THE DEATH OF HIS BEST FRIEND
I knew it. It had to be something else… Some special thing. And one night while I lay in bed trying to go to sleep, it came to me.
MAKE-BELIEVE FRIEND
Since I couldn’t have real friends of my own, I just have to make up a friend… A very special friend. And I did. I called him Frank and he was just my size he liked me a lot and I sort of liked him, too, but I made believe he liked me more than I liked him and so it was sort of a good deal for him to get to play with me. Frank was my invisible friend for years to come
I used to talk with them all the time and he talked back, but he’d only say things that I wanted him to say like, “Hey, Bobby, let’s go out in the backyard and ride in your Jeep.”
‘LONG’ ADVENTUROUS WALKS
One of the nicest things I can remember about my times with Frank is when we would take long walks together. It was always such an adventure, because we never knew what exciting things we would find. Remember, though, I was under five years old at the time, so long walks to me meant my mother gave me permission to walk down to the corner candy store just one block from our house. My mother and I would go for walks sometimes, but it was never the same as when Frank and I got to go all by ourselves.
It’s funny, but it would take a long, long time for us to reach the candy store. We’d always find a stray puppy to play with or an ant hill to watch or some distraction that was just fascinating to us. What was especially nice was that Frank was always just as excited about things as I was.
Eventually would make it to the candy store and wind up spending even more time there. We’d look into the cases and cases of colorful candies and I think we’d look over every piece before we’d pick something out. Some of the time we’d just go to look and put our noses up against the glass and envy the other children buying little bags of candy, but every once in a while, when I was very good at home, like when I’d help my mother sweep or put away my toys in my toy chest, then she would give me two pennies for candy.
SHARING WITH FRANK
Naturally, I’d share one of my pennies with Frank.
“Here, Frank, here’s your penny. You can buy anything you want with it at the candy store,” I’d tell him.
“Thanks, Bobby, I think I want softy jellybeans today, but I’m not sure, so I’ll look while you do.”
I never quite had my mind made up before hand, so from jar to jar we’d go looking at every piece until we were sure. Mind you, I never actually talk to Frank in front of anyone. When we’d get inside the candy store, I just pretended that Frank and I were talking things over. When Frank had “told” what he wanted and I had made my choice, I’d buy the candy for both of us and then skip off down the street until I was all alone. Then I tell Frank it was okay now, we could talk again, and I start to eat my candy.
“You know, Bobby, all of a sudden I don’t feel hungry anymore. Why don’t you eat my candy for me. Will you?” Frank would say.
“Okay, Frank, and thanks buddy.”
You know, Frank was always like that. While no other kids cared about me, Frank liked me no matter what and I liked him. I guess that’s why I confided all my secrets to Frank. I’d always tell him exactly how I felt all the time and even told him where I kept my Secret Box and what I had inside it.
TREASURES OF MY SECRET BOX
My parents didn’t even know about my Secret Box. This was an old shoebox that I had sneaked from my room and I kept it hidden behind a white board in the back part of our garage. In it I keep my very private and treasured possessions. What were they? Oh, why one big clear blue marble, little pieces of wire, and a few nails, and a dime–all that I found when Frank and I would take our walks. Actually, there was nothing of value or even anything that might be used but to me they were the most important things in the world. They were even more important than the toys Santa Claus brought me, because these were the things that I had found all by myself and only Frank and I knew about them.
Actually, my parents knew about Frank, and sometimes that would be a touchy subject. I realize now how they felt about my invisible friend, but at the time I was always afraid that they wouldn’t like my friend. Really, they had mixed emotions about the whole thing. On one hand they thought it was wonderful that I had such of the vivid imagination to actually invent a friend, because they were sorry I didn’t have any friends my own age. But on the other hand, they always wondered when my pretending would end and IF it would end.
FRANK WAS SICK TOO
Sometimes they were glad that there was a Frank. When I would come down with a cold, that’s when they really appreciated my friend. Most children are pretty restless when they’re young and they have to stay in bed. But I never complained, because I never felt like I was alone. In my mind, when I’d come down with a cold or something, so would Frank. He’d catch it for me so we’d play games and the hours would just seem to drift away and before I knew it, I was all well and I could go outside and play again.
Losing Frank was both a sad and a happy time for me. How did I lose Frank? Well, one day he just went away. It was about the time I began kindergarten. There I met some wonderful boys and girls just my own age and they didn’t treat me like the older kids used to. They liked me and always wanted to play with me because I would teach them how to play games they’d never played before–games that I had made up while playing with Frank.
When I would be alone, I’d think about Frank and all the fun we had together and I would be tinged with the sadness, but it wouldn’t last long, because now my time after school was filled with wonderful hours playing with my new friends, my real friends. When I think about it, even today, I think of Frank as if he were real and can honestly say that he was one of the best friends I ever had.
In Chapter 2, I’ll tell you about some of the wild games I’d dream up and more fun from my childhood days.
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