Cheryl has chin-length, sideswept, brown hair and brown eyes.

Cheryl, as she is seen 18 years ago, has a much more traditional western appearance than how she appeared in the original Silent Hill. She wears blue overalls over an orange T-shirt, with socks and Mary Jane-style shoes. Her hair is kept under a headband, and she wears colorful wristbands on her left wrist.

In the present, Cheryl wears a brown jacket over a buttoned plaid blouse with jeans and green slippers. In the PlayStation versions, she is seen wearing a black jeweled necklace.

Biography


On July 17th, 1983, Harry and his wife Dahlia had a daughter who they named Cheryl Heather Mason. Harry could be considered a loving father towards his daughter, but this is left up to speculation and which ending received. Cheryl and her family lived together at 1206 Levin Street in the town of Silent Hill.



At the age of seven, Cheryl's father was tragically killed in a car crash. Cheryl was deeply affected by this sudden loss and experienced complicated grief for the next 18 years, while trying to deny her father's death. As a result, Cheryl also began to resent her mother.

During Cheryl's teenage years, Dahlia moved with her to Simmons Street, where Dahlia operated the Green Lion Pawn Shop. When Cheryl was in Midwich High School, she was excluded, bullied, and harassed by other students. As the years went by, Cheryl's memories of her father became blurry, and she began to believe that Harry was her hero.

During the game, many fragments and memories of Cheryl's life from when Harry was alive and after Harry's death can be found. These include:


 * Cheryl being taken by Dahlia and Harry to Caldecotte Woods for a vacation, where she accidentally cuts herself with glass.
 * Cheryl having to stay at Alchemilla Hospital.
 * Cheryl receiving a dog from Harry as a gift, but having it accidentally struck by her father while driving and killed.
 * Cheryl spying on Harry and Dahlia in the Tunnel of Love. Cheryl ruins the moment however, as the ride operator puts a stop to the ride due to Cheryl being in the tunnel.
 * Cheryl sitting on the swing at the playground, calling for her father.
 * Cheryl going to a party in the woods and having something terrible happen to her; she is drugged by the people at the party and starts stripping.
 * Cheryl being pressured into having sex by her high school boyfriend Steve. However, he leaves her due to the fact that she is unwilling and reserved.
 * Cheryl having an affair with a teacher at Midwich High School.
 * Cheryl being bullied by a group of female classmates. They take a photo of her naked in the shower room to humiliate her.
 * Cheryl shoplifting in Toluca Mall.
 * Cheryl stabbing a security officer named Malcolm with a knife in Toluca Mall. The same knife can be found inside a locker. Another security officer tells the 911 operator that he thinks Malcolm is dead, but whether or not he was killed is never confirmed. He most likely survived, given Cheryl is a free woman in the game.
 * Cheryl being arrested in Portland.

Silent Hill: Shattered Memories


Unable to cope with the loss of her father, Cheryl resorted to watching the same camcorder footage over and over to the point of obsession, altering her perception of her father through nostalgia and fragmented memories.

To overcome her grief and depression, Cheryl visits the Lighthouse Clinic for counseling and family therapy, and there Cheryl visits a psychiatrist named Michael Kaufmann. Dr. Kaufmann causes Cheryl to dig deep within herself and question her feelings regarding her father's death and the guilt she harbors over it. This causes Harry Mason to manifest into a living memory of sorts, waking up after crashing his car into a junkyard. Upon awakening, he naturally believes no time has passed and is alarmed to find his daughter Cheryl is missing, and he sets out to find her.

As the counseling becomes more intense and Cheryl is forced to further examine her internal issues, Harry Mason gets closer and closer to his daughter, though the obstacles trying to block his progress grow more powerful. Eventually, Cheryl accepts Kaufmann's words and decides it is time to face the truth.



At that point, Harry walks through the door of Kaufmann's office, and she is able to say goodbye to him. Depending on the ending received, Harry will either simply tell her to forget him as he was in reality a lousy father, or that she can move on with her life as her memories of him as a loving, caring father were true. In a third option, Cheryl persists in believing her father was a hero and embraces him as real, rejecting therapy and clinging to her false memories as all she has. Also dependent on the ending, Cheryl may leave the clinic with her mother Dahlia, or leave alone.



Afterwards, the rest of the camcorder footage is shown. This changes with the conclusion received: Harry may tell Cheryl that he and Dahlia will always love her; Harry is seen being mocked and slapped by his wife by Cheryl; a drunk Harry yells at Cheryl to get him another beer; or Harry is revealed to be filming himself about to have sex with Lisa Garland and Michelle Valdez.

After the credits, Cheryl is seen in her room closing a box filled with her mementos, which is located right beside a photo of her father. After a brief moment, she hesitantly walks away.

In the UFO ending, Cheryl tells Kaufmann that the town of Silent Hill is actually a giant spaceship. After James Sunderland appears, Cheryl somehow turns into Mira and says, "My mother was a bitch."

Quotes

 * "I love my daddy!"
 * "Daddy...? Daddy!? You have to run, Daddy! You can't fight them! Run!"
 * "The man who died, that wasn't my father. That isn't who I remember. Those memories are all I have... You're all I have."
 * "Why did you have to die? It wasn't my fault. Someone has to take the blame."
 * "This whole town... it's really a giant spaceship." (believing her father to be abducted by aliens)
 * "My mother was a bitch." (after transforming into Mira)

Trivia

 * Cheryl's date of birth is July 17th, 1983. It is shown briefly when Harry discovers Cheryl's school records.
 * Like in the original game, Cheryl collects dead insects such as butterflies. The "Pinned Beauty" memento appears to be one of these.
 * Throughout the game, subtle references to Cheryl can be found such as a heart in the forest's pump station with "Cheryl" written inside it (Harry: "Huh, coincidence?") and a poster found on the side of Midwich of a girl named Connie who greatly resembles Cheryl (Harry: "Looks like Cheryl...").
 * In Toluca Mall, one of the possible messages of "Problem Child" reveals Cheryl is a smoker. ("Saw that dopey guard again. Let him see me smoking in the no-smoking zone. Too chickenshit to tell me to stop!"). In addition, Cheryl is seen smoking in her concept artwork. This may be an allusion to Heather Mason, who used to be a smoker, but quit.

Silent Hill: Shattered Memories
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