Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends

My Decision

He was busy packing his things. He was busy packing all of the essentials that were necessary for what was about to happen. The little brown haired boy wearing a red t-shirt over a white long sleeve shirt, khaki cargo pants, and tennis shoes was about to make a life changing decision.

Behind him were two people. The first was a tall young lady with pure red hair tied up into a ponytail. She was wearing her usual bright green hoodie over a small white t-shirt over a denim skirt and violet sneakers. The second was something that could not be called human by regular standards, a walking mass of color. Well, to the boy and the girl, he was just as human.

This sentient blob of blue was somebody who could breathe and think and feel and act to his own accord, but she refused to see that. No, to her he was just an object, to her he was just a materialistic phase, and to her he was just another mouth to feed.

To her, he was an obstacle…

The read haired asked, "Is this really where you live?"

The brown haired replied woefully, "Yeah…"

"It's a dump…," she continued.

The blob exclaimed, "Sheesh, you don't have to tell me twice! I mean, the power's faulty, there's barely any air to breathe, everything's all damp and mildew-y, and don't get me started on the plumbing."

"Bloo, hush," The red haired commanded for time was of the essence.

"What? I'm just saying I am not going to miss this place."

The brown haired boy shared Bloo's sentiments in a whisper, "Neither am I…"

He continued packing. He already had about two backpacks full of stuff by now. The three of them had been there almost all evening scoping the place out. The boy had been packing since much earlier, like this morning, before the two of them arrived later and scared him. Now that they were altogether, they had to make their move quickly before she came home…with him.

"This is so awesome, Frankie! It's like a prison break!" Bloo always had trouble of containing his excitement.

Red haired Frankie was quick to correct him, "Bloo! Don't make me tell you again!"

The brown haired suddenly yelled through his teeth, "Crap! Where is it?!"

Frankie immediately sensed his panic "Mac, what's wrong?"

Mac responded, "I can't find it!"

"Can't find what, buddy?"

Mac didn't exactly tell them what it was that had him so upset, but he did give them a clue, "He must've taken it."

Frankie questioned, "Who took what?"

"Just keep watch, okay?"

Mac knew what he was after, but did not want to disclose what it was to the others until later. It was something that was very personal to him. It was probably the one thing that kept him connected to his individuality, and he knew where it was taken to.

It was taken into that room.

It was taken into that very room.

The room where it would all happen.

Mac shook his head to try and rid it of such thoughts. He had no time to be afraid like this. There was no going back now. He found himself at the door of that room, and it was locked. Luckily, the boy knew a few tricks.

He looked around a bit before he saw it, her mother's left behind purse. He took it and searched inside it for something that would help him get the door open. Only a few seconds passed before he found what he was looking for, a credit card. Using the credit card, Mac slid it in between the door and wedge. He played with the knob for a bit before he successfully achieved his goal.

But it was now out of the frying pan, and into the fire.

There he was now, inside the room where it would all happen.

The beatings.

The torture.

The pain.

The memories came rushing back to him, and it almost made him faint. He would lay his fist into him almost daily. He would spit out hateful rhetoric. He would leave bruises on both his body and soul.

Why was did it have to be in here, he thought. Why did it have to be in the one room that he never wanted to be in in his entire life? Maybe it was challenge, maybe it was the one final hurdle in his task to become the young man he is about to become.

"Yo, Mac! Still no sign of…whoa." Bloo had come over to give him a status report, but he had noticed that his best friend was standing motionless, struck by fear.

Frankie wondered what the hold-up was until she saw the two enter the room. It was also where she could hear a small whimper and then some sobbing. Her own maternal instincts quickly kicked in and she made her way to the two. That is when both she and Bloo could take it all in...and what she found horrified her.

The room that Frankie and Bloo entered was hell itself. The walls were lined with both holes that appeared to be punched in, and drawings. Upon further inspection, these drawings depicted one certain individual being sentenced to death in as many ways that the drawer could think of. Stabbed, drowned, beaten, choked, these were all shown in the "art" that came from his mind.

Frankie took several steps around the room until she heard a quite crack. She looked on the floor and found, of all the things that she wished that she did not find, a small strange looking pipe. She dreadfully knew what it meant. "Mac, the sooner we get out of here, the better," she spoke.

Mac could not respond. The boy was in tears, still lost in the horrid memories that plagued his mind. All he could feel were his legs wobbling as he dropped to his knees sobbing. Bloo did not know how to handle situations like this, but Frankie did. She rushed over to Mac and wrapped her arms around him.

