SPECTRAL

Chapter 2

 Chatter flowed through the air and happiness grew on Noah's face. All of his friends were here. There was Joey, Mildred, Claire, Josh, Alex, Rose, George, and some other people who were wandering around. Excitement was pooling off of Noah as he introduced his friends to each other, "Alex, Rose, and George, these are my other friends!" His chubby hand beckoned towards the wide array of people in the yard. "The smallest boy is Joey, the old lady is Mildred, the girl with the red hair is Claire, and the older boy is Josh."

Alex, a seven-year-old with black hair tilted his head slightly before turning toward Rose and George. The two just shrugged at the confused boy before Rose spoke, "Well hello there! My name is Rose!" A giggle flew out of her mouth.

Joey's eyes sparkled and he ran up to the young girl. He thrust his hand outwards and waited for her to shake it. Dismay washed over Joey's face as the girl turned away and his hand fell back down to his side. The small boy mumbled quietly to himself something that Noah could not hear.

Seeing the scene, a frown grew on Noah's face. He just wanted his friends to get along. Noah's shoulders sagged as he watched Joey try to shake the other's hands, none of them paying him any mind. A frustrated cry broke from his mouth, "Can you just shake his hand?"

George, Rose, and Alex backed away from their friend in shock. With wide eyes, they looked at each other before running away. Noah could have sworn he heard George cry, "He is crazy!"

Noah turned back to Joey and gave a defeated smile. The small boy laughed at his friend and ran up to hug him. Sad laughter filled their ears and slowly the others joined the hug. A tear rolled out of Noah's eye and was quickly wiped away by Mildred's gentle touch.

"Noah!" The stern voice of his mother called, "Come take care of Charley! He is your dog, why haven't you fed him yet?" Noah jumped and with a quick goodbye to his friends, ran into his house to see the sad face of his puppy. He rushed over to the kitchen and filled Charley's bowls.

Turning around, Noah was met with his mother hovering over him, hands on her hips. Behind her stood an older woman, one he felt like he has seen before. Without thinking, Noah questioned, "Who is she?"

His mother turned around and then looked back at her son. Confusion caused her eyebrows to draw together and she spoke nervously, "What are you on about? There is no one there."

Noah quickly responded, "The old woman standing behind you. Why is she following you around?"

A nervous response from his mother caused Noah to chew his lip, "There is no woman standing behind me. There is no one following me around." After a short pause, she questioned, "Can you describe what you see?"

WIth a smile, Noah replied, "She looks familiar, kind of like you. Thin white hair, a slim figure, a pretty red dress, and a small scar under her left eye. Oh, and her bones are also very visible, why is that?"

Shocked, his mother backed up with wide eyes. With a trembling voice, she whispered, "My mom died today..." Her voice shook as she continued, "She had cancer, terminal cancer. There was no hope. I... I didn't want to tell you yet..." Tears welled up in her eyes and she glared at her son, "How do you know? Who told you?" Not waiting for a response she shouted, "I don't care, just, just go away! Get out of my sight!"

---

Noah isolated himself for the rest of the day. Sobs wracked his body as he curled into a ball in the corner of his room. His mother had never yelled at him before. She would scold him, yes, but never once has she raised her voice. It scared him. The wet nose of Charley pushed against his hand and Noah eagerly embraced his puppy. Charley pushed his body up against Noah and allowed Noah to pet him as much as he needed. Soon the sobs turned into harsh sniffles and soon the sniffles turned into silence. The soft whimpering of Charley was the only sound to meet Noah's ears.

A bang from downstairs caused Noah to jump slightly, squeezing his eyes shut. Charley let out a scared bark and curled further against Noah. The blond boy's face was flushed and puffy from crying. Deciding that he wanted to know what his parents were arguing about, Noah crept to his door. Charley, being the loyal dog he was, followed closely behind Noah as the door creaked open.

Noah almost jumped from fright when he heard his father yell, "No, there is nothing wrong with our little boy!"

"Yes, there is, you just haven't bothered noticing the signs! Somehow he knew that my mother had died today! That is not normal, Erik."

"Carmen, Honey, please listen-"

"No Erik. I won't have it. Have you not noticed him talking to himself, the bags under his eyes, his unusual intelligence, and how he likes to play by himself? There has to be something wrong with him. There is no other explanation for it."

"He is a child, Carmen. Children have imaginations, maybe Noah just has the biggest one. Maybe he is playing with his imaginary friends, maybe he just has troubles falling asleep. You can't just assume that there is a problem with him without considering all the possibilities!"

Charley let out a whimper and leaned anxiously against Noah's leg. The small boy trembled at their yelling before retreating back to his room.

---

Noah had asked his mom if he could go to the park with his friends. He didn't understand why she was so hesitant in agreeing, but eventually, she made sure that George, Alex, and Rose would also be going with him. Noah was a little sad about having to face them, but as Mildred said to him too many times before, he would have to face them eventually.

Charley tugged on his leash as they neared the park, eager to see all the people. Noah laughed nervously as he allowed Charley to pull him into a run. Together they made it to the park entrance where his friends were waiting.

Noah turned around and waited for his other friends to catch up. First was Claire, then was Josh carrying a tired Joey, and then lagging behind was Mildred. Once the old woman made it to the group, Noah turned back and greeted his other friends. George made a face at Noah before asking, "Do you have imaginary friends still or what?"

Confused, Noah said, "No? My friends are real."

This sparked up a fit of laughter from the trio in front of him. Alex spoke harshly, "So you are still naive enough to believe in imaginary friends. Our parents told us right away that they were of no use and we should make real friends. So you should too."

Defensively, Noah moved to stand in front of his best friends, "I told you, they are real!" Charley let out an angry bark at the children in front of Noah.

Rose let out a shrill laugh and began to mock him, "How stupid are you? Grow up. Are you still a baby? Do you still need your mommy?" George and Alex broke into fits of laughter as she made rude hand movements, "Are you going to go home and cry to your mommy about your friends being fake?"

Furious, Noah spat out, "If anything, they are the real friends and all of you are fake friends!" With that, the enraged boy pushed past the shocked children and entered the park. His friends close behind, making faces at the bewildered children in their wake.