The smell of pancakes woke Toby from his sleep on Sunday morning. The only reason he had been able to fall asleep at all, after saying good bye to Casimir yesterday, had been his exhaustion from the restless night before. His head still felt dizzy, from the events of the past two days, but when he opened his eyes, he realized that everything had been a dream.
In fact, he was still dreaming, because after rapidly opening and closing his eyes several more times, he was still staring directly at the face of a stranger, hovering only about two centimeters above his face. He moved his eyes up and down slowly, realizing that there was a body attached to the strangely familiar face of the stranger.
“Finally! I thought you would never wake up,” the freckled face greeted him energetically, while slowly pulling her face, and the rest of her body, away from Toby. The stranger was a girl. A girl that seemed strangely familiar and that had been hovering magically above his body just seconds ago. “Just like Casimir yesterday,” Toby thought. “What a strange dream.”
“Dream? What do you mean Toby?” the girl responded frantically. “It’s me, Eleanor. Your best friend, remember? Pleaseee don’t tell me you have already forgotten about me again, I don’t want to wait another seven years before you choose to get in touch with some other random imaginary friend that isn’t even yours and only then you remember I exist and – ”
“Okay, okay breathe,” Toby interrupted the stranger, worried she would never take another breath again. Only she wasn’t a stranger and he wasn’t dreaming. “It really is you, you are real and you are here… And you have grown, you actually look my age. Wow, umm hi.” Eleanor tilted her head, giving Toby a funny look. They both started laughing uncontrollably.
After the laughter died, Toby’s face suddenly became more serious, “I still have so many questions, and I am really sorry for having forgotten about you for so long. Actually, for stopping to believe in you at all. Can you forgive me?” he asked his friend, who smiled and nodded in return.
“Well, I’m glad to see some things never change and you still have more questions than anyone could possibly ever answer,” Eleanor said, “But, since I’m such a good best friend, I also know that there is one important thing on your mind that you want to take care of first, so, I will be patient and you can gravel at my feet to beg for forgiveness later.” Toby smiled appreciatively at his re-found friend.
© Marie-Christine Castelazo Hidalgo 2022-08-31