My Short Stories

The Secrets of Imaginary Friends

All Aspen could remember about her death was that it was quick. She remembers pushing the little boy out of harm's way, only to take his place and get hit by the truck instead. There was no pain, no cold, no feeling. The only thing that there was, was peace. Her eyes closed and she drifted. Aspen had been a Christian her whole life; believing that when she died, she would go to Heaven. However, no bright light or pearly gates showed up. When she opened her eyes expecting Heaven and saw a ceiling with stars stuck on it, she was confused.

She sat up, not in pain from getting hit, but no longer in a state of numbness-now able to feel like she normally would. Where am I? Shouldn't I be dead? She thought to herself, looking around at her surroundings. She was lying on a bed in a brightly colored room. The room was pink... very pink. The walls were plastered with posters of mythical creatures like unicorns and fairies. There were toys scattered all over the floor except in one place. In the center of the room, there was a table, fit for a small child. Sitting in the chairs were two stuffed animals as if they were participating in a little girl's tea party. Two chairs were left open, probably for the kid and her parent.

"What the heck?" Aspen exclaimed, aiming to say something profane, however, the word didn't come out as it should have. Why am I not able to say swear words? Maybe it's a Heaven thing. She thought, trying to understand what was going on. She slowly rose from the bed and walked over to the door, hoping to find someone to explain what was happening. Though, when she reached to turn the knob, her hand passed right through. Aspen slowly backed up, starting to freak out. My hand just passed through the doorknob, she thought bewildered. She stiffly walked back to the table and grabbed the teddy bear that was sitting; she needed comfort right now. Am...am I a ghost? I don't really have any attachments though, there is no reason for me to want to stay here after I just died. And why am I in a kid's room? Her thoughts turned into ramblings and she started pacing. For the next twenty minutes, she bore a hole into the floor with the constant back and forth.

When she went to go try to open the door again, or at least pass through it if she was truly a ghost, someone beat her to it. The door slowly opened, and in walked in a woman. She was a brunette, with her hair in a messy bun and was carrying a laundry basket. "Um. Hello. Can you tell me where I am?" Aspen awkwardly questioned, setting the teddy bear on the bed. The woman ignored her question and idly walked past her, starting to grab the dirty clothes from the hamper and putting them in her basket. "Uh, excuse me?" Aspen tried again to get her attention. She stood in front of the woman and started waving and the lady had no reaction. Finally having enough of being ignored, she tapped the woman on the shoulder. Or, she meant to, because her hand went right through her like it had with the doorknob. "Okay then. Guess I am a ghost." Aspen croaked, grabbing the bear and sitting on the bed. She stayed there, watching the woman clean the room for a while. When the woman left and shut the door again, Aspen stayed on the bed, her eyes having been long dried up of tears.

She finally got out of her stupor when she heard a giggle from outside the door. A few hours had gone by, Aspen noticed as she glanced at the unicorn clock on the nightstand. The door opened for the second time that day, and a little girl walked in. She was a brunette, presumably like her mother who had cleaned the room earlier. Her hair was in pigtails and she was dressed in a white dress and red shoes. In observing the girl, she didn't notice that she was also being observed.

"Oh my god! A fairy!" the little girl gushed, pointing towards Aspen, starting to bounce up and down. Aspen turned around and tried to see what the girl was looking at. "Will you be my friend?" the girl questioned, sounding closer. When Aspen turned back around, the girl was right in front of her, eyes locked her own.

"You...you're talking to me?" Aspen gasped, not believing that the girl could see her. She leaned to the side and the child's eyes still followed hers. "Thank god. Your mom couldn't see me," she gripped the teddy tighter, "I thought I was a ghost." she sputtered in relief.

"Of course, I can see you. You are now my new friend. I've always wanted a fairy as a friend." she affirmed, grabbing Aspen's hand as she led her to the table. They both sat down, the girl rather comfortably in the little chair, and Aspen less comfortable as an adult in a tiny chair.

"Why do you keep calling me a fairy?" Aspen implored, confused by the constant use of the word. The little girl giggled and pointed to something behind Aspen. She turned around slowly and was met with something unexpected. She had glittering, translucent wings that fluttered and moved with her uneven breathing. She knew she didn't have them before because when the girl's mother was in the room, she had glanced in the mirror and saw her normal self. Aspen hastily got up and walked to the mirror by the closet. She was shocked to see that her appearance had changed completely. Gone was the blonde hair and hooked nose she was used to. Instead, she found blue hair and a button nose. "Oh..." Aspen whispered, turning back to the girl and sat down at the table once again.

The girl grabbed her toy teapot and gestured to the cup in front of Aspen, "Would you like some tea? I'm Emmy!" she asked. Aspen nodded, still in shock with the recent events that happened to her over the day.

"I'm Aspen. Thank you for the tea, m'lady." It was then that Aspen realized what happened. She wasn't just a ghost stuck in Emmy's room. No, it was more than that; she was now a fairy here to be friends with the little girl. I'm her imaginary friend. Okay...I can roll with this. I'm great with kids. How hard can it be? Aspen thought, shaking out of her stunned state. She picked up the cup and drank the imaginary tea, with her pinkie up and smile on her face.