By: Yufan Wu

It’s been some time. 5 years to be exact, he’s already 14. I remember when we first met in first grade; he was 6 years old and so was I. He was the only one that could see me. None of my other classmates or even the teachers could. The first day of first grade was when I first saw him. It was at recess, the sun was out and there wasn’t a single cloud in the sky, the wind tousled his hair. We made eye contact and at first, I thought he was staring into space because no one else had ever noticed me before, but then he started to walk closer. Initially, we were extremely awkward, couldn’t hold eye contact for even a minute, and couldn’t even sit next to each other. He ignored his other friends and they all thought he was crazy as they saw he was just talking to air. Of course, none of them could see me and we never figured out why.

He continued to only play and talk to me and slowly he began to lose friends. One by one, he watched them leave him, calling him weird or strange. He didn’t care though, he was happy that I was still by his side. By the time he was 9, all his friends had left him and his parents were starting to become worried for him.

They took him to see a therapist and the therapist decided that it would be best for him to have a change of scenery, the therapist suggested England, and so his parents began their trip there. Before they left, he went to go find me, of course, I didn’t let him see me, I wanted what was best for him. For him to move to England and make some “real” friends was what I thought was good for him.

I never thought I would see him again, until today. It’s been some time, 5 years to be exact, he must have come back to visit, to recollect the memories. Not much about him changed, the corner of his eyes still crinkle as he smiles and he still laughs at the stupidest things. The day was clear and the sun shone bright and not a single cloud crowded the sky, we made eye contact and he slowly walked closer. When he finally reached me, he had tears in his eyes, “I knew you were real.” he whispered as his arms wrapped around my neck. It’s been some time since I felt the warmness of his embrace, I reluctantly hugged back. “You have friends now.” I whispered into his ear, he whispered back, “Just some close classmates from England.” I breathed a sigh of relief.

I pulled back from our hug and made eye contact with him one last time, “You are now free.” I breathed. A last tear rolled down my face as I turned my back and walked away, never to look back ever again.