There was a knock on the front door. I immediately could tell it was Mason by the pattern. He's been over to my house so many times I have the sound of his knock memorized. Two knocks, pause, knock. I ran to the door with a burst of enthusiasm, swinging it open with full force. Before Mason could say anything I squeezed him in a tight hug.
"Woah, what's up with you?" he asked me, gently hugging back.
"I'm just really excited!" I exclaimed. My arms loosened so I could quickly pull away and make sure my mom wasn't around. "Follow me," I whispered to Mason.
I closed to front door behind us before I jogged down the front porch steps.
"I'm so confused," Mason admitted, catching up with me. "Who are you introducing me to?"
"A friend." I glanced back in his direction, grabbing his hand to try and quicken his pace. "You're so slow!"
"You're so fast," he chuckled, letting me drag him along. His eyes scanned the surrounding barns and the look on his face revealed the nostalgia he was feeling. "It's been so long since we've hung out around here. Remember all the games we played?"
I nodded. "Great times full of hide-and-seek."
I came to a stop once we finally reached the old, worn down silo. My smile was definitely visible. Now he'll just have to believe me about Henry.
I tugged on Mason's hand to come closer. He gave me a weird look, and cast one towards the tall structure. "Millie..." He trailed off.
"What?" I asked, curious as to what he was going to say.
"Why did you bring me here?"
I turned my attention back to the silo. "Henry!" I called. My voice bounced off the walls inside. I caught a stirring shadow and knew it was him, yet Henry never revealed himself. "It's okay," I reassured him. "Mason is my friend. He won't hurt you."
"Millie, is this about your imaginary friend from middle school?" Mason questioned. "Do you really still believe that?
"I'm serious, just give him a second." I leaned in through the gap on the silo.
Suddenly, Henry started to shift into his human form. I gasped, happy to see him revealing himself.
"Mason, meet Henry. Henry, meet Mason." I backed away from the hole to let them see each other as I introduced them. I pictured more of friendly smiles on their faces for this moment, or maybe shock and questions, then smiles. Instead, Mason looked completely terrified, while Henry was tense.
"What kind of a joke is this?" Mason whispered to me, unable to move his eyes away. "How did that guy appear from a shadow?"
"He's not human. He's a shadow person. This is just a form of his," I explained.
"I don't like it, Millie," Mason admitted. He started to back up, bumping into an old car. "It's not human."
"He has a name. It's Henry," I backed up my supernatural friend. "He's my friend, and so are you. I thought you two could get along."
"It shouldn't be here." Mason began shaking his head. "This is insane." He quickly grabbed my arm, tightly, pulling me his way. "Let's go back to the house."
"Wait-" I tried to reach out to Henry, but Mason already started to walk back up to the house, dragging me with him.
"Whatever the hell that thing is... it isn't good."
