Tash's Miracle

by Ludo Avarius

As Tish approaches her teen years, her imaginary friend Tash comes to the terrifying realization that Tish is growing up and may someday forget about her entirely. Desperately, Tash wishes upon a star for a miracle.

Tomorrow is Tish's thirteenth birthday. Wow! How time flies. She and I have been best friends since as long as I can remember, which I guess, is since the day she created me. I'm not real. I'm her imaginary friend. She and I look quite a lot alike, to the point where we could be sisters, only she, like her family, has red fur, and mine is blue, we wear different outfits, and my hair is a bit more wavy while hers is curly. Neither her parents, nor her brother Bobby, or her other friends can see me, or hear me, or even believe in me. They pretend to… which is nice. It's nice to be believed. She and her family are wonderful people, and I love them. But as much as I love Tish… we've been growing apart lately.

As she lies next to me, sound asleep, her gentle snores like music to my ears. Her mind wanders through dreamland, having the most spectacular visions of the future imaginable… but for some reason, none of them with me. She has her whole life ahead of her. But I fear she doesn't want to spend it with me anymore. Is it wrong, as an imaginary friend, to envy your real kid? I hope not, because then I'm guilty as charged. She hasn't completely forgotten about me… yet. We still talk every now and then, but it's not like the good old days.

Someday… she'll forget about me altogether… the only person I have in this world. I told her I had a family, but she never met them… If only she knew they were as imaginary to me as I am to her. I didn't want her to feel bad for me. But I'm all alone now… I run my paw along her head, brushing her red fur across my fingers, just hoping to have one more day with her. For an imaginary friend, to be forgotten is to die… no, worse. When people die, they're remembered in our hearts. I don't think grown ups remember their imaginary friends, at least not as fondly as when they were kids. I couldn't bear the thought of Tish forgetting about me.

I rise from the bed, her bed, not mine or even ours, and I drop to the floor. She had left the window open, and it has since grown quite drafty. I walk over to the window, knowing very well I can't close it. My eyes are captured by the night sky. As far as the eye can see, stars stretch across the horizon, out into the infinite reaches of space. I wonder what they are. We had been out to space before, on some of our crazy adventures, eaten a moon made of cheese, fled from troublesome aliens, even solved the great space wars that plagued the cosmos, but it's been a long time since we'd done anything that exciting together.

Oh, if only I could be real. It would be so grand to be a real girl, to be able to be with Tish forever, to never have to worry about being forgotten and lost to time, having never had a real identity. If only it could be so. I wish it were so. But what's this? A bright white light flashes across the sky, blinding me and making me shield my eyes. Is it a meteorite? A rocket ship? Or could it be something else? I don't know. No matter. I'm still chilly, so I close the window and pay the wind no mind. I walk back to bed and climb back on top, next to Tish, and I pull the covers over myself.

"Goodnight, Tish."

The next morning, she awakens me with the sound of her sweet voice.

"Good morning, Tash."

I yawn, smiling as I respond. It's a pleasant surprise for Tish to greet me in the morning. She hasn't done so in a long time.

"Good morning, Tish."

She rises from her bed and onto the floor with her usual boundless energy and performs her morning stretches. I join her. We grunt loudly as we stretch our joints and muscles in preparation of another day of wild and fun. She appears to be having one of her more active days, so I'm gonna take advantage of that. Good thing it's Sunday and she doesn't have class. Whenever Tish goes to school, she tries to pretend I'm not there.

She fears the other kids will make fun of her if she talks to me aloud. Last time, a nasty boy called her loopy for "talking to nobody." That one really hurt. I might not be real, but I'm most certainly not a "nobody". All day at school she pretends I don't exist. She doesn't want to be called loopy again… I don't blame her. I tread through the hallway and into the restroom to freshen up and brush my teeth. (Even if I'm not real, I can at least pretend to be). I pass by Bobby, greeting him.

"Hello, Bobby."

I always do this when I pass by. Even if someone can't hear you and won't respond, there's no reason to be rude. What I DIDN'T expect was for him to respond anyway.

"Hey, Tish."

I freeze in my tracks, completely stupefied… He HEARD me! For some reason, he called me Tish, perhaps mistaking me for her, we're not TOO dissimilar, after all, but the fact that he heard me at all blows my mind. I turn to him.

