The Imaginary Friends (chapter 1)

Chapter 1: The Dream

It was night time, my favourite time of the day. I was standing under the open sky and not one single person was around. I was alone and the night was young with stars shinning brightly in the dark blue sky. It seems like I am dreaming but everything was too real and vivid. There was a building in front of me, I wanted to go inside the building and explore it. Besides I was alone and Something about this situation seemed so thrilling. A voice inside me was shouting, ” Ana! go inside the building, just go“. I went inside the building and its surroundings looked so familiar, but I put that thought aside.

I was gazing around the parking lot of the building, it was quite spacious. Many cars and bikes were also parked at the backside. I walked ahead towards the lift, went inside and checked, the lift was working fine. Just besides the lift were the stairs, I went up the stairs meanwhile thinking that if there had been any other girl in this type of situation who doesn’t likes to be alone would probably be scared rather than curious. I reached the first floor and then went up to the second floor. Just then I realized that this was my conscience which was guiding me at this moment. On the second floor, the first thing I saw was a flat that was right in front of me and its flat no. 104 that was written on the wall beside. Abruptly I had a feeling of deja v, like I’ve come here before. Then I gazed around, there were total six flats on the floor. But the feeling of deja vu was still there and it was so strong that I had goosebumps on my hands. A voice inside me was shouting again ” Ana! Go inside that flat no. 104, there is no one around, you are alone and you won’t get another chance like this. Forget about everything else right now and just feel. You love the thrilling experiences and you really feel like going inside that house and see what is in there, that is calling you. Follow me, come on“. With my inner voice guiding me so fiercely I walked towards the house. I checked the door whether it was open or closed but it was open. Now this was weird, why would anyone keep the main door open? Weren’t they worried about the robbers or at least their privacy? These questions in my mind didn’t stop me from going inside that flat. I was too far gone now, to stop myself from investigating this whole situation. I never give up on anything so it was unlikely that I would back away now. I was standing inside the house by now, feeling overwhelmed and still had goosebumps on my hands. I was scrolling through the memories in my mind as this was just so familiar to me. I couldn’t remember when had I been here in this flat.

It had two bedrooms with bathrooms, a kitchen, a family room and a balcony. Well there was no one in the flat but all the furniture and other stuff was there. I did the tour of the whole flat and intently observed every detail of the house. I am now standing in the balcony staring at the stars in the sky and feeling such joy that I used to feel when in my childhood days. Then suddenly I focused my sight on the other buildings that were nearby through the balcony, especially the one right in the for front of my eyes. My mind was in a kind of flurry because so many thoughts were running through my mind that I couldn’t focus on any one thing. I was also feeling so mysterious and the inner me was doing somersaults. On one corner of the balcony I saw a pigeon that was sitting in its nest with her little chicks. I just loved pigeons and I couldn’t hold myself back, so I touched the pigeon slightly caressing it. I didn’t wanted to scare that pigeon away, it was looking so peaceful and was staring  at me. Then i touched those little chicks slightly without making any sound. I stepped back and started staring at the pigeon, feeling so peaceful after a long while. I was taking in the familiarity of the situation and started smiling because I just couldn’t decide whether this was a dream or reality. Somewhere in the back of my mind a voice was whispering, “Dreammmm“. Then I heard a voice speaking my name, “Ana ” and I froze for a while because this was my inner voice speaking to me. I smiled again realizing that now this voice will guide me ahead. Again I heard a voice calling out my name but I just realized this voice is coming from outside, its not my inner voice. I looked around the house, searching for that person who was calling me but hey! Wait a minute, how does that person knows my name? I searched the whole flat and checked outside as well, there was not a single person around. During my search I heard the voice, it called me three times.

Again I heard the voice saying, “Go to the balcony, now“. I went to the balcony thinking where is the voice actually coming from? Why does it sounds so familiar ? Now I heard the voice saying “Ana you cannot see me, you can only hear me but if you really wish, I can make myself visible to you and I am so familiar to you because you created me“. Then suddenly I saw a ghostly figure in front of me which was an exact replica of me, oh my god! not only she was my replica but she could also read my thoughts. “Who are you? How do you know my name? And how can you read my mind?” I asked out loud. I heard her saying “I am giving you all the answers, be very still and hear me out. Ana you can hear me because I am your imaginary friend, you yourself created me when you were a child. You created me with your imagination and with your imagination you used to divide me in many more imaginary friends. You used to give us so many names, the names of your real friends. I can hear your mind because I am a part of you, a part of your creation and I am your inner voice as well. I chose to come outside so I could tell you that this is the flat in which you used to live in when you were a child. You were born here in this flat no. 104. That is why you felt deja vu when you came here and looked around the house. And yes you are dreaming, this is your dream.” With this the ghostly figure disappeared and I was stunned when I heard all this. I realized that i was dreaming for real. I woke up in my bed just then, feeling so different and blissful. I definitely remembered the dream I saw and starter smiling .

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This is my first try at writing a short story, so please leave your feedback in the comments and also rate it . More chapters coming soon so stay tuned.