Jamie didn’t appear again over the next week, and Simon became worried. He had grown fond of his small playmate and didn’t want to have to get accustomed to a new friend that was sure to appear. Simon had instantly regretted the words he had said to Jamie, but what really haunted him was Jamie’s response. The words had been said so tense and straightforward, and they echoed in his mind for days afterward. It was stupid, it made no sense, but Simon couldn’t help think, what if Jamie wasn’t his imaginary friend? Simon didn’t even understand what it could mean, but just the possibility scared him.

Simon jumped a little, back into reality, when a toddler in the middle of the street startled him. Not there a second earlier, the toddler had just appeared out of thin air. At first Simon assumed it must be his new imaginary friend since Jamie had left, but once it was clear that the child had no interest in Simon, Simon realized what had just happened. Although he had never witnessed a child appearance before, he had read about it in all his science books and this seemed to be the most intelligible explanation. Simon felt like he should call the Agency to report it, but without a phone on him he left the child alone, assuming a neighbor would call in shortly.
The house was quiet when Simon got home; his mother was doing laundry in the other room and was the only one home. Cambria was awake in her crib, but playing quietly with a toy. When she saw Simon walk in, she looked up and said his name in a happily gurgled manner to greet him. However, this noise turned into coughing and she fell down into her bed. Simon ran over and picked her up into his arms where she opened her eyes and smiled at him, no longer coughing. Simon rocked her back and forth and hummed a tune as she settled herself into his chest.





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Today was a strange warm day in the midst of all the rest. Although the days should have been getting colder as they moved closer and closer to winter, the sun still shone with brilliant warmth, reflecting off the fallen leaves. Taking advantage of the sun, Simon sat outside doing his science homework, which was to read the first few chapters in the book, which contained all the things he already knew. It talked about the way humans were mysteriously made, appearing randomly, fully developed, at seemingly different ages. The kids were then picked up by the Adoption Agency and then after a few days, sent to homes of people looking for kids.

Simon sighed as he flipped the page, bored. On the next page it talked about things he had a little more interest in, imaginary friends. Every child is born with an imaginary friend. The two words, ‘imaginary friend’, were in bold, and defined at the bottom of the page.
Imaginary friend: a person (usually a child) that appears completely normal to the child it belongs to, and yet invisible to everyone else.

The statements following the previous sentence always aggravated Simon, “After about two or three years (sometimes less sometimes more, one can’t ever tell) the imaginary friend disappears. This marks the end of a person’s young childhood, and into their older childhood years, where they go to school more often and get ready for adulthood”

The book said this as though there were no exceptions to this rule of nature, but Simon knew for a fact that there were. He was the exception to the rule. Simon had started out in the typical way, the imaginary friend he appeared with leaving after 2 years. After enrolling in school, Simon was all ready to grow up as a normal person. However, something else interfered with this idea. Unexpectedly one day, another child appeared to Simon who it seemed no one else could see. Simon had gotten a second imaginary friend.

Closing his book, Simon looked up and there before him were a pair of blue eyes, shining in the afternoon sunlight. Jamie was staring at him, but as soon as Simon caught his eye, he looked at the ground. “I’m… I’m sorry”, Jamie said hesitantly.

Simon was ecstatic to see that Jamie hadn’t left him after all, but he also couldn’t help but notice a change in him. The old Jamie would have been unconcerned about a petty fight that they had had, and too excited to have more fun to feel anything more than a slight guilt. But just the fact that Jamie hadn’t appeared for over a week showed that Jamie had felt something else this time. Simon could see Jamie’s brain still trying to make sense of what Simon had said to him.

“I’m the one that should be sorry,” Simon said with a reassuring smile.

A grin spread across Jamie’s face, “Friends again?” he asked Simon while spreading his arms open, inviting a hug. Simon hesitated, unsure what to do. Not wanting to offend Jamie, he attempted to hug Jamie, but merely grasped at thin air.

Jamie laughed, “See! You went right through me; I’m not the imaginary one, you are.”

“That’s ridiculous!” Simon rebuked, “All that proved is that one of us doesn’t exist. I think you’re the one that went right through me!”

Jamie scowled, taken aback by this logic. He quickly tried to think of another way to prove his point. “Fine then… go touch that tree”. He pointed slightly to the right of Simon.

“There’s no tree there”

“What do you mean there’s no tree there?”

“What I mean is… there’s no tree there.”

“If there’s no tree then what is there?”

“A house”

“There’s no house, there is clearly a tree.”

“I see a house”

“Well I see a tree.”

“You don’t see that house that’s right there?”

“Nope, I see a tree”

“… So you see a tree but I see a house.”

“I think we’ve established this.”

They stared at each other for a long time, Simon thoroughly confused. “What else do you see then? Where are we?” Simon asked, curious and intrigued by this new discovery they had made.

“We’re in the clearing, obviously. That’s where we always are when I play with you. It’s my own secret place, and there’s nothing around here except trees; no houses at all. Why? Where do you think we are?”

“We’re out in my front yard. Across the street are just more houses.”

Jamie looked at him with amazement. “Maybe, we’re in different worlds!” He said with a grin.

Simon laughed, “Tell me more about your world”.

The two boys sat there for hours, trading stories, until the sun began to go down and each had to go back home.