第九话

For starters, the imaginary friend hadn't said a word, although he had been talking quite loudly before he left. And he still didn’t know where Thomas lived. He didn't even know what street the imaginary friend lived on. It was all new to him, which meant he had no clue how to proceed.

How did you find someone who you barely knew, and who, according to the dream, also didn't even exist? How was he going to find him now, when Thomas had been gone all these years?

When he arrived at home, he found himself in the kitchen, where his mother was washing the dishes. "Hi sweetie,"

she greeted him, smiling slightly. “How was school? Is it finally time to come home?""School was fine. Um..." He hesitated, wondering how much he should reveal. "Some girl tried to attack me in class today.""Did you beat her up?""What?! No!""Good. Then let'

s hope that she won't try again.""I don't think she will. She seemed scared of something I said.""Like what?"

"I don't know exactly. She said some things she shouldn't have. But she seems nice."

His mother laughed softly. "Well, that's good. Sometimes they don'

t realize what they said until long after it's already passed."He nodded slowly. "Yes, that's true. Anyway, I was wondering... Did you know about my imaginary friend?"He cringed at the sound of his voice. It sounded weird. Like he wasn't sure whether he wanted to ask or not.

His mother froze in midair and lowered a glass she had been holding to the sink. She set it carefully in the rack above it, turned around, walked across the room, and wrapped her arms tightly around him. Her hug felt familiar and warm, like his favorite blanket.

"I've known for a while,”

she admitted quietly, rubbing comforting circles onto his back.“Why haven’t you said anything yet?”Thomas pulled away slightly to look at her. He opened his mouth, only to close it immediately. “Mom…why am I dreaming about this now?”“Because we talked about it,”

she reminded him gently.“What did we say? When? Why?"She sighed sadly. "We talked about lots of things…but I really wish I could tell you more…”“Are we gonna see each other tomorrow night?”“Tomorrow?”“Uh huh.

. At my party. You know, that thing.”“Oh.” She looked down, thinking. “I don’t think so.”“What?! Why? It's my birthday! Don't you want to celebrate it with me? Or did you forget?”She smiled softly. “

You were so young last year,” she said. “So innocent.”“That was because I didn't go to parties like this one,” he explained impatiently. “This was special. This was very special. It was the first time I actually got to know my best friend.”“

I remember….”“And we're gonna hang out all day, right?”“All day?”“Yeah. What d'you say? Will ya be there?”“I …I suppose so.”“But I don't understand,” he continued after another pause.