Town of Mercy

Can I Be Imaginary?

Almost everyone, including myself, had an imaginary companion as a child. When there is no one else to take its place, we invent someone in our minds. When I was a kid, I had no one to play with, so I created a couple of imaginary companions. Eventually, I did meet people and, as a result, I quit making up fictitious acquaintances.

However, I've recently been experiencing the most bizarre dreams. I'm a chronic insomniac, therefore I don't get much sleep throughout the day. I had some of the most vivid dreams I've ever encountered.

Somewhere out in the woods, I was wandering around a field. In one direction, I noticed a stable, and in the other, I spotted a wooden cottage. I was accosted by a voice before I had a chance to determine what was what.

"What are you doing here?" It was a little child, about 6 to 7 years of age.

"Me? This is where I sleep." I replied.

"Are you the creator of the universe?"

"I think so," I respond.

"Momma always talks me about you." I'm Jimmy, and I'm here to help! That's probably not a surprise to you, though. Lord, do you want to have some fun with me?

This was an odd dream, but it could have been a way for me to relive some of my childhood memories. For the time being, I believe it is better to just go along with things.

"Sure." I replied.

Jimmy and I played tag for the most of the dream. Playing tag for the first time in a long time made me happy. There were many places to run on the vast property. Jimmy was only a few years old at the time, so I had to choose more accessible locations for him.

As the sun fell, I still hadn't woke up. As a result, Jimmy was insistent that I visit his mother with him. We walked into the house as a group.

"Mom, I met God today! I'm so excited!" Jimmy yelled as he hurried to meet his mother.

"That's great, sweetie, I'm sure you'll see more of Him later on eventually" Jimmy tilted his head at her odd response

"Mom, he's right here with us.."

"He's constantly here with us, but we can't all see Him."

Why doesn't she notice me? I wondered

I was unable to ease Jimmy's confusion because I was engulfed by a new sound. My alarm clock. It was almost time to leave for work.

I spent the majority of my waking hours pondering the strangeness of that dream. It had seemed far too real at the time. But only Jimmy could see me. Why? Was I actually Jimmy in the dream and it was one of those out of body dreams, or was I merely there to ensure he was not alone?

As soon as I arrived home from work the following day, I hoped against hope that I would wake up in the same dream again.

Fortunately, I was able to.

I ended up on the same farm as before. This time, I recognized Jimmy immediately. He was swinging a stick like a sword as if it were a weapon.

"Good morning, Jimmy. Have you got any plans for today?" I asked.

"Hey! I missed you! When you left, Mom was mad at me. I told her we were playing together, and her eyes almost popped out her skull! " He laughed. "Mom and Dad are upstairs and they said I have to stay outside." Jimmy explained ,

This was awful. On his account, I sounded like an old creeper.

"Do you want to play tag again?" I asked, attempting to change the tone.

As soon as he heard that, Jimmy threw away the stick he was holding and took off screaming You're It!!. I jumped at the chance to chase after him running at only a third of my normal speed. As I ran, I realized something that I hadn't before; I couldn't feel the ground beneath my feet. I knew it was there and that I was running against, following gravity's rules — but the sensation was gone.

A few rounds of tag passed and I started to grow tired of it. I was looking to push the boundaries of what I thought was possible in this dream. Shake things up a bit. In Jimmy's yard, I observed a grill with a lighter and gasoline nearby.

I already had a plan in mind when Jimmy caught up to me, panting heavily.

"Hey Jimmy I need you to take action. First, I want you to put that gas all around your house." I knew if I gave the order, he wouldn't object to it. Kids were naïve that way.

"But...if I do that, my dad will be mad! He told me not to mess with his things." Jimmy expressed his concern. Okay maybe he wasn't that naïve.

"Don't worry, I told you this was my world, didn't I? Your parents will never find out what you did."

Jimmy hesitated for a moment before picking up the gas canister and poured the liquid in a circle around his house.

When he came back to where I stood, I handed him one of those long held lighters, "Stand right here," I guided him a few yards away from the house where a trail gasoline stopped a few inches from our feet " and press the button"

I'm sure Jimmy was well aware that what he was doing was wrong, but he refused to disobey me nevertheless. He took up the lighter and set the flame on the gas trail. Maybe this was all a dream all along. There would be no harm done to anyone.Still, I was curious to see what would happen.

The flames erupted as soon as Jimmy set the fire. He ran backwards a couple feet behind me and watched the show. The flames were too much for the wooden house. In some ways, the fire was glorious. My eyes sparkled as the flames transformed the wood into the most transient of beauties, hot ribbons of light. When I turned to look at Jimmy, his eyes were wide in horror. A sickly feeling came over me then. I could hear screams so intense that made my skin crawl and my eyes clam shut.

My obnoxious alarm went off once more, making sure I could not see the aftermath.

My job seemed so inconsequential after that chaos.

I didn't have another dream with Jimmy again. I had other dreams, but I never returned to the field in any of them. I was a little let down by this. Was the fire too much? I may have gone too far with my dark fantasy and wrecked everything.

That is, until a coworker came up to me at work one day and said something to me.

"Want to hear a crazy story?" He asked eagerly

"Shoot." I replied. I was so bored that I welcomed any minor thing to shake it up.

"Well, I saw on the news about this kid who set his house on fire while his folks were still inside. Reports say the doors was barred with a crowbar and a shovel and they had no way out. Kid told the cops that the "Lord told him to do it" he stated making air quotes with his fingers.

I froze. Why did that sound so familiar? "Wow, that's insane." I mumbled.

"But wait, there's more! They discovered more than simply his folks' dead bodies. They found at least five bodies in the basement with the old man's fingerprints all over them. Looks like that couple got what was comin' to them, I'll say!"

"You're kidding! That kid's a hero, what was his name?" I asked, intrigued now.

"Yeah! Fanatics are calling him "Savior Jimmy" all over the internet.