The Imaginary Friend

Sixteen year old Charlie was nervous as he stepped into the preschool classroom. He had never been to a public school in 13 years, and he still hadn't made a single friend. Charlie was an introvert, and he found it difficult to talk to the other kids.

On the first day, everyone had welcomed him warmly, but as the days went by, he started to feel more and more isolated. He felt like he was an outsider, and he was too embarrassed to make the first move and try to start conversations with the other kids.

One day, Charlie noticed a little girl in the corner of the room who was also alone. She easily looked ten years old, but he noticed that he seemed to be more shy than her, if she even *looked* shy. Charlie mustered up the courage to walk over to her and introduce himself.

The girl's name was Angelica, and she quickly warmed up to Charlie. They began to talk, and Charlie found out that they had a lot in common.

Charlie came home from school with a big smile on his face and introduced his mom to his new friend. His mom was a bit taken by surprise when she heard him say that, because she didn't see anybody next to him.

'Where did you meet Angelica, honey?' she asked.

'Oh, at school,' Charlie replied.

His mom smiled and said, "That's nice, but I don't see anyone next to you so Angelica can't be real. She's must be an imaginary friend of yours."

Charlie's eyes widened in surprise. He had never thought of that before. He had believed that Angelica was just like any other friend.

His mom explained that sometimes kids create imaginary friends when they need someone to talk to or to play with. She also told him that it was perfectly normal and it was something that many kids did.

Charlie understood and thanked his mom for explaining it to him. He went off to play with Angelica, happy to have someone to talk to and play with.

He was glad that his mom had been so understanding and supportive about it. So, over the weekend, he decided to draw pictures of him and Angelica. His dad looked at the pictures with an expression that Charlie couldn't quite read. He seemed a little surprised, and maybe even a little uncomfortable.

When Charlie showed his mom the pictures, she looked at them with a warm smile. 'These are beautiful, sweetheart,' she said. 'I'm so glad you love your imaginary friend so much.'

Charlie couldn't quite tell that his dad was still a little uneasy about the fact that he had drawn Angelica so accurately, but his mom seemed to accept it, and that was enough for him.

Charlie couldn't wait to see what the other kids had drawn in his class's show and tell at preschool. When it came to his turn, he proudly presented his drawing of him and his best friend, Angelica.

The teacher smiled and looked at the picture intently.

"Charlie, this is a wonderful picture! But, I don't see 'Angelica' anywhere."

A few of the kids in the class snickered and started to laugh. Charlie felt embarrassed and tried to hide the picture behind his back.

But before the laughter could get too loud, some of the younger girls in the class quickly shushed their peers.

"It's not nice to laugh at someone's imagination," the youngest girl said. "Let him think!"

Charlie smiled at the girls gratefully. He knew they were right.

He decided to take his picture and go play with Angelica. The other kids could laugh all they wanted, but Charlie and Angelica knew that their friendship was real.

Ten years had passed since Charlie had last seen his imaginary friend, Angelica. He was now 26 and had forgotten all about her. But Angelica hadn't forgotten about him.

Every night, while Charlie was asleep, Angelica would slip out of his house and go exploring the neighborhood. She would play in the streets and run through backyards, sometimes staying out all night.

The neighbors who lived in the farthest parts of Charlie's neighborhood would often wake up in the middle of the night to the strange noises Angelica. Some complained about the mysterious child-like figure they saw running around, but few people just thought it was a stray animal.

Charlie was confused when he started to receive complaints about Angelica, but he shrugged it off. He thought that it was just a coincidence and he didn't think too much of it. He figured that whatever it was, it didn't really matter.

But little did he know that Angelica was still around. She was still looking out for him, even if Charlie had forgotten about her.

Eventually, on Charlie's 27th birthday he receives a strange gift that looks like his imaginary friend Angelica. All of the memories that Charlie had forgotten of her had flown back as soon as he saw the doll.

At night, he slept with the doll, but he got woken up at 11:00 at night to hear a little girl's voice, giggling. Charlie tried to get back to sleep, but he couldn't, no matter how hard he tried.