"Did you… did you just… hear me?"

Apparently, he hasn't processed that I'm not his sister. He must not be fully awake yet. He turns to me.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you were Tish. Didn't realize she had a sleepover. You are?"

This is simply too strange. He can see me, hear me. Tish pulls out into the hall. Her eyes grow wide as she tries to process the conversation she just heard.

"Were you… were you two just speaking to each other?!"

Bobby looks at her with a raised brow. He answers rather drily.

"Of course I was talking to her. She's one of your friends from school, right? I just thought it was odd that she'd come over for a sleepover and yet I hadn't seen her at supper last night."

Tish looks over to me. She's astonished, as am I. She can't believe it. Her eyes fill with tears as she approaches me. She has to be sure. She extends her paw forward and pokes me. It startles me. We both jump. Filled with elation, Tish rushes toward me, throwing her arms around me and pulling me into the first real hug I'd ever had. It's surreal.

"Tash! You're real!"

I can feel her, the warmth of her body, her breath on the back of my neck, the softness of her fur on mine. I'm real... She's real… We're together. The emotional stimulation is simply too much. I join her in breaking down, ecstasy filling my soul as we could finally be together forever at last. Bobby can't even believe what he's beholding. He drops his toothbrush to the floor and runs down the hall.

"Mum! Dad! Come quick! You gotta see this!"

Mr. Pola (Dad) and Mrs. Rosa (Mum) stumble their way upstairs to see what all the commotion is about only to see a strange girl (me) standing in their hallway. I turn to them. Unfortunately, they don't quite recognize me.

"What's all the fuss up here about?"

Mr. Pola says, the dark red-furred bear brushing his stubbly chin whiskers with utmost curiosity.

"We thought someone had been hurt."

Mrs. Rosa sighs with relief that everyone is okay, but then she takes notice of me. She can't quite put her paw on it, but she notices something about me is familiar, but she doesn't know why. She turns to Tish, slightly frustrated in tone.

"Tish, if you wanted to have your friend over for a stay, you should have told us."

She addresses me directly.

"Where do you live, dear? I'll make sure you get home today safe and sound."

I try to rationalize.

"Mrs. Rosa, don't you recognize me?"

She takes a good, stern, hard look at me, but can't quite place the look.

"I'm sorry, dear. I've never seen you before in my life."

Mr. Pola scratches his head.

"I'm sorry, young lady, but I don't recognize you either."

I sigh, looking down. I thought for sure they'd recognize me after all we had been through. Tish intervenes. She takes my hand, defending me.

"Mum, Dad. It's Tash… She's real now!"

They look down at me and then to Tish and their expressions are very stern. Her mum addresses me.

"Very funny. But seriously, who are your parents? Where do you live?"

I'm forced to tell them the truth, the ugly and real truth, one that not even Tish knows about. It hurts to admit. I look down to the floor in shame, hunching my shoulders with embarrassment.

"I come from nowhere… I don't have a family."

The two look at each other, and without saying a word, they depart downstairs. We exchange looks as we peer down the stairs, eavesdropping on the grown ups as they converse in the dining room, believing they're out of earshot. Mrs. Rosa dials the telephone. She addresses the person on the other end as "officer". Oh no! She's calling the police! They're going to arrest me! I walk back to Tish's room, knees trembling, and I sit with my legs drawn back to my chest, terrified. Tish and Bobby follow. They sit at either side of me. They'll protect me for sure. Tish stares at me with a serious expression on her face and speaks to me. She sounds frustrated.

"How come you never told me you don't have a family?"

I look down at the bed. My shame prevents me from granting her eye contact.

"I… I didn't want you to worry about me."

Ten minutes later, an officer arrives at the door. He speaks to the parents downstairs in a calm tone. They're not being loud, but the sound from downstairs carries all the way up. The officer makes his way upstairs and we can all hear him, his heavy footsteps, the jingling of the handcuffs that will soon be around my wrists. I'm so doomed! He approaches the room and steps into view, a large moose man with his hands propped at his side as if he's always prepared for any sort of funny business. He approaches the bed and speaks to me in a kind voice.

"Hullo, young lady. I'm Officer Brickett. What's you're name?"

I don't say anything. He nods and a second later smiles. He seems to have caught onto just how scared I am.

