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It was cute at first, or at least it seemed so. Little Suzie had an imaginary friend that she started having tea parties with. Not altogether unusual for a little girl of her age, but perhaps the effort was greater than one might expect. She always brought enough tea and snacks for “both of them.” Perhaps her parents might have realized something was amiss sooner if they had noticed right away that both cups were empty at the end of every party.
The first time her father noticed, he thought nothing of it. When his sister was little, she always drank both cups or tried to feed it to her teddy bear with mixed results. The first time her mother noticed, she didn’t know what to make of it. She thought something was off but had her mind occupied by bills and other obligations. It only grew stranger from there…
Perhaps the first sign that something was genuinely wrong was how long the parties would go and how much Suzie seemed to “learn” from her friend. Suzie was never the best in her history or English class, yet suddenly, she excelled. Learning such big words like pontificate and exceptional, or cleaning up her handwriting to well above her grade level. Then came her disturbingly detailed accounts of the distant history of their fair little town.
Most knew of the cornfield fire of 1822; it was perhaps the most and only famous event in the area. Yet, few memorized the exact date or the fine details. Then Suzie came along, rattling off every last one. March 12th, 1822, around 11:00 pm, a poorly hung oil lantern was knocked from its perch by a runaway horse and crashed into the field. An unusually dry year had made the field ripe for a fire. Every effort to initially put out the blaze only made it worse, and it was a minor miracle that it was stopped before it could ravage the whole town.
Alas, many lives were still lost that day. Most tragically so, a handful of children who had fallen asleep while playing in the field found themselves trapped in a nearby farmhouse while trying to escape. The fire consumed the whole area and left them and the farmhouse a smoldering heap. They never did find all the remains.
Little Suzie’s retelling of the event was quite detailed. Down to the smells and sounds leading up to it, as though she read a first-hand account. When her parents asked where she read this, she answered simply, “I didn’t read it, Mary told me.”
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“Her imagination has grown quite active,” her father told her mother. “I’d never expect her to lie about where she learned something, though.”
“I don’t think it’s her imagination,” her mother replied. “I’m worried she’s learning this from someone.”
“A complete stranger tutoring her in English and history?” Her father scoffed, “I think she’s just taken an interest in such subjects but doesn’t want to admit it. Has she been reading odd fantasy stories again?”
“I don’t know, this imaginary friend business has been bothering me for a while,” her mother admitted.
“Dear, you worry too much. I know the change is sudden, but I think it’s for the best,” the father assured. “She’s having one of her tea parties now. I’ll check on her and make sure no creeps have broken into the house to teach her history lessons.” The father laughed but still patted his wife’s shoulder. He didn’t want her to worry, and he didn’t want to admit a part of him shared her concerns.
The walk upstairs was short, yet it never felt so long before. The father could hear his daughter conversing in quite an animated fashion with her imaginary friend. Mary, was it? It was strange. Imaginary friends were not a foreign concept to him; he had a couple when he was her age. Yet, this didn’t sound quite the same. It sounded less like a game of make-believe and more like a conversation he missed half of.
“I told them the story, but they didn’t believe me when I said I learned it from you,” Suzie said to ‘Mary’ in an upset tone. “I know. Adults can be so hardheaded.”
“Children,” her father chuckled.
“What do you mean? No, I’d never say that to them,” Suzie replied. “Of course…No…I don’t know…Well…”
“Perhaps my wife was right to be a little concerned,” the father felt a tightening in his chest. He didn’t like Suzie’s sudden change in tone. She sounded so uncertain. Not scared, but like she’s hearing something she disagrees with, but can’t argue against. What is Mary saying to her?
“Isn’t it scary over there? Lonely, huh?” Suzie continued her conversation. “Hmm…Forever! I mean, I’d like that, but what do you…Oh…I…”
“Quite the elaborate fantasy,” the father felt his heart beating. It was all make-believe, right? So why was he so concerned? At least he was at the door. “Suzie, sweetie, I’m coming in.”
“Daddy? I’m having a tea party right…” Suzie was interrupted by the door opening.
“Suzie, your mother was con…” her father stopped dead in his tracks as his eyes beheld what was on the opposite side of his daughter’s little table. “Sweetie…what is that?”
“Daddy, don’t be mean! That’s Mary,” Suzie huffed as though her father was being rude to a friend. But it was clear whatever she saw was not what her father was seeing. Those twisted shadows at the other end of the table didn’t look like a friend to him. All he could think was, what was this horrible monster, and why was it talking to his daughter?
“Sweetie, could you please back away from…” her father began, but soon found the words dying in his throat. He could feel ‘Mary’s’ gaze upon him, even though he couldn’t see her eyes. He had never felt such malice directed at him before. It felt like he had intruded into the den of a lion and tried to take its cub.
‘GET OUT!’ The words were not said; they did not magically appear in his mind, and they didn’t appear in blood on the wall or materialize in the air. Yet, he could read the room and knew that was what was being communicated to him. He wanted to reach for his daughter and pull her to safety, but something told him that would be an unwise decision.
The father quickly returned to the hall, and the door shut behind him. He was so stunned by the experience that he couldn’t tell if he had done so or if ‘Mary’ had. He needed to call out to his wife, but his body was shaking in terror. He was afraid that if he so much as opened his mouth, ‘Mary’ would take offense somehow.
“No, Daddy wouldn’t do that…” Suzie said. “Well, yes, but he just doesn’t know you yet.”
‘Get up, get moving, tell your wife. Suzie is in danger.’
“And Mommy would…She knows what?” Suzie seemed confused. “What does that mean? No, I don’t want that to happen!”
‘What is she saying? What’s going on? Have to warn my wife.’
“But I’m not ready to go yet. I need…Everything? I don’t even need to pack?” Suzie continued.
‘Up, Up!’ The father forced himself to his feet and rushed downstairs. His wife looked at him in surprise, seeing him so shaken. “Suzie…danger…I don’t know what Mary is, but I think she’s trying to take Suzie away!”
His wife looked at him like he was insane, but the fear on his face was so genuine. How could she dismiss him? She had concerns over the situation, but this far exceeded anything she could imagine. Then, the sounds came from upstairs, and they both rushed back upstairs.
The mother, with a nameless fear in her heart, forced open the door, ready to face whatever may be haunting her daughter, but what she saw next made her heart sink into the floor. She didn’t know what to expect, perhaps a ghost or demon leering over her child. Maybe a monster was dragging her away, or a freakish person was climbing in through the window.
What she didn’t expect to find was an empty room, barren of everything except the floorboards. Even Suzie’s beloved bird-covered curtains were missing. It was as though no one lived here at all. The mother sank to the floor as her husband arrived a second later. They both realized in unison that their daughter was gone.
The father stared out the now undressed window, stolen of everything, even the dust on the sill, hoping it may elucidate their predicament in even the smallest ways. Alas, all he saw was the flicker of a shadow disappearing so fast that he wasn’t sure if he saw anything at all.
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Imagination is all well and good, but you must learn distinguish between what is make believe and what is very real.
Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy.
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