Chapter 15-The Little Girl and her Imaginary Friend
The Little Girl and her Imaginary Friend
By Tegan E Farrow
Once upon a time, there was a little girl and her big sister. The two girls were playing in their family's backyard, laughter bouncing in the air. They laughed and played all day long. When the day was nearing the end, the little girl's big sister went inside to ask their father to make a fire, and have fun cooking treats in the yard.
And while her sister was gone away into the house, the little girl turned her head just in time to see the shiny thing on the edge of the yard. And by the time the girl turned her head fully, the Shiny had disappeared into the forest.
The little girl followed the Shiny into the forest, past the holy bushes, over the creek, under the overhang of the weeping willows, and through the choking weeds and overgrown roots. At last the little girl came upon a massive, protruding stone, its eerie newness in the century-old wood unsettling the little girl. But in that rock there was a small eagerness, an instinctive prowl urging her to reach out, to touch the alien-thing. And when she did, A glowing, mysterious gas expelled from it, traveling throughout the air until it settled in front of the frightened little girl.
"Help me." The wavering, old, wise voice spoke clearly through the little girls mind, all fear and anxiety vanishing, leaving silence.
"How? How can I help you? Please tell me!" The little girl spoke loud, sure of her own words, as they seemingly came from deep in her soul.
"I'm dying." The spirit spoke, its ancient voice bellowing in the forest. "I need time to heal, before I can return home."
The girl nodded, seeming to understand. "You need rest! Let me help you!" She shouted, though she knew that the spirit would hear her if she only but whispered.
The spirit faltered, weakening. "You may only help me, if you give me a piece of your soul."
The little girl nodded once again, agreeing to a silent contract. The glowing, misting cloud surrounded her before suddenly it was gone. The little girl breathed a deep, solemn breath. The noise of the wood stilled, the wind quieting. The little girl felt full, wise.
She walked the path to her home, following the stepping stones in her mind. When she emerged from the forest, the silence shattered with a thousand cries of a mother finding her daughter, once lost.
That night, when the girl changed into her bedclothes, she found a long, ugly scar that ran lengthily along her stomach, white and healing.