Chapter Two

BEING MADE REAL IS UNREAL TO ME

I was screaming as my body felt like it twisted into a thousand different directions. I never felt pain like this. This pain was piercing hot-complete agony. My legs felt like they were filled with coal that burned, my arms felt stretched around the world. And my chest and stomach were throbbing as though a car hit my middle. I was hurting.

Something cold touched my face and I opened my eyes to see an older looking Jack pat my face before moving on to another friend, was that Pounce? Pounce looked like a nine-year-old boy before, pale blonde hair and blue eyes. Now he looked to be forty years old, his eyes still blue and piercing, but his hair was brown and grayed. I started to sit up and groan, I noticed changes in other imaginary friends. Billy and Jane were twins that were the size five years old. Now they looked to be almost fifty years old. But Jack looked only twenty years old. He was the oldest friend here. How could he look so young? Thoughts of Jack left my mind when I looked down to see my legs two feet longer than usual. My hair felt longer too. My clothes had become unbearably tight. The skirt I wore was ripped and my toes were sticking out of the leather loafers I wore the past ten years.

I must have looked my age now, 19 years old. I was nine when I was forgotten so I always looked nine. But ten years had passed since that time. I must have gained that time back when Jack did... whatever it was he did.

Jack spoke then, "You all have been reborn into real beings. Everyone can see you now."

I started to stand and stumbled, unsteady on my new legs. I then reach for a tablecloth and wrap it around my body.

Jack continues to speak, "You are real now but if your best friend dies, you too will perish." Jack glanced at me and then away.

"The only way to avoid that fate is to kill your best friend yourself. It is the only sure way you can live forever," Jack said before looking at the sky. "My best friend was as good as dead-I put him out of his misery. I have granted you all a miracle." I look down at my feet again and start to kick my shoes off feeling goofy, as I am not a short little girl anymore. Pounce places a hand on my shoulder before looking down at his tight top and short shorts. I recall the table of clothes, move towards it, and look for something about my current size. I take a pair of sweatpants and a black T-shirt with a lion printed on the front. I put the pants on under the sheet around me and then the shirt on over it. Removing the tattered shirt, skirt and sheet, I then grab something for Pounce to wear. The room is silent now. Everyone is too stunned to speak. People are changing clothes and staring at each other, shocked to their bones. Jack picks up something from the ground and then smiles. It's a remote, which he presses, and music starts to play on a stereo box. Friends look around as though lost, two start to dance and Jack smiles as he starts to move around the room dancing to the music. Others begin to join in the dancing and I remain frozen in my spot. I look towards a mirror in the corner and slowly approach it, weary of what I may see. The first thing I notice is my eyes, they are a dark green, and so dark they look brown or black from a distance. I then notice the freckles on my face; my skin is a light cafe au latte shade with dark brown freckles sprinkled across my nose and cheeks. I know they must be all over my body, they were before. I then grab some of my light brown hair, so wavy and light, but thick enough to look wild. I never noticed how light my hair was before. It felt soft, like feathers or maybe silk. Whatever those felt like.

"Flower!" Jumping I turn and look at Berry who has large brown eyes now. She is nearly six feet tall instead of three feet tall. Her bright red hair is pencil straight, as long as her knees. "You look beautiful!"

"You too Berry," I say in response. "I never thought you'd be so tall as an adult."

Berry twirled and smiled, looking at her new dress. "Me either." Berry looked at her delicate hands with long fingers and grinned again. "I'm a real girl." She was a real woman; she looked a few years older than I did.

I nod and look back to Jack. Fear was wrapped up in a ball of shock then jammed stuck in my throat. I weave my way towards Jack and tap him on the shoulder. He comes out of a trance and looks me in the eyes while most everyone else is trapped in a trance set up by being made real.

"How long have you known about this Jack? How long have you planned this?" I ask Jack, curious about the cause and reason for the phenomenon that occurred.