Eventually, at 3:00 in the morning, he heard noises coming from the kitchen, which was downstairs. He went down to the kitchen to investigate, and saw a huge birthday cake with three number 6 candles and red icing that resembled either ketchup or strawberry jam. He went to tell his parents about this, but when he got to their room, they were gone.

Charlie figured they had gone to the bathroom and went downstairs to get a slice of that cake. When he got down there, the doll he was sleeping with, and another doll, were standing in front of slices of the cake he was planning to slice.

Charlie thought it was strange but he figured he could have a slice of cake. After the slice was done, he expected to see his parents upstairs, but they're still not there.

Charlie was getting scared, so he went back to his room, and the two dolls were now sitting on his bed. Charlie was in shock. He couldn't believe that his imaginary friend, Angelica, was real and standing in front of him. He asked her if she was real, and how she had gotten here. Angelica explained that she had been sent to him as a gift from his parents. She said that they had been watching him all these years, and they knew that it was finally time for him to meet her.

Charlie asked where his parents were, but Angelica wouldn't answer. Charlie was starting to worry about his parents and started searching the neighborhood for them. Charlie has never been seen since, but Angelica and her new friend are still looking for him...

One day, a woman named Rebecca had been searching for the perfect present for her daughter Katie's birthday for weeks. She had wanted to buy something special, but nothing seemed to be quite right.

On her way to the checkout counter, she tripped on something and fell to the ground. When she looked to see what she had tripped on, she saw a doll lying on the floor. It was a doll that had the same features as Charlie, the boy who had gone missing a few weeks prior.

Rebecca was immediately drawn to the doll and asked the store clerk about it. But the store clerk was a rock, and rocks don't talk. So, Rebecca got the doll for free and took it home, not knowing what it meant to have such a doll. She gave it to Katie for her birthday, and as soon as Katie opened it, she immediately knew what to name it.

'I'll call him Charlie!' Katie exclaimed.

Rebecca was amazed at how the doll had found its way to her daughter. She looked up to the heavens with a tear in her eye and thanked the universe for this special gift.

Every night when she went to bed with her beloved doll, Charlie, she swore she heard two little girls giggling. Whenever she told her mom, Rebecca, about it, her mom always said it was just the wind or a dream. But Katie was sure she wasn't imagining things.

Katie had been hearing the same two voices every night for weeks. She tried to tell her mom, but her mom insisted that it was her imagination. But Katie knew she wasn't imagining it. She was determined to find out who the voices belonged to.

One night, after Katie settled into bed, she heard the same giggle, but this time it was louder. She was about to go tell her mom, when she heard a loud crash coming from the kitchen. She rushed to her mother's room to tell her what she heard, but Rebecca was gone.

Katie was scared and confused. She wanted to investigate the noise in the kitchen, but she was too scared to go down there alone. Just then, she heard the giggling again. She followed the noise, and to her surprise, she found the two little girls she had been hearing every night. It was Angelica and the other girl, but Katie didn't know them yet. Katie and the two girld snuck out of the house and went deep in the woods. Before Katie knew it, they were all sitting around a small table, playing with dolls.

Katie was so excited to have found the little girls and the tea party. Katie stayed with the girls, talking and laughing, even when it started to get late.

Back in the neighbourhood, Katie's uncle was frantic, and her aunt was in tears. They told their kids, Jack and Jill, that two kids and their guardians have gone missing. No one had seen them since they had gone out somewhere.

Jack and Jill were terrified. They had no idea what had happened to the two children and their parents. And it was all over the news that Katie and her mom, and Charlie and his parents, had all gone missing.

Jack and Jill were desperate to find those people again, and to figure out what had happened to them. They spent the next few weeks searching for them, but to no avail. They were all eventually declared missing, and the story became a local legend.

To this day, no one knows what happened to any of them. But many people believe they are still out there, somewhere, playing tea parties in the woods, waiting to be found...