CHAPTER ONE
Harper is in kindergarten. She's a smart girl and stays focused while in the classroom.
I lay on my back in the grass, gazing up at the sky and watching the clouds drift by. Besides the sound of the occasional car passing by, the only noises are that of nature. Singing birds and wind rustling leaves in trees.
New noise makes me sit upright and look around. It's the kids coming outside for their recess.
Time for me to get to work.
I am a creature who is not visible unless I wish to be. Even to Harper I am not constantly visible. As I walk towards her she cannot see me. Since I made myself her imaginary friend, she has a relative amount of control over me. If she didn't it would lead to suspicion, after all.
As she walks towards the swing set, where she spends her recesses, I appear nearby. Of course she doesn't react. It's what she expected. I don't say much, except in reply to things she says. It's simply the way things work.
Her fine black hair gleams in the afternoon sun as she plops down on the swings. She really is a sweet girl, with pretty blue eyes and raven black hair. She has a pretty good imagination and likes to play pretend. Sometimes I help her enhance her ideas.
She sings absentmindedly to herself as she swings. I listen with a smile.
About halfway through recess she gets up because she wants to pretend she's a horse. I join her in making horse like noises and rolling around in the grass. Together we prance around and have fun.
Then she has to go. I leave her thoughts, by her own will, and she returns to her classroom.
Feeling refreshed by bringing her joy, I go back to laying in the grass under a tree.
"You've been idle."
My eyes snap open. Someone stands over me. I scowl. "Playing with a child who believes you are a figment of her imagination does not require much work," I snap.
"It is a waste of time. They are often capable of creating their own 'imaginary friends.' Why be so determined to become one?"
I sit upright and rub my eyes. "Because what else is there for us to do in this world?"
The young man looks at me with a disapproving expression. "We are the closest thing this world has to guardian angels. Entertaining a child is not purposeful in a world full of so many problems."
I shrug the comment off.
"And what are you going to do when she has no need of you?"
I clench my fists. "Why not bother someone else? I hear the mayor has been making some unusual decisions. I wouldn't be surprised if Whispers has been up to some mischief."
He pretends to still be annoyed towards me but I see the expression in his eyes and restrain a smile.
"I guess I should be going," he says briskly, drifting off.
"Good riddance," I mutter, laying back down in the grass.
Still, his words cling to my heart like a hook, deeply embedded.
All children grow up...
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Fading Away
Science Fiction"She would believe she created her imaginary friend." Dream becomes just that to young Harper. It is an act of kindness on her part, but is there more to it than that? Despite her friends' protests, Dream senses a need to keep a close eye on the you...