"Not long, I only was made aware what kind of power I had in my hands. Imagine it Flower. Imaginary friends all over the world suddenly turn real. It's amazing isn't it?" Jack smiled wide and looked up at the sky through the broken roof above us.

"Why are you still young?" I ask my voice heavy with seriousness.

"Flower," Jack sighs. His eyes land on mine again. "Don't worry about the details, enjoy being real. It's a miracle granted to us by heaven. Be. Happy." Jack then smiles once again and leaves me to join the crowd.

Happy...

That is when I finally hear the music sink into my bones, forcing my muscles awake. Something inside of me clicks with the music. I'm able to push the fear down and let my feet move with the song. Joining in with the groups feeling of jubilation, warmth rushes through my chest and up to my face. I can't help but think that it is happiness. I find Pounce and Berry and hold their hands, continuing to dance for another two hours.

Night fully in place and the party still going strong, I feel my feet and legs tire. I never grew tired before being made real. I head outside to take in some fresh air and then I remember something important. Lily.

I could see Lily. I start to run in the direction of the house but stop before I leave the park grounds. Dread starts to move its way into my head. What if she doesn't believe I'm me? What if she doesn't remember me? I feel a hand grasp my shoulder and turn to see Jack.

"It's Lily isn't it?" Jack asks me his face smiling with a knowing smile.

I nod my head slowly.

"You can tell her, but it will be bad for you and her," Jack says in warning. I swear sometimes that it felt like Jack could read my mind.

"But it could be good, we could be friends again," I tell Jack defending myself.

"I didn't want to say this until later Flower, but there are drawbacks to being made real. Just as your best friend could control you when you were not real, they can still control you even if you are real. Be careful." Jack leaned closer towards the clubhouse and shrugged his shoulders. "Are you going to come back? The party hasn't stopped, probably won't for some time."

"I'm going to go..." I wasn't sure exactly where I was going to go. I stayed at Lily's house the past ten years unnoticed. They would definitely recognize a stranger sleeping in their daughter's room now. I walked for about 30 minutes towards downtown, instead of the looking at people I looked at signs, trees, and the random pets. I touched a few flowers and leaves amazed at the feeling of actually feeling something. I arrived at a street corner and stood next to the stoplight. I hadn't realized how far I walked, I never made it this far before. My stomach began to grumble and I knew I was hungry-but I was low on money. I walked a little further towards a fast food restaurant, without money I sit down unnoticed by the cashier. At the booth, I look around the room and watch as late night partygoers and workers eat their meals and dessert. Stomach growling I sit and look around contemplating how I could get some food. Maybe ask the cashier if I could help them clean up for food. As I am questioning myself, I notice a group of drunken friends leave their table, leaving a half-eaten burger, some fries and an unfinished drink on the tabletop. I watch them walk to the door and then walk over to their booth, glancing at the cashier along the way. Once I get to their booth I pile their tray with the food, drink, walk back over to where I was sitting, and take a bite of the burger first.

Amazing. It's savory, cheesy and just plain good. I then try the fries, which are salty—too salty. But I eat them anyways because I'm hungry. The soda tastes too syrupy, but I'm thirsty and can't get enough of the liquid in my throat. Finishing the meal in only three minutes I then get up and throw the rest of the trash away, leaving the restaurant in search of another. But my feet are tired from dancing and walking, and I feel this strange feeling of just lying down and passing out. If it was sleep I didn't know, I never slept before. I walk to the park across the street and go to one of the benches. Once I sit down, I look at my surroundings, noticing another person on a bench a few yards away from me. He is lying on the bench with a worn out blanket covering him. Starting to feel foolish for not having my own cover, I pull my sweater down a little and tuck my hands inside the sleeves as I turn sideways to lie down on the hard wooden bench.

It is then that I notice the sky above me and remember the nights when Lily and I would stargaze for hours, making up our own names for the stars and constellations. With that memory in mind I fall asleep, letting the darkness take over my mind.