"You can relax. None of you are in trouble. There just seems to have been some confusion, that's all. Young lady, would you mind telling me where you live?"

I've never spoken to anyone outside of Tish. It was difficult enough speaking to Bobby (knowing he could hear me now). Still, I don't want to get in trouble, so all I can do is tell him the truth.

"I-I d-don't have a home. I have no family. No home. N-nothing."

He raises a brow. I assume he believes me, but then he turns and walks over to Tish's parents.

"This young lady claims to be homeless and without parental supervision. If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to bring her down to the station so we could run some tests and possibly find out where she comes from."

Mr. Pola and Mrs. Rosa exchange concerned looks before nodding their heads. The officer continues.

"If it's all the same, she can ride to the station with you. She likely trusts you more than a stranger like me."

Mr. Pola nods once again.

"Of course. Lead the way, officer."

He and the officer head down the stairs. Mrs. Rosa extends her hand to me. She looks at me so kindly, with a cozy smile.

"Come on, dear, we're gonna get this whole thing sorted out."

For the first time, I take her paw. It's so soft and warm to the touch, and she holds my hand so gently. She leads me outside and to the car and reminds me to buckle up. When I was imaginary, I never had to worry about buckling my seat belt, but now that I'm real, it's probably for the best. Mr. Pola pulls the car out of the driveway and up to and behind the officer. He follows the officer close as he drives. We travel several familiar blocks down the street to the police station. We exit the car together and walk inside. Inside is a lobby and past that, many more police officers walking in all different directions. They all look very busy.

Mr. Pola and Mrs. Rosa sit beside me. As he places his paw in my shoulder, Mr. Pola insists that everything is going to be fine. Tish sits directly across from me with a concerned look on her face. I wonder what she's afraid of. Maybe the police will find that I belong to someone and they'll take me away. I sure hope not. I sit there, fidgety, with butterflies in my tummy. The grown ups are doing all sorts of boring paperwork. They call it "processing". Officer Brickett returns after the whole processing stuff and speaks to Tish's parents. He then leans down to me and looks me in the eyes. He speaks.

"We're going to take you to see our medical specialist and a forensics analyst."

I know that a medical specialist is just a fancy way of saying "doctor", but what's a forensics analyst? Anyway, we walk together down the hall and past the very busy police officers walking in all different directions and we enter a small room that looks like a doctor's office. A cat lady with curly hair and a doctor's coat is waiting by a doctor's table for me. She wears thick, red glasses, has a pretty face with a little pink nose, and several piercings in each of her ears. She talks in a calm and happy tone.

"So, you must be Tash."

I nod my head, responding rather shyly.

"Yes, ma'am, I am."

She continues.

"And I'm Dr. Marcy. Nice to meet you. Okay, so if you'll just have a seat right up here on this table, we can begin."

I'm a bit confused. I thought this was a police station, not a doctor's office. I wasn't aware I was getting a checkup. I've been with Tish on many trips to the doctor while she had her checkups, but I've never had one myself. It's… different. I climb on onto the examination table as she asked, and the first thing she does is point this bright light into my eyes. She asks me not to blink and I must admit, it's a bit difficult to not do so by reflex. As she finishes, she comments with a smile.

"My, my, you have such pretty eyes."

I can't help but blush slightly at her kind words as I hunch my shoulders with a bashful smile.

"Thank you."

She points the same light in each of my ears and then writes down some notes on a little notepad. She then resumes.

"Open your mouth please and say 'ah'."

I do, and she places a small wooden Popsicle stick in my mouth, looking all around the inside.

"So far, she seems perfectly healthy."

That's a relief. She continues by placing a long object around my arm that locks with a Velcro strip and proceeds to squeeze a rubber ball as it squeezes my arm harder and harder until it almost hurts. The hand on the dial goes round and round until she releases the pressure. She continues to write more notes on her little pad and then proceeds.

"Please step down from the table and onto the scale."

Measuring my height, I look up as the doctor moves a measuring device down to the top of my head.

"1.56 meters. Very good."

I don't know exactly how tall that is, but I assume Tish and I are about the same height. For a moment during her growth spurt, she was taller than I, but I caught back up to her. The doctor then measures my weight.

"102 pounds. Perfectly average."

I wouldn't have a clue whether that meant I was under or overweight. Tish and I used to be quite thin, but we've both become a tad dimply lately, admittedly. She talks to Tish's parents as I wait.

