Prompt #19:Imaginary friends.

August 2021,Midvale.

Kids did odd things. They could come up with entire worlds,all by themselves,of course they also had imaginary friends and things like that. Apparently even Lexie had one. They didn't know much because their discovery was pretty recent,so they hadn't had the time to ask her about it. To think it over it wasn't an issue. They knew it was typical of kids to do it,it didn't mean it wasn't curious. And Kara found herself wondering even more about the entity of what Lexie was seeing,which was why they were sitting by her,as she played with her dolls without a care in the world,sometimes turning at them to hand them other toys and share them.

"Mom,mama,here,the tea's ready."

And tea they had. Just like they did everyday,pretending to drink true one out of Lexie's toy cups.

The child had such a strong imagination that they were proud of that. It showed she had both a talent for noticing the most important things going on around her,like Cat,for reporting,like Kara,who had unfortunately never gotten the chance to have that career,but also the talent of Kara's father,the way he had had when telling her about stars,planets,and the people populating them. Even talking about Fort Rozz had seemed an adventure. And Carter's. Carter as well,for the richness of particulars and easy way to remember the facts which were being told. He must have surely had to learn to repeat some of them in particular for Lexie every night,and this made them smile.

"Lexie,has your friend joined us yet?"

The kid looked beside them,as if a third person were sitting by them,and nodded smiling.

"Yeah,she's here. She's happy to talk to you"

"It's a she?"

"Yeah"

Lexie's attention was taken away from them for a bit,as the child undertook a conversation with her friend about her day,sometimes quoting both them and Cat,excitedly relying the new things she learned everyday. From hard to pronounce new words she had learned,till relying some of Kara's adventures,the way Carter would usually tell them,down to every particular she could remember.

Cat and Kara listened carefully,sometimes with their minds going back to what Lexie was talking about,till a word Lexie had used didn't strike the latter so hard she almost fell off her wheelchair,and stopped breathing.

"What did she just say?"

Kara rolled towards her,and right beside Lexie's imaginary friend.

"Lex,is she standing beside me?"

"Yeah. She's touching you. Says to trust she always got your back. What does it mean mama?"

Kara didn't answer,but swallowed hard,as her chest heaved up and down in a rapid way,and her eyes filled with tears.

"Kara,are you ok?"

The blonde looked at her wife,as she kneed by her.

"It's..it's…it's Alex. It's my sister"

"Your sister?What…God"

She smiled through tears,as Cat rubbed her arms to calm her down. All the strain was no good on her lungs.

"Can you tell me what auntie Alex looks like,honey?"

The kid nodded.

"Black,lotsa of it,and short hair,she's holdin' your hand. She say you can talk to her"

Lexie went back to her dollhouse as if nothing had happened,creating a romance between two of them,as a much bigger moment went on between the adults.

"Al. I miss you. I miss you so bad. I'm trying to be strong just like you always told me to be. I'm happy now. I just wish you could be here. You still had so much to live for."

She hadn't seen Alex's ghost since her wedding,five years ago. She had said goodbye with one of her gentle smiles,and eyes shining. Once her soul had settled for eternal peace,the sparkle she had seen into her eyes before her death had gone back to being part of them.

"Aunt Alex says she misses you too,and is proud of who you have become,and she's here whenever you need here. If you want to talk to her,she be there to hear you"

"Come here kiddo"

Lexie skipped up,and climbed on her,as Kara hugged her.

It looked like Alex had never left. Kara had never believed that either. Alex had never left her side in the years they had walked earth together. The vow she had made the day her little sister had literally fallen from the sky still held on,even if she was gone. Kara wished she could've seen her,but also knew that as time went by,she was slowly trying to take life as it came,enjoy it with the family she had created,and keep Alex in her heart in order to not fall apart. In this way,she knew she had let go of the guilt,and bit by bit of Alex as an earthly presence in flash and bones,while the spirit of her sister kept on living inside of her. She didn't need to see Alex,to know she was with her,but it was possible that Lexie might have wanted to,and that was the reason why her sister was standing there in the house they had shared as kids.

Kara did dare to shut her eyes,and having had 12 years of Alex doing the same it didn't take much to feel it. A soft pressure into her hand of a stronger and slightly bigger one. As reassuring as if she had held it the other day,instead of five years ago. She didn't know how long it would have been before Lexie left this phase and couldn't see Alex anymore,but even when she had stopped,Alex,her personal hero,would've stood by them,watching over their home. This would've never changed.