Mary Shepherd-Sunderland is the deceased wife of James Sunderland. The couple had vacationed in Silent Hill a
few years prior to the events of Silent Hill 2. Mary was a kind, sweet young woman who spent the last moments of her life in emotional turmoil, distress and anguish after being stricken with a terminal disease.
Silent Hill 2
Although physically dead, Mary lives on as James's delusion. Repressing the memory of murdering Mary, James believes that he received a letter from Mary beckoning him to come to Silent Hill, where she is waiting for him in their "special place". He uses this as the basis for a delusion that Mary is still alive. He is also convinced that Mary died three years ago, when in reality, she was still alive a few days ago.
Mary was also re-imagined as Maria, a creation of James’s will. Maria appears to be a sexier, more wild version of Mary, possibly what James thought Mary had lacked in some areas. Maria's scenario title, Born from a Wish, has some truth to it due to this. At one point in Born from a Wish, Maria can examine a teddy bear and she thinks that Laura would love it, showing that she has Mary's memories. Maria remembers what James did to Mary, but also remembers that underneath, he is a kind person. Occasionally, Maria reveals knowledge of Mary's past to James.
In the Lakeview Hotel, near the end of the game, Mary's voice calls James to find her after James tells Laura that Mary is dead. James is led to a hallway in which the player hears a previous conversation that he and Mary had while she was still alive. In this conversation, James offers Mary flowers he has brought her. She immediately rejects them, lashing out at him and protesting that she is too disgusting and ugly to receive flowers. Shortly after this, she experiences another mood swing and begs James to forgive her, pleading for him to stay with her and assure her that she is not going to die.