"Mac, get a hold of yourself," she told him. She shook him in order to snap him out of his disorder and reminded him, "There's still something you need to find right? Find it."

Mac looked into Frankie's eyes, and that is when he wiped his tears off his face and shakily stood up. She was right, there was still one more thing that needed to be done. He was going to find it and then they were all going to get out of there.

Mac, however, didn't need long, for on the counter he could see it. He could see a crumpled up piece of paper. He straighten it out back its original form, revealing what he was looking for. It was the only thing that would make him smile. It was photograph of a toddler and middle aged man laughing together with paint splattered all over their faces.

Mac wishes he could take all the time in the world to reflect on the photo, but time was of the essence. He took the photo back to his room where he was gathering his belonging and said essentials, and placed it in his backpack. With just a few more items, he was all set carrying one backpack in his arms and another on his back.

"I'm all set now," Mac was ready.

"Woohoo! Let's get outta here!" Bloo yelled out and hurried to the car that he and Frankie had come to Mac's home in.

Mac wanted to follow suit, but was suddenly stopped by Frankie, "Mac, hold on a sec."

"What? We don't have time!"

"I know but I want to ask you something."

Frankie got down on one knee and gently laid a hand on Mac's shoulder. She looked directly into his eyes with an expression that was full of concern for the boy's safety. "Mac, you know what you're doing, right?"

As much as Mac wanted to quickly reply, he found himself deep in thought again. He then spoke up after what felt like a minute or two, "This is something that I have thought very long and hard about, and I have now made my decision with no intention of ever looking back…"

Frankie answered with, "Yeah, but you know what that decision is?"

Mac nodded and said "I know…I'm running away."

The pair's eyes continued to look into each other until Frankie spoke up, "You're mom's gonna be ticked."

Mac shook his head, he didn't care.

He didn't care about her or her lies.

"Frankie?"

"Yeah, pal?"

"Can I tell you about a dream I had one night…?"

"Sure, go on."

Mac and Frankie both went back into Mac's room. The boy took off one backpack at a time and placed them both on the floor. After the two sat down on the bed, he told his story, "A long time ago, you see, I had one of the strangest dreams. I had a dream in which I found myself competing in some sort of race to reach something before everyone else. Well, I was ahead of everyone else until I was then stopped by a gate. For some reason, there was this feeling of excitement and anticipation rising up within me as I was unlocking the gate."

Mac continued, "The gate opened up to reveal a path leading into a cave and I ran inside before the pack could catch up to me. I traveled deeper into the cave before I found the finish line in the form of a door marked with graffiti. Inside rested, get ready, a corpse of all things with a knife placed beside it. I had to stab the corpse with that knife in order to win the race and I did so without a second thought. I know things could not have ended in a more morbid way, but here is where it gets really sad."

Frankie's eyes were wide enough for the dream was indeed morbid, but she did not dare to interrupt.

"Following the victory stab were no cheers for my congratulations, but hot tears pouring out uncontrollably… which were mine. I cried in my sleep that night for the oddest of reasons. The other racers were there to offer their comfort, but what those tears meant confounded me. That is until I came to Foster's. And now I realize what that dream meant."

Mac was about to finish, "The tears that I cried out that night were both tears of pain over what I to go through in my old life, which was represented by the corpse, and tears of relief that I could now move on to a better life. I felt that my life was going nowhere with a careless mother and a hateful older brother, whom both were represented by the corpse that symbolized my older life, and I am now severing that old life."

Frankie didn't know what to say for one couldn't simply have made that up.

Mac stated so they that Frankie could hear, "I don't care about what she thinks… She had absolutely zero right to force me to give up Bloo. She had absolutely zero right to force me to give up a living, breathing, thinking, and feeling entity that is probably my only link to my childhood. She also had no right to threaten to move out when Duchess moved in next door."

He continued "I don't know what exactly it is she sees in imaginary friends, but like I said, I don't care to hear it. If she wants to fester in her prejudice, then I'm fine with that, but know that she's missing out on some of the kindest people I know. That's right, I actually have formed bonds with people now, bonds that normally were costed in her pursuit to have me mature."

He made a list of the people that influenced him, "Besides Bloo, there is also Wilt, Eduardo, and Coco. Wilt has shown me on one occasion that you may be kind, but even that has its limits. Next, Eduardo taught me that even within the meekest creatures there lies strength and bravery. Then there is Coco, who proved the timeless adage once again that beauty is often found on the inside."