"She's a fine, healthy young girl. I'll only need to do one more thing before I send you down to the lab. It may take a little while before we have your results."

They nod. For some reason, Tish remembers this part of the last doctor's visit.

"Now, Tash, the next thing she's gonna do is take some blood. Just pay attention to me like I did to you. You might feel a slight pinch."

The doctor smiles at Tish.

"Very good. Your friend is correct, Tash. If you feel a little squeamish, just watch your friend and it'll all be over in a second."

Tish walks over to me.

"I still can't believe you're real now."

I respond.

"Neither can I. It's a shame your parents won't believe me though."

She waves dismissively with a smile on her face, trying to encourage me.

"They'll have to know you're my imaginary friend after all this."

I turn to the doctor.

"All done."

She says in a musical tone. I barely felt anything. I turn to her to see that she's holding a long syringe filled with dark red blood. I can't believe that big needle was inside my arm. I can believe even less that so much blood had left, although I feel slightly woozy after that. The doctor finishes her sheet of paperwork before handing it off to Tish's dad.

"It'll take about an hour to process the results. In the meantime, you may want to get some food in the young lady. The blood drawn may have tuckered her out."

After saying goodbye to Dr. Marcy, we head down the hall to a series of vending machines. Mrs. Rosa removes a dollar from her purse and places it into the machine. She asks me what kind of snack I'd like and I choose the little bag of cheddar chips. She hands me the bag and I thank her. This marks my first time having real world food. It tastes so much better than pretend food. What else can I say except it's just more… real. As I sit at the little bench with Tish at my side, I offer her some cheddar chips and she declines, saying that I should have the whole bag because it's my first real meal and that I should enjoy it alone. She then realizes something quite magical that makes me happy.

"Hey, wait a minute! It's my birthday, and since today's the day you became real, that means it's your birthday too!"

I gasp audibly, nearly allowing one of my last cheddar chips to go down my wind pipe.

"You're right! That's so cool!"

She then ponders. Tish inquires of me.

"How DID you come to life anyway?"

I shrug, thinking back to the last thing I did. It seemed to happen overnight. The last thing I did before bed was…

"That's right! I saw a shooting star last night!"

Tish tilts her head at me with a raised brow like a curious pet.

"Shooting star?"

I grasp her shoulders, smiling that the whole thing makes sense to me now.

"Yes! Last night, I laid there wide awake, thinking about… you know what? Never mind."

This perplexes Tish. She wants to know. I don't feel right telling her though. I worry she might think I think she's a bad friend. But still, I'd probably feel better if I just get it off my chest.

"For a while now, i noticed that you and I hadn't been spending as much time together as we used to. You're… growing up, we don't go on adventures anymore. You don't talk to me when we're at school. You're just not as playful as you used to be, and I get it, you're growing up… but…"

I find myself growing quite upset revealing this to her. The words hurt to say aloud. It feels like a betrayal. My eyes fill with tears as I try my best to hold them back and express myself with dignity.

"I was scared that you would eventually outgrow me altogether someday. I couldn't bear the thought of you forgetting about me. To an imaginary friend… being forgotten is worse than dying."

Tish caresses me tightly, having gotten herself all choked up as well. She whispers into my ear.

"I would never, ever let you be forgotten. You're my best friend and I love you with all my heart. I promise you I will never let that happen. I'm so sorry I neglected you."

We separate and wipe our eyes dry, feeling rather silly. Still, she remains curious.

"So then what happened?"

I resume.

"Well, I walked over to the window. I was so desperate not to be forgotten that I wondered, what if I could be alive for real, so that we'd never be apart? I looked outside and thought of all the adventures we had and I wanted it so much, just to be alive, and just as I did, a bright light flashed across the sky."

Mr. Pola and Mrs. Rosa have been watching, and are growing genuinely curious. They converse a few meters away in a whisper.

"Honey, I think she said she wished upon a star… What if she really IS our daughter's imaginary friend come to life? Pola, do you think that's crazy?"

He looks at her quite seriously, but smiles brightly.

"Are you asking if I believe in miracles? Of course I do. We have two… no… three little miracles now."

Mr. Pola looks over to the three of us: Tish, Bobby, and me, and he says to himself.

"And I certainly don't think any of them are crazy."

