„Wilt!
Wilt!" Frankie ran to him holding the new edition of Bloo's
Foster's Gazette „is this all true?"
Wilt
had no idea at all of what she was talking about, but an unpleasant
feeling came over him while he searched for his reading glasses, as
many other friends began to gather around him, all with the newspaper
in hand, and trying to shout louder than each other to get Wilt
answer their question first.
He finally
managed to put on his glasses, and took the news away from Frankie.
His
eyes widened. Then his crimson red skin became paler, until he turned
almost pink. He made a few steps back, and was clear he found it hard
to stand on his feet. Unfortunately, some smaller imaginary friends
were just behind him. He fell backwards, still staring at the written
lines. The shouting, the questions… he heard it all as if it was
coming from far away. The article… the headline… it was nothing
but the truth. No thought-up details added, not too much drama,
nothing. Just the truth.
Wilt?
Really? Is this what happened? Oh, my God! Wilt! Tell us more,
please! Wilt! Wilt! WILT…!
It
hurt him… it all just hurt him so bad… he came to Foster's 15
years before, and had never, never told any one about it. Yes, it was
terrible, but that wasn't the main reason. It was his secret. He
had decided that no one else needed to know anything about his past
life. He was Wilt, was missing one arm, had a wonky eye and stitches
on his face, that's all. Nothing more to say. Now that everyone
knew, will they treat him like someone to feel sorry for? Somebody to
take care of. No, no, no… And now… he got to the end of the text…
by Bloo? No, it couldn't have been Bloo. It was all too
natural, and plainly telling just the truth.
SHAULA…!
He
couldn't believe it…
No
time left. No time to check. He made his way through the crowd, and
ran as fast as he could. He quickly took two things out of his small
cupboard, and ran down the stairs. Crowd gathering around him.
Questions echoing in his head. He ran, and slammed the door. By the
time Frankie got out and shouted his name, he was nowhere to be seen.
Perfect…
all as it was planned…
Shaula
stared out of the window with eyes glowing red.
Afternoon
Mac
arrived to Foster's, and was shocked at the sight of Coco arguing
with Bloo, Eduardo crying, and Wilt nowhere to be seen.
„Where's
Wilt? What's going on, guys?" he asked.
Coco just
showed him the newspaper.
Mac said goodbye a minute after reading it. How could Bloo do this to a true friend just to get some attention? He needed to think it over.
Night
Shaula
knocked on Frankie's door, holding her pillow.
„May I
sleep here…?"
„Shaula!
Yes… of course…" Frankie let her in completely indifferently.
She was still dressed. Wilt hadn't come back yet. She began to get
seriously worried about him.
As Shaula quietly drifted into sleep, Frankie slowly shook her head. The fairy seemed so close to Wilt… how could she act as if nothing had happened now?
The reason Shaula went to sleep with Frankie was that in her room there was no silence for a second. Eduardo was crying, while Coco kept on blaming Bloo, and he couldn't stop shouting he had nothing to do with the headline about Wilt.
Even in other rooms there was no peace. Everyone knew and loved Wilt. Many friends tossed and turned in bed all night, and others who couldn't sleep and found nothing better to do, argued with each other. (Apart from Duchess, of course, who slept quietly.)
The tension was getting unbearable.
A narrow, dirty dead end
Wilt curled up behind a huge trash containter, which probably never used to be emptied. As little rain began to fall silently, he pulled closer to the wall and took a paper box to protect himself as well, but mainly his two „treasures". He never showed them to the other friends. They contained part of his past. One was a little basketball-shaped keyring, and the other a short handwritten story, clipped together as a small novel. It was about 30 pages long.
With the rain, the cold and the night coming upon him, Wilt closed his eyes and fell in a disturbed sleep with tears shining in his eyes. He dreamt it all back…
- Wilt's story -
All
little Kevin desired was to become a great basketball player.
