Alyce Hart

Of course she was grounded. Again. Her parents made her promise that she would come straight home after school if they allowed her to take the bus with her friends. But, she couldn't resist. The tiny rebel just had to take a stroll through the park. She wanted to feel the rain against her skin, she wanted to smell the flowers, she wanted to laugh with her friends. She wanted to pretend her life was normal. And it had been..until her thirteenth birthday. Yep, that was the first time Alyce started seeing her friends. Apparently, she was the only one who could see them. It concerned her parents, but they never encouraged or discouraged her talking with the friends.

No, they simply felt it best to keep her safety their main concern, and never, ever, let someone know about her friends. Her father loved sitting and listening to her stories, he never told her to stop, he would merely reminder her that 'not everyone has the imagination you do. its best to keep it safe'. Alyce never shied away from telling her father about her friends, or when she created a new one, yet this time, she felt different.

Her imagination had always been a vivid one. A place she would much rather spend her time, than studying the books. Alyce would often visit her imagination, that is where her friends were after all. But the night she disobeyed her parents, that moment in the tunnel, was not her imagination. Though, she wished it had been. In her imagination she could control her surroundings better, but that night, she felt normal. And, believed she was to die a normal death. Until he showed up. He wasn't something she ever imagined before, and the fact the men could see him, was proof she was still in reality.

Several nights had past since the tunnel, and Alyce hadn't dared tell her parents the truth of that night. She was convinced they would never let her out of the house.

"That's quite a dreary painting for you, dear Alyce." a voiced purred over her shoulder. Chester the cat, was her longest friend. he appeared the night she turned 13 and hasn't left her side in three years. Though, Alyce would often shoo his sly, and witty self away, she loved him deeply. Some of her friends would come around occasionally, some only for short periods of time, while some she hasn't seen in years. But, not Chester, he came at least once a day, even if to leave Alyce with a snarky comment before going about his way.

"I'm feeling quite dreary these days," she says, swiping the final touches of paint onto her canvas.

"Oh, come now, Alyce. Is this still over the he from the tunnel?"

"Well, yes. Can you explain why in those moments I had hoped a friend would come to save me, and there he was? Except, the men could see him, too? I think -- " she swallowed, "I think he even killed one. Now tell me, dear friend, how can this be of my imagination? Surely, I couldn't create something like that?"

"I see why your mind would be turning," Chester floats over her shoulder, and lays on top of her wet paint. "In due time, you will have your answer."

"And just what do you mean?"

"Dinner!" Alyce's mom calls from downstairs.

A moment of distraction was all Chester needs before leaving her empty handed, while his smile bounced around the room. Alyce gathers her paint water, and tosses it from the opened window when a pair of silver eyes in the distance caught her attention. A new friend, she thinks to herself, and offers a subtle wave before heading down for dinner. Alyce carefully avoids the truth when her parents question her further about her adventure in the park. She had imagined a wolf only once before, but it wasnt near the size of the white wolf, with silver eyes hiding out behind the tree line. She ate as quickly as she could, eager to return to her room and learn about her new friend.

To be continued....next: we find out just how many "friends" Alyce can actually see..

R E A D E R INVOLVEMENT //

What do we think of Alyce so far?