Mrs. Rosa wants more than anything else in the whole world to believe. She's not a mean person, or a bad one, but her beliefs are more grounded in reality than Mr. Pola's. She remains skeptical, and considers waiting for the results of the test. Officer Brickett approaches again. He speaks to Tish's parents.

"Excuse me, folks, but the forensics department would like to see you."

Curiously, we rise from our benches and Officer Brickett escorts us over to the forensics laboratory. Inside is a room with all sorts of gadgets and computer equipment Tish and I haven't ever seen before. It certainly doesn't resemble any crime dramas from the telly. A man by the name of Mr. Snooper approaches us. He's a panda man with rounded glasses.

"Hello! Boy, do we have a rather strange case here. Come with me over to my computer equipment."

We follow Mr. Snooper over to his computer and he hands Mrs. Rosa a bunch of stapled together paper.

"The samples sent to us have proven to be rather peculiar. As for the blood type, she has the same type as all of you, O Negative, relatively common. But when we searched though our database, we found no such records of this young lady anywhere in the world. Her DNA doesn't match a single individual, meaning she's never been registered anywhere since.

"We cannot trace her back to any parents within our database. She has no prior family, no medical records, no birth certificate, no… nothing. The only conclusion we can reach is that this girl is an unregistered… orphan. She has no parents."

So that's it… I'm a nobody. It all comes out now. I hold my head in shame as I look down to the floor. Tish and Bobby look at me sadly. Mr. Snooper frowns sympathetically. Mr. Pola and Mrs. Rosa look down at me and then at each other. Without a word, they exchange an affirmative nod. They turn back to Mr. Snooper. Mrs. Rosa speaks.

"Well then, that simply won't do. Mr. Snooper, how would we go about filing the proper adoption paperwork?"

Did she say... adoption? Tish's parents want to… adopt me? I can hardly believe what I'm hearing right now. My heart races with the possibilities. Adoption… that means that Tish and I would no longer be just friends… we'd be sisters!… I never realized how much I wanted something until the prospect was staring me right in the eyes. Mrs. Rosa and Mr. Pola lean over so we can see eye to eye. They smile brightly at me.

"So, what do you say, Tash? Would you like to be officially part of our family?"

I can hardly contain my excitement. I'm so giddy I'm dancing in place, about to explode!

"You mean it? You really mean it, Mrs. Rosa and Mr. Pola?"

Mr. Pola speaks to me. I turn to him.

"We do, and Tash…"

I respond with wonder.

"Yes?"

He continues.

"You can call us Mum and Dad now."

I lunge at Mr… Dad, and I throw my arms around him. He's so arm and he caresses me close to him with a hearty laugh and a firm but gentle hug. As I rub my face against his, I can feel his prickly whiskers brush up against my cheeks and it tickles. We laugh together as Mum joins into the embrace, followed by the others. I'm just getting smothered with love right now! So it's a pretty long process. I'm sent all over the place and the whole thing is so overwhelming. They take my fingerprints, take my picture for use in medical data, the works. The real complication comes in the form of a birth certificate. How can I tell them I was born today? That doesn't make any sense. So we rationalize.

I'm Tish's (formerly) imaginary friend, right? Well, she certainly doesn't remember exactly when she created me, but I look like her, I'm just as smart as her, and we have similar appearances, so logic tells them I'm the same age as Tish, and today is my thirteenth birthday. Wow! You know what? That kinda makes us like twins! At least, that's what we're going to go with. The whole thing is rather muddled and confusing, but that's what we put on the certificate: Tash, thirteen years old, born the exact same day as Tish.

With this, I become an officially documented citizen. It feels so good to be real. It feels so good to have a family. I love my family. I love Tish, and Bobby, and Mum and Dad (it feels so good to call them that), and I'm sure I'll love all the new children at school... Wow... I get to go to my first day at school and be in class with Tish... and she and I can talk to me without kids calling her loopy... I hope the other kids like me. I'm a bit scared, to be honest... meeting so many new people for the first time. Most of the kids already like Tish, so I'm sure her friends will like me too.

I got so many butterflies in my tummy but I'm so filled with excitement. Even Tish seems happier than she's been in quite a while. She, Bobby, and I all laugh on the way home after a very long day of processing. We run into the house and play upstairs as Mum makes dinner down in the kitchen. She says she has a big surprise for me. Dad took the car out for another outing. I wonder where he went to. No matter. Later on that afternoon he arrives home, and Mum summons us downstairs for supper.

