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Emma Tomlinson unlocked the front door with her key and entered the house quietly as the school bus pulled away from the curb outside.
Her mother had given her the key at the start of the school year, declaring that since she’d graduated kindergarten with flying colors, she was old enough and responsible enough to have a key of her own. Emma privately suspected the real reason her mother had gotten her the key was so she could take the bus home instead of having to be picked up and dropped off all the time. On nice days like today it wasn’t so bad, but on the hot days it was pretty miserable. Still, it was better than walking - the one time Emma had tried that, she’d stopped to rest halfway home and had ended up nodding off. The resulting scolding from when she’d finally arrived back at the house late enough in the afternoon that Daddy was home had not been worth it, and she hadn’t tried again.
Voices from the living room interrupted her train of thought, and a quick peek confirmed that her mother was in what looked like another serious, boring meeting. She was dressed up nice, anyway, and sitting straight-backed on her armchair with a laptop balanced across her knees, her tablet in one hand and her phone shining from where it rested on the arm of the chair.
“I’m telling you, we spent 38,000 last year for twelve licenses to a sandbox environment we never used. Not one login, the whole year! We need to amend the contract to…”
Emma tuned her out and walked into the kitchen, putting her school backpack down on one of the chairs. There wasn’t much in it today, just her drawings book and her pencil case. There’d been a test today, and then they’d gone over it in long, boring detail, so Emma hadn’t bothered to bring any of her other books. Which was good, because it left plenty of room for snacks.
Walking over to the fridge, it took some tugging to get it open but Emma managed it without too much fuss. Her mother didn’t even pause in her statements at the noise of the door opening, and Emma heaved an internal sigh of relief as she reached in and pulled out the plastic bag with today’s snack inside. She couldn’t help the big smile that pulled at the corners of her mouth; since she didn’t have homework today, she could go see her good friend Growly! Growly loved snacks.
Putting the bag in her backpack, Emma slid it back onto her shoulders and padded quietly into her mom’s line of sight. Her mom hated to be interrupted during Important Meetings, but she disliked it more when Emma slipped off without telling her. This was the best compromise Emma could come up with, and while it took a few minutes her mother eventually did notice her standing and waiting.
“Excuse me for a moment, please? My kid wants something.”
Her mother waited a few seconds before pressing a button on the laptop and turning her attention fully on Emma.
“What’s up kiddo?”
Emma shuffled her feet, nervous, but she knew better than to waste her mother’s time while other people were waiting.
“Can I go see Growly today?”
Her mother blinked. “You’re still seeing him? Emma, aren’t you a little….old to be having an imaginary friend?”
Emma stomped her foot. “He’s my friend! He’s got pretty eyes and the best stories!” She could feel her lower lip quivering; just because her mom never saw Growly didn’t make him any less real! Not that she could be bothered to come and look, anyway, with her Important Business Meetings. She never had time for Emma anymore.
Her mother held up her hands in surrender. “Fine, fine. Have you got any homework?” At Emma’s vigorous head shake, she shrugged and turned her attention back to her computer screen. “Yeah, fine. Just make sure you get home before Daddy does, okay?”
“Okay!” Emma was out the door in a flash, before her mother could realize that Daddy was away on a business trip and wouldn’t be home for days. Emma figured as long as she got back home before sunset, it would be fine.
As she left, she could hear her mother resume her call behind her. “Sorry for the delay. What? Oh, to go visit her imaginary friend Growly. I know she’s a little old for it, but kids will be kids…”
Emma practically flew down the sidewalk as she ran towards the small park a few blocks down from her house, only stopping to look both ways at each street like Julio the Gardener had taught her. It wasn’t the prettiest park, but that was okay. Emma loved it there anyway. It was quiet most days, and Growly was here!
Growly was her new best friend. He listened to her patiently when she talked about whatever was in her head and never told her to be quiet or to please take the noise somewhere else. He was soft and nice to hug, and didn’t mind if she squeezed with all her might. If someone was mean to her at school, he’d hold her until the tears stopped and then tell her the most wonderful stories. Growly was the best.
Emma didn’t slow down until she’d reached the line of trees that marked the start of the walking trails along the creek, where she had to slow down or risk tripping on an exposed root. Plus the walk gave her time to get her breath back, not that it was the easiest path to get to Growly. Down a hill, jump across a little stream-let that had carved a deep niche out of the ground, up a hill, down another hill to the creek proper, then across the creek on some smooth stepping-stones that were fun to play on as long as you didn’t mind getting a little wet.
Finally she reached the long, muddy bank where the creek nearly touched the practice fields and the trees were big and old. One really big one had had the dirt half-washed away from its roots and now formed a cozy little space where Growly lived.
Emma walked up to the tree with a spring in her step. “Growly!” she called; it was always polite to make sure the person you were here to see was actually in. Growly was, most times, but she still used her manners.
Two glowing orbs appeared in the darkness under the tree, followed by two more, followed by a third set. They shone with an eerie light, but Emma liked them. They reminded her of the fancy earrings her mother wore when she went out with Daddy for a night and left Emma with the babysitter, who never minded how late she stayed up or what she had for dinner. They were red and blue and green and all the colors in between, and changed constantly. Emma could look at them for hours and not get bored, and Growly often let her.
She grinned at her best friend and shrugged her backpack off her shoulders. Reaching in, she pulled out the plastic bag and opened it to let Growly see the raw, bloody steak inside.
“See Growly, I brought you your favorite! It’s kinda cold, though, sorry. I know you don’t like that.”
Growly didn’t seem to mind, though, as a paw covered in emerald green fur and tipped with seven long, brightly polished black claws emerged from the shadows beneath the tree and delicately snagged the steak. The steak looked kind of silly and small as Growly pulled it back beneath the tree, and Emma spent a brief moment wondering if she could find bigger steaks before dismissing the idea. Any heavier and she couldn’t run all the way here and she liked Growly too much to give up any precious minutes.
Settling herself down on the special chair Growly had made just for her out of sticks and leaves, Emma pulled out her drawing book and her pencil box, and began painstakingly drawing the tree and the roots and all of it. She could hear Growly making his funny happy noise as he munched on the steak, and she grinned to herself. He was so silly!
“So, today in class we had a math test…”