The Society of Imaginary Friends

After finishing the tour of the gothic Guardians of the Boundary Guild, which was filled with secret passages, dark hallways, and tall, arched ceilings, Valerie, Cyrus, and Kanti left The Horseshoe so that Valerie could see the rest of the city.

Kanti had to leave to teach a class on popular culture on Earth to the apprentices, and Cyrus seemed more relaxed after she left. He and Valerie wandered around Silva for hours, peering into strange shops and exploring the winding streets. She insisted on stopping by every shop that sold sweets. Since she wasn’t sure how to barter her power yet, Cyrus volunteered to leave small objects made of light in return for the candy. She gobbled the candy up, though none tasted as good as Dulcea’s pastries.

“Dr. Freeman would freak out if he knew how much junk I’m eating! But maybe not. Maybe he doesn’t have time to think about me.”

“Why do you always do that?”

“What?”

“Assume no one cares about you. Trust me; you’re not the kind of person people forget.” A piece of Valerie’s heart that she didn’t know was frozen thawed a little. “Anyway, it’s almost dinner time, and Dulcea doesn’t like it when anyone comes late.”

They burst into the dorm cafeteria in the nick of time, and Dulcea was waiting at the door, watch in hand. “Right on time. Valerie, how are you liking Silva?”

“I love it. There’s so much to see!”

“Excellent!”

“And thank you so much for my room. I love it.”

“Of course! That’s what I’m here for. Now, you two go fill your plates and make sure you leave room for dessert!”

A long buffet full of strange dishes stood in the middle of the room. On either side of the buffet were round tables filled with other young Conjurors of different ages studying at the Society of Imaginary Friends. In the group of around one hundred, Valerie spotted several fairies, two giant people who towered five feet over everyone else, and five boys with bright red hair who were completely identical. Were they were brothers, or was one was an amoebiate, like Thai, and they were all clones?

She put a little bit of everything on her plate, and then she and Cyrus sat alone at a table in the corner. This time, she didn’t hesitate to taste everything, no matter how strange it smelled. She was in ecstasy, and she practically inhaled everything in sight. It was as if a part of her couldn’t believe that she was finally going to have as much to eat as she wanted, so she had to fill up before it all disappeared.

“Cy, you have got to try this purple lumpy thing; it’s the perfect amount of salty and sweet! It’s like mashed potatoes with a little hint of sugar.”

“It’s muddleberry pudding. It’s really popular in Elsinore, where Kanti’s from. She’s always eating that stuff.”

Once Valerie had her fill and topped it off with a chocolate filled with a sweet cream, she sat back, content.

“Finally! I’ve been waiting to give something to you,” Cyrus said. From under his shirt, he pulled out a long chain that he was wearing around his neck. On the end of the chain was a clear sphere. He pulled it over his head and handed it to her.

She took it, looking curiously at the image that was flickering inside the sphere. At first, she couldn’t make it out, but then the image shifted, and she realized what she was seeing. Inside the sphere was a moving picture of Valerie when she was little, playing with a dollhouse that she recognized from when she was seven years old. It was her first trip to the hospital, and it had been her favorite toy. “It’s me in there,” she said in confusion.

“Yeah. This was made for you. It’s your protective charm, so that when you were on Earth, no one could find you except for me.”

“Like the charm Venu has that stopped you from finding him?”

“Yes. For the past few years, the Society of Imaginary Friends has been issuing these charms for all kids with imaginary friends so that they can’t be found by the Fractus.”

Valerie put it around her own neck. “Thanks, Cy. For keeping me safe. Not only with this, but also from all those monsters. You made it fun to fight those guys, so I was never really afraid. I don’t know what I would have done without you all those years.”

“I never took it off, even after you stopped believing in imaginary friends. I wanted to make sure that nothing bad would ever happen to you.”

Her heart squeezed in her chest. Maybe he wouldn’t get sick of her, like the others. After all, he had been her best friend for a long time, and he hadn’t abandoned her yet.

Before they said goodnight, Cyrus explained how to project to Earth. He assured her that there was really nothing to it other than a lot of concentration, but she was doubtful. She decided not to try it for the first time in front of Cyrus—she’d definitely embarrassed herself enough in front of him over the past few weeks.

That night, Valerie entered her room and found that she had the space to herself. As she unwound Cyrus’s flower of light from her hair, she had to smile at how perfectly Dulcea had decorated her room. There was even a poster of her favorite band, the Crew, on the wall. She put the flower on her bedside table, where it glowed softly, like a nightlight. Then, taking a deep breath, she decided that it was time to make her first trip back to Earth. Kanti wasn’t back from her class yet, and Valerie was glad. For some reason, visiting Thai was private.

She squeezed her eyes shut and thought of Thai. She pictured his dark, intense eyes, and imagined the sound of his voice when he thought he could tell her what to do. She was thinking so hard that it took her a few seconds to notice that someone was talking to her.

“You’re here already, open your eyes,” a familiar voice ordered her.

She popped open her eyes and Thai was sitting in a green chair next to a hospital bed where Chisisi lay, watching her with interest.

“Chisisi! Are you really okay?”

“Yes, yes, no need for more fuss. And my efforts were most gladly given, seeing that you have made your journey safely.”

She turned her wide eyes to Thai. “He knows?”

“He knew the whole time,” Thai said with a shake of his head, but she could see that he wasn’t annoyed. His glance at Chisisi seemed affectionate.

“Then you know you were attacked because of me,” she said, all of her guilt rushing back. “I’m so sorry for what happened to you.”

“It is no fault of yours. It was the Fractus who did this to me, not you. I am proud that I had the chance to thwart their plans and to help you make your way to your new home.”

“Thank you for everything you’ve done,” she said, and Chisisi nodded his head.

“Speaking of your new home, how is it there? Are they treating you okay?” Thai asked.

Valerie filled him in on her fight with Venu in the pyramid, her trip to the Globe, and all of the marvelous things she’d seen. Thai and Chisisi listened with quiet attention.

When she finished, Thai burst out, “I can’t believe that Venu sneaked past me! I was staring at the pyramid, waiting to see you leave, and he must have crawled in right behind my back. I knew I should have come through the tunnel with you, no matter what you and Cyrus thought. You could have been hurt!”

“It worked out okay. He’s not following either of you anymore, is he?”

“The frog man is quite gone, I assure you,” Chisisi said. “Your benefactor looked in to the matter and said that he has left the country.” Valerie breathed a sigh of relief. She noticed that Chisisi was tired, and his eyes closed.

In a softer voice, she whispered to Thai, “I heard you’re going home for a while.”

“I want to say goodbye, since I won’t see my parents and my brothers and sisters for a while. I’ve missed them. I wish I could tell them what’s going on.”

“Maybe someday, you will. Obviously, there’s magic in your family. Maybe they’ll understand.”

Thai’s face darkened. “I hope this doesn’t happen to any of them. I want them to have normal lives.”

She watched his mouth tense with worry, and wished that she could touch his face and smooth the worry away. “It’s so good to see you.”

Thai’s face softened. “I know. It’s not the same without you. No one to get me into trouble.”

“I’ll be back soon. Tell Chisisi I said good-bye.”

“Bye, Valerie,” Thai said.

She concentrated and let her mind be pulled back to the Globe. It wasn’t until she sat on her own bed that she remembered she had forgotten to ask him what he thought about choosing between the Guardians and the Knights. She’d have to visit him again tomorrow, she thought with a sleepy smile.

That night, she didn’t fall asleep as soon as she lay down. She loved the Globe, and she knew that this was where she finally belonged, but something was missing. Would a piece of her always remain on Earth, at Thai’s side?