With little time to prepare, Mum cobbled together a casserole made from all sorts of different pastas into what could vaguely be described as a lasagna. Tish had never seen such a dish before, and neither had I, but it appears quite intuitive. Turns out... it's delicious, especially the little spiral slide noodles with the thick, soft egg! She used relatively little garlic, but a decent amount of milk, making it somewhat of a cross between a baked macaroni and a lasagna. It's peculiar, but amazingly creative. Incredible! My first dinner and it's already my favorite!

We spend a long time at the dinner table conversing. Mum, Dad, and Bobby ask me all sorts of questions, and not once do I ever get tired of answering them, not even when my throat starts to get dry. Just as I finish my tale about me and Tish's greatest adventure, which Bobby miraculously somehow vaguely recalls, Mum rises from the dinner table and walks over to the fridge. She opens the door and pulls out a tray, closing it and revealing a massive chocolate cake with thirteen candles on both ends, twenty six in total! That must be what took Dad so long. She places it gently on the table before both of us and lights the candles with a match. Dad turns out the lights and they sing Happy Birthday to us.

I've sung Happy Birthday to Tish many times, but nobody had ever sung it to me. It's so unreal. I find myself getting emotional again. I've had so many first times today and it's quite a lot to take in. They finish, clapping and cheering loudly as Tish and I blow out our respective candles, leaving us temporarily in the dark until Dad turns the lights back on. He seems quite down about something, and I ask why.

"Dad? Why are you sad?"

He responds, scratching the back of his head.

"Well, dear, it was quite difficult obtaining that cake. I'm sorry we couldn't have gotten any extra gifts for you as well. This was all rather sudden. I hope Tish will share hers with you."

I smile up at him. It's so sweet that he wanted to get me gifts too, but I remind him.

"Being alive... being real... it's the best gift I could ever ask for. I have the greatest gifts imaginable: happiness, a loving family, a warm home, and a long future with all of you, knowing that I won't fade away or be forgotten. I have the best gift anyone could ever have... life."

For some reason, they're all speechless, as though they never expected something so true from me. Mum retorts.

"That's such a profound and mature response from a little girl."

I turn to her with a smile.

"Remember, Mum, I'm a teenager now, just like Tish."

Tish interjects with a nod.

"That's right."

The chocolate cake is so delicious, extra chocolaty with chips and the coolness of the refrigerator makes the icing leave a nice cold tingle down the back of my throat on the way down. It goes wonderfully with a cold glass of milk. I'm so full now. I don't think I've ever been full, ever. Now I'm tired. It's been such a long day and Tish and Bobby seem to concur, yawning and stretching at the dinner table. It turns out, Mum and Dad are quite exhausted themselves from all the running around, trying to get me registered and legitimate. I still can't believe I'm alive.

Tish and I have to share a bed for the night, which doesn't bother me. We've slept together since we were little and the fact that I'm real makes it feel no different to me. She's my sister now. I can't even believe it. We're twin sisters, at least according to the legal system. Mum and Dad are by my side. They insist on reading a bedtime story to us. I figure by now we were a little too old for this, but I suppose they just want an excuse to wish me goodnight. The story proves to be quite nostalgic, a trip down memory lane for both of us, but just having Mum read to me, knowing I'm here and I can hear her. It makes the whole sensation all the more special. Mum leans over to me and she whispers.

"Goodnight, my little miracle."

She kisses me softly on the cheek. Her face is so soft. My first kiss. My first time being kissed by my mother. She's so sweet. Next comes Dad.

"Goodnight, my sweet little daughter."

He places a bristly kiss on my other cheek. Even if his affection is more itchy, it's filled with just as much love as Mum. Not neglecting Tish, they provide her with the same. Mum and Dad approach the door, leaving one final message. Mum declares.

"Just remember, Tash, we love you, and we always will. You're just as real to us as Tish."

Dad inserts his own sentiment.

"We are truly blessed to have you be part of our lives. Sleep tight, my little cubs."

Bobby had kept quiet the whole day, but he feels inclined to push his way though his parents, quite absentmindedly, but they allow it. It would seem that he had been so quiet because he felt embarrassed. He finds that he has a hard time expressing sentiment in front of others. Bobby speaks to me for the second time.

