Maria is a recurring character in Silent Hill 2. She meets James Sunderland in Rosewater Park and stays with him sporadically after that. She is nearly identical to James’s late wife, Mary, in almost every physical aspect, although her appearance and personality are more sexually extroverted. Maria is a very enigmatic character and she could be seen as some sort of reincarnation or ghostly form of Mary, as a supernatural, and possibly sinister creature of unknown origin, or some combination of these. At times, she seems to remember Mary’s memories.

James is both attracted to Maria and fearful of what she might represent and he struggles to understand her. Maria appears to be a manifestation created by James’s desperation to see Mary again, an idea supported by the title of Maria’s scenario, Born from a Wish. Born from a Wish suggests that in the beginning, even Maria isn’t really sure what or who she really is, but by the time she first encounters James, she is beginning to ”remember” him somehow. Since the title is called Born from a Wish, many people assume that Maria is one of James’s wishes since Mary wasn’t everything James wanted.