Somebody like Magic Johnson, or maybe his favourite, Wilt
Chamberlain. But he lived far from the sports centre, and though his
rich parents have built him a fine little basketball court, and when
he showed talent, even employed a personal trainer – he was still
sad. Going to a private school, have no real friends… he passed the
lonely afternoons throwing at the hoop, wishing there was someone he
could play with. One evening he sighed heavily looking at the posters
of famous basketball players on his wall.
„I
wish I had a friend like one of you… someone who was made to
play basketball."
Little did
he know this was just the right way to create an imaginary friend –
but when he realized what he had just done, he was simply over the
moon.
From then on, after the lessons with his trainer, he spent the remaining afternoon hours with his tall, red imaginary friend, Wilt. The yoften played matches against each other, and Kevin just kept on improving. But young boys with such talent rarely remain unknown.
I will never leave you, he had said to Wilt several times. And the imaginary friendf loved his creator truly, and has grown very attached to him. He believed he would certainly die without him.
Kevin was
chosen by a great basketball team as the new player they needed. But
the team was of an another city, another State, so his parents
decided to move. Kevin was 19 then, and still loved Wilt – he knew
that without him, he wouldn't have reached his goal.
But
his parents said he would have to let him go – he was definitely
too old for an imaginary friend, and his team would move so often:
living with the other players, staying at hotels: he would have
looked ridiculous taking Wilt along always.
„Wilt,
this hurts me more than it hurts you." Said Kevin, tears in his
eyes.
Wilt
nodded, weeping as well.
„Where
should I go now?" he asked in the end.
But
Kevin had no idea. He burst into tears and hugged his imaginary
friend. A last hug.
After Kevin's departure, Wilt lived on the streets for a few weeks. He still had both good eyes, both his arms and had no stitches on his face.
One day he
passed beside a basketball field, he noticed a gang of boys playing.
He preferred to remain hidden and watch them for a while, as they
seemed of a type nor him or Kevin used to like – the aggressive
bullies. Suddenly one of them accidentally threw the ball too hard,
his mate missed it, so it flew right over to where Wilt was standing.
He
couldn't miss this opportunity.
„Whoa!"
he picked the ball up and threw a spectacular hoop „hey guys, maybe
we can train together, shall we? I can teach you a little, if you
like."
The first
atonishment on the boys' face soon turned into anger.
„WHO
ASKED YOUR OPINION, DUDE? AND WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU, BY THE WAY?"
„Wait,
I…" Wilt began to back away.
„GIVE
OUR BALL BACK!"
Wilt
didn't even have time to understand what was going on then the boys
were already over him.
„YOU
DISGUSTING JERK!"
„YOU'LL
LEARN TO LEAVE US ALONE!"
„No,
please… I'm sorry, NO!"
Wilt
closed his eyes as several punches hit his cheeks. Then he felt a
hand grabbing one of his antenna-like eyes and pulling it hard. He
screamed in pain and the world darkened for his left eye.
Then a
greater pain. Harder. He felt them pulling strong at his left arm…
stronger… more hands… harder…
A
loud RIP, along with the sound of bones cracking. His
scream in pain.
YOU WON'T PLAY BASKETBALL ANY MORE.
He found himself lying in the bushes, the basketball field empty, a large mark of blood in the middle of it. He felt his life energy flowing off him along with his blood, coming from where his left arm used to be.
He closed his eyes, well, his one good one, and whispered „Kevin…" as he waited to die there, stranded and alone.
- The meeting that has changed Wilt's life -
On the
edge of unconsciousness, Wilt could hear a girl's voice.
„Oh, my
goodness! Blood!"
He heard
the frush of the bushes, then another scream. He looked up with his
last strenght and saw the face of a teenage girl with shoulder-lenght
dark brown hair and intense black eyes.
„Oh,
dear! You need help! Help now!"
He felt
something heavy slam on the stump of his left arm.