He then stopped and said, "Honestly, though, all of that hardly compares to the loving nourishment provided by you, Frankie, whom I have come to immediately accept as the big sister I never had but always wanted. I'll admit that you may have a problem with your temper, but I would rather keep someone who is honest with his or her emotions than someone who hides it."

Frankie smiled and took Mac into a warm embrace for this all came straight from the heart.

"Has she forgotten that I'm like one in every ten or so?" Mac wanted to know, "Does she have any idea how common it is for children like me to have both Asperger's Syndrome and diabetes? I know the chances of having one of those individually is common, but who'd thought that I would have both?"

He then suddenly became angry, "I thought she would be happy for me! I thought she would find it a blessing for me to be so creative and intelligent for my age! But no, she saw it as a mere opportunity for herself, for her to usurp me into becoming something that is not my time to become!"

Mac then took himself out of Frankie embrace and unveiled the truth once again to her, "Look, I know things have not been the same for her and Terrence since my dad passed away. Things haven't been the same for me either, but you know what? I've come to accept it as something that just happens in life while those two are the ones who truly struggle to come to terms with that fact.

He explained, "I feel that if Dad were alive today, he would be incredibly ashamed of them both. He would not want this, he would not want so much darkness in his life. He would want to wander and explore all of the possibilities that the universe has to offer."

He then became irritated again, "She keeps telling me to act my age! Well, I would if she'd let me, but she will not! She seems to have no intention of letting me enjoy my childhood when I'm barely getting used to it! I'm taking the mask she put on my face off this instant!"

He continued to vent, "Do you have any idea how much she hurt me when she forced me to give up Bloo? What kind of a mother does that? What kind of a mother makes her child give up the one person that helped you accept that his father is gone? Do you have any idea how evil that is?"

Mac then started to deconstruct his so-called mother, "Who is the one stuck in denial? It's her and she projects it all on me! She's the one who is scared about the all the responsibilities that she has to take on alone, so she applies them onto me!

Next came his so-called brother, "Who is the one stuck in anger? It's Terrence and he takes it out on me! He's the one who leaves cuts and bruises on both my body and soul, sometimes going as far to say that he wishes I were dead, and she enables it!

Mac then turned and said, "And before you say it, Frankie, the feeling is mutual. I refuse to give any compassion whatsoever to someone who feels that my birth was a mistake. I have given him the chance to repent more times than I can count, and he bungled it every single time. And no, don't give that crap that he is just "misunderstood."

Mac continued to tear down his older sibling, "He showed me a part of him I swear I will never forget. He tried to separate me from my best friend forever by plotting to actually have him killed. He showed me and everyone at Foster's that he hates Bloo as well as imaginary friends in general so much that he's actually willing to take a life. Then, he pathetically lied to me and sadistically tricked my new friends into betraying me so that I would be alone, and that was when I released the emotional demon that was caged up inside me for far, far too long."

He was no longer holding back, "She herself may be asking for a chance to start over. I hate to break it to you, but that boat sailed years ago. She had all the time in the world to start over, but she wasted it.

"Yeah, I'm not as noble as you think I am, it turns out," Mac chuckled. "There were and are a number of times where I only cared about my own well-being and that time has finally come. Finally, I can spread my wings and grow the way I want to."

Frankie was wearing a smile that understood Mac's plight because there were times where she herself wanted to be selfish, but reasons prevented her from doing so.

"It's not me who needs to grow up, it's those two. Am I thankful that she gave birth to me? Of course I am, but it is not my destiny to be with her. She may be my biological mother, but I have formed no passionate connection with her. My future lies at Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends," Mac finished.

Frankie could do nothing except clap at Mac's speech, "I'm proud of you, buddy."

Mac was surprised, "Really?"

"Yeah." The young lady then pulled the boy into another tight embrace and spoke, "I'm going to make sure that you stay safe."

"Thank you… I love you so much…"

"I do, too, pal."

The hug lasted for a full minute until Mac checked his clock. It was almost eight o'clock, they needed to leave now. "We have to go, I can't believe I actually skipped school for this." The two quickly made their outside where Bloo immediately chewed them out for staying inside for so long.

Before getting in the car, the newly christened Mac Foster took one last look at what he was leaving behind. That corpse of a house was now rotten and the maggots would be home any second. He was doing the right thing by leaving it.

It's true that there were some good memories there, but they were quickly overshadowed by the bad. He was leaving the past behind him where it truly belonged. He was leaving the torment and ignorance, to destroy itself.

Mac said for the final time. "Goodbye, Lauren… Goodbye, Terrence… You'll never see me again..."