The Story About How My Imaginary Friend Died

Chapter Three - Why You Should Never Let Your Actual Friend Move

The clock was only five, but the world was moving towards wintertime, and darkness was falling upon our small town.

I walked in silence, listening to my feet, hitting the ground.

I was so consumed by the ground that I didn't look up in time to see the two people standing in front of me, and I bumped into them.

My head flew up. Startled.

"I'm so sorry!" I quickly uttered to the who people in front off me, my cheeks heating up.

Be glad it's dark.

"No, that's totally fine," a girl my age said and smiled a kind smile at me.

I relaxed.

Beside her stood a boy the same age.

They had the same dark hair and their facial features were very similar.

"Yeah, the thing she said," the boy said, pointing to the girl.

I was about to start walking again, but the girl reached out and stopped m

"Hi, we actually just moved here, do you go to the school up there?" she said, pointing in the direction of the school.

"Yeah, I do," I said and smiled a friendly smile, because I knew how it felt like to come to a new town.

It didn't take long before the girl stretched out a hand to me, suggesting a handshake. I took it without hesitation.

"Hi, my name is Katja, and this is my twin bother, Tim."

I smiled at them both as Tim shook my hand as well.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Emma," I said.

A slight awkward silence followed, but it got interrupted shortly, because Tim spoke.

"We'll see you around, Emma."

I smiled.

"Yes, se you," I said and turned around to walk the rest of the way home.

I thought about the last time someone my age had wanted to get to know me.

My thoughts landed on the friends I'd gotten during my trip across the country.

I had lived there for two years because dad worked there.

But mom couldn't do what she liked there; build things.

She was a carpenter, and the small town didn't have any jobs of that sort for her.

So she and I decided to move back.

The friends I'd gotten there was really nice, but I missed my friend Amalia. No other of the girls were as fun to hang out with as her.

The day after mom told me we were moving back, Amalia called, announcing that she was going to move to another city. Many, many hours away from the town I would live in.

She sounded really excited, and all I could do was to wish her my best luck.

It didn't seem to bother her as much as it bothered me that we wouldn't be able to spend time together.

I was eight when I moved back. Truly, I hadn't thought a lot about how things would be without my best and only friend there, but reality came creeping up at me.

It was about around that time Sally showed up.

Somewhere after I started to read books in the girls toilet, she showed up and became my ultimate friend. Except that I couldn't show her to anyone.

Every time I've talked to Amalia, she seems really happy. She gushes on about all her new friends and all the crazy things they do together. Like it's no big deal. Which I guess to her, it isn't. And I know she doesn't do it to be cruel. It's just the way she is.

Oblivious and a little thoughtless.

I continued walking home, a light breeze tainted the air. As I reached my house, I found the lights to be on, and I could see mom in the kitchen, talking on the phone.

I knew it was to dad, because even though they didn't live together, no divorce had happened, and dad still came home regularly.

I opened the door. Mom greeted me, still on the phone, she asked quickly about the job. I I told her my honest feelings in two sentences, she scowled at me, probably for the use of such inappropriate words.

I ran upstairs as fast as I could.