„Good, I
hope this will stop the bleeding."
Then
something soft, like a handkerchief, cleaning his face from the blood
coming from all the small wounds.
„Hello…?
Are you still awake…?"
He winced
and moaned.
„Come
on, we don't live too far from here…"
He felt
someone was trying to pull him away. He was too weak to oppose any
resistance,and couldn't even think clearly from the loss of blood.
„Oh,
you're pretty heavy! Come on, please… try to walk…"
He tried
to move his legs. Slowly, shakily.
„Thanks…
good… come with me…"
He felt he
was going somewhere… then everything went black.
He woke up in a bed after a few hours. Looking around, he found himself in a pretty room, with calming lavender wallpaper, his sheets and pillows were clearly freshly washed, he could see a cute wardrobe, some vases with flowers, and a long, full bookcase. It was all so calming.
„Oh,
you're awake!" the door opened and the teenage girl from before
entered. She looked of around 14, and was pretty lovely for her age.
„Here,
I brought you some warm milk and an applecake. That'll make you
feel better… euh… sorry, I don't know your name."
„Wilt…"
he whispered.
„Oh, and
I am Sophie Lilian Westlane. Call me Sophie. This is my room in our
home."
Wilt's
eyes filled with tears as he reached for the applecake. No, this all
had to be a dream. How could someone be so unselfish to help him?
Sophie
seemed to have sensed his thoughts, as she answered right now.
„That
gang of guys is just horrible. I met them while going to the park to
read on my favourite bench. They were laughing about how did they
just «teach the right way» to someone. And… I know how
it is for an imaginary friend. I recently lost mine. Oh, and… this
book saved your life."
She showed
up a thick novel, which middle pages were all bloodied. She must have
opened it and closed it heavily on Wilt's arm.
Wilt found
himself still too weak, as he dropped the piece of applecake he
picked up.
„Sssh"
Sophie sat on the side of the bed „let me help you…"
While she
carefully fed him, she kept on talking. He didn't mind; he always
used to listen to others.
„My
parents are both at the hospital now, my mother is supposed to give
birth to my little sister in a week. I am alone at home, since
there's no school and I can keep up the house well. Oh, and I'm
almost 15, and I hope to become a writer one day, you see, the
several books…"
In two
days, Wil recovered almost completely. Sophie and him told each other
several things, and she felt sorry for him, for what he had gone
through. But they both knew he couldn't stay there forever.
Luckily,
Sophie has soon found an announcement about Foster's Home for
Imaginary Friends – and as soon as Wilt was okay, they both
walked there.
On their
way, Sophie told him about her lost imaginary friend.
„You
know how much I adore stars and astronomy… and suddenly there she
was, a little star. I named her after the star Betelgeuse, but she's
just Bety for short. One day she was gone… oh, how I wish I could
see her again!"
While
Sophie and Wilt were saying their last goodbyes, suddenly a little
scream of joy was heard.
„Sophie!
Sophie! SOPHIE!"
Then a
tiny (just a few inches tall) orange star with arms and legs
appeared, and jumped on Sophie's lap."
„BETY!"
„I went
out at night to gaze at my brothers and sisters, and got lost, and I
was taken here, and…"
„You'll
be with me forever, from now on. Oh, Bety, this is Wilt."
„Wilt" Sophie said, hugging him as she looked up at him „remember: you were abandoned, and almost lost every hope: but you survived, and found a new home. And you made another person happy – if it wasn't for you, I would have never found my Bety again. Wilt – it can be hard now, but try always to look at the bright side of life – it will help. Wilt, remember me."
Remember me…
Remember me…
- End dream -
Wilt woke up with a start. It was dawning. He looked at the two precious things he had taken with him – the keyring had Kevin's name written on the back, and the book – it was titled „Friendship", a short story written by Sophie about Bety and her meeting with Wilt.
To Wilt, S. L. Westlane. Bety and I will always remember you.