"I'm glad you're part of the family now too, Tash. I love you. Goodnight. Same to you, Tish."

Tish and I respond together.

"We love you too, Bobby. Sleep tight."

Bobby runs back out into the hall past Mum and Dad. Dad turns to look at us one last time. He turns off the light and shuts the door. Tish whispers one more thing, smiling brightly at me.

"Good night, Tash. I love you."

I curl under the warm blanket, embracing it for the first time as a real girl.

"I love you too. Goodnight."

After all the "I love you" and "goodnight" exchanges, it's finally off to dream land. The next day, Mum takes us to school and has me enrolled. The principal seems quite confused, and was never made aware of me. Mum and Dad simply explain that I was an imaginary friend that wished on a falling star and now I'm real. The principal nods candidly. It makes me chuckle.

"I see... well, welcome to our school, Tash. I'm delighted to have you within our fine education system."

I shake the principal's hand and Mum and Dad wish me good luck on the first day of school. They each give me a goodbye kiss and send me off to my first day of class. I have an empty bag for books right now, but I was told the teachers would do everything they could to catch me up on the curriculum. I must admit, I'm quite nervous. I hope all the kids will like me. When I reach the class, I step inside. Nervously, I fold my hands at my chest and evade eye contact with the other students. There are so many of them, probably thirty or so, and they're all staring at me, smiling, but still, staring. It's kind of scary. They might think I'm loopy. The teacher summons me to the blackboard, placing her soft hand on my shoulder.

"Class, this is our new student. Why don't you introduce yourself?"

The class is quiet for a second. My voice cracks as I utter my introduction. Oh no! I've already messed up! Now they're gonna think I'm crazy for sure!

"My n-name's Tash... I'm Tish's... sister."

The children mutter among each other, many of whom are looking over at Tish as she sits in the middle of the classroom. A blue elephant girl named Cori turns to her.

"I didn't know you had a sister."

Tish responds.

"Until the other day, I didn't... not really."

A rabbit boy named Tobby inquires of her. It appears as though his whiskers are growing shaggy with age.

"Is she your real sister or is she adopted?"

Tish responds to him as well.

"It's kinda complicated, a little bit of both."

Lastly, a very tall giraffe girl named Jeffy continues the interrogation.

"How come she looks like you and your family, but she's blue?"

Tish is getting frustrated.

"Look, I don't know. It's a long story. I'll explain it to you at lunch."

I take my seat just across from Tish. I can see her, but it feels like I'm really far away. No matter. The teacher resumes the class as she would normally. At lunch, I'm surrounded by the students and all eyes are on me once again. Tish is there by my side this time though. She reassures me.

"Don't worry, Tash. I've known these guys for years. They're all wonderful friends and I'm sure they'll get along with you just as well as they get along with me."

Nervously, I turn to her. She looks at me rather candidly. She's always known me as this fun, upbeat, and charismatic friend, but the difference is, back then, I wasn't real. Nothing mattered because I wasn't real... and I knew this. This must be the catch to being real, knowing and being aware that everything has consequences.

Tish escorts me over and introduces me personally to all her friends. She explains the entire process, the whole story that I'm an imaginary friend that became real, and, quite perplexingly, her friends take it rather well. In fact, they have so many more questions for me. Their eyes are filled with excitement and wonder. I hadn't expected that... I was worried they might make fun of me. They really are just as sweet as she says they are.

The first day of school goes great! The final bell rings and we're all released. I'm filled now with a newfound desire to go back there every day. I love all my new friends and I can't wait to see them again. Mum picks us up from school and drives us home. So... this is life now. It's so strange, being a real girl, going to a real school with my real sister. The only real caveat (that's a new word I learned in school today) is that our rare games of pretend aren't what they used to be.

When I was imaginary, I was able to see the pretend world of Tish's mind. Now that I'm real, I have to use my own imagination. I wonder... could I create an imaginary friend if I'm a real girl? Perhaps I'd better not. I don't know how many more kids Tish's family could handle, even if they are nice enough to welcome them all with open arms. Still, I love being real. It feels good knowing that I'll always wake up and Tish will be there. Bobby will be there. Mum and Dad will be there. My new friends will be there. I love them all. I wouldn't trade it for the world.