I was five years old when I was born. Well, imagined would be the better word.
His name was Jacob Anderson. He’d imagined me a week after his fifth birthday. His father had forgotten and his mother…well, she hadn’t been alive since he was born.
The reason that he imagined me was that he was homeschooled and wasn't allowed to leave the house without supervision. His dad was the only supervision that he had and he didn't ever pay attention to Jacob. So the boy could never go out and make any friends.
“Vera,” was the first thing he said when I arrived. He smiled at me and I smiled back at him. There was an immediate connection.
“Hello,” I said. “Where am I? Who am I? Who are you?”
“You’re in my room,” his young, high pitched voice answered. “Your name is Vera...um…Lewis and my name is Jake Anderson.”
Jake had sandy blonde hair and bright blue eyes that resembled a clear blue sky. Long eyelashes surrounded them and a smooth, tan complexion completed a surferboy look.
I nodded, slowly taking in that information and looking around his room, which was now my home. It was very well furnished and decorated with a sports theme. There were a couple of toys scattered around the room and the bed was perfectly made.
“You’re five years old, just like me, and you’re my best friend…you’re my only friend,” he continued. He had a sad look on his face, so I walked over to him and gave him a hug.
It startled him because he didn’t know that I was able to touch him, but he hugged me back.
Jacob taught me everything I needed to know about the world, its technology, people, politics and entertainment.
His father was Mayor Anderson of Orlando, Florida and he didn’t have time for his own son. That was the one and only thing that made me hate his father.
As the years passed, Jacob grew older and so did I. We became joined at the hip and he’d always keep me a secret from his father. Even though I was young, I knew that I loved Jake. He was the only person that I knew and cared about. He was the only one that I'd ever wanted to know or care about. He was my everything, and I knew that I was his.
We would play many games together and people began to think that he was insane.
One day, Jacob’s father called him into his office. I stood right outside the door, eavesdropping.
“Jacob, who is Vera?” Mr. Anderson asked his now eleven year old son.
“How do you know about her?” Jacob asked in reply.
“I overheard you talking to her in your room last night. Who is she?”
I heard Jacob swallow hard.
“My imaginary friend,” he answered softly.
“Imaginary friend? Why the hell do you need an imaginary friend?! Do you know what people are saying about you? They’re saying that you need ‘professional help’ and that you’re crazy!” Mr. Anderson yelled.
Jacob remained silent.
“I will not have people thinking that my only son is a lunatic. Do you now how badly that would effect my chances of getting re-elected? You need to get rid of her,” his father ordered. “Now.”
I ran to Jacob’s bed and cried.
Seconds later I heard, “Vera?”
“I know,” I sobbed. “You have to get rid of me.”
He climbed on the bed and put his arms around me. His blue eyes bore into my green ones.
“I’m so sorry, Vera,” he said, tears rolling down his cheeks. “But…I don’t believe in imaginary friends anymore.”
He murmured “I’m sorry” over and over again.
Suddenly, a bright light surrounded me and I was lifted into the air.
Jacob called out and reached for me. Tears ran down his cheeks.
One minute I was in his room and the next, I was in a courtroom. There were three judges sitting before me and each was unique.
There was a woman who looked as if she could be 120 years old, a man who looked about the same age, and an animal of some sort who looked ancient.
“Where am I?” I asked with a scared voice.
“The imaginary friend court room,” the woman answered in a loving, grandmotherly way.
“Oh,” I said. I felt a little better by the way she was smiling. “Who are you?”
The woman stood.
“We are the imaginary friend council. I am Hannabella, Queen of all Female Friends.”
She was about six feet tall and had long grey hair that reached her feet. Her eyes were a bright pink which I found creepy when I first saw her. She had a pale complexion and her skin was wrinkly like anyone's grandmother.
She gestured to her right where the man sat.
“He is Jonathan, King of all Male Friends.”
Jonathan was a bit taller than Hannabella and he had salt and pepper hair. His eyes were rainbow colored and I couldn't keep my one eyes off of them. He had more of an olive complexion, but his skin was just as wrinkled as Hannabella's.
She gestured to her left where the animal sat.
“And lastly, this is Sander, King of all Creature Friends.”
Sander was the creepiest but most intersting creature I'd ever seen. He had the head of a rottweiler, the body of a lion and the talons and wings of a bald eagle. But all of those things were much bigger than they would be on the normal animal that they belonged to.
I stood there, taking that information in and trying not to yell bloody murder. I wanted to go back to Jake so badly.
“Why am I here?” I asked.
“To be assigned to a new child,” Hannabella told me. “You are an official imaginary friend now. Your job is to keep children company and help them make their lives better until they say ‘I no longer believe in and/or need imaginary friends.’ Wheather they mean it or not.”
I bit my lip.
“Will I ever see Jake again?” I asked.
Hannabella ignored my question and said, “Michael will show you where you will reside until you are reassigned.”
A boy that was about a year older than me walked up and took my hand.
He led me to a big door and it opened. As we walked down a long hall, I examined him.
Michael had floppy, black hair, green eyes and tanned skin. He had the build of a baseball player.
“Where are we going?” I asked the twelve year old, deciding that I would get at least some answers from him if no one else would give them to me.
“To the living quarters. There are only four buildings in all of Imagine. The Main Building which is where we are now, the Female Living Quarters, the Male Living Quarters and the Creature Living Quarters,” he informed me.
We exited the Main Building and I gasped. There were three other buildings and they were gigantic! They were about the size of twenty football fields each, maybe more. Around them were booths and rides that you would see at a carnival. It was beautiful and I couldn’t wait to play.
“Do you like it?” Michael asked. He looked at me with the most beautiful smile I’d ever seen.
I nodded and smiled, twirling my long brunette curls between my fingers.
He continued to smile at me and I giggled. We then continued to walk, hand in hand, until we got to the entrance of the Female living quarters.
“Well, here they are,” Michael said. “It’s late and since you and I are still under thirteen, it’s bedtime for us.”
I nodded.
“Okay. Then I’ll see you tomorrow?” I asked.
He smiled and kissed my cheek.
“Definitely,” he answered.
He walked away and I entered the building.
I looked around in amazement. The entire building was filled with girls of every size, age, ethnicity and shape.
A dark skinned girl with bright blue hair and eyes skipped over to me.
“Well hi there!” she said with a giggle. She looked as if she was about fourteen years old. “I’m Bubbles. Who are you?”
“I’m Vera. I’m new here,” I answered.
“I can tell,” Bubbles said. She smiled and stuck out her hand. “It’s very nice to meet you Vera.”
I shook her hand and smiled.
“It’s nice to meet you, too.”
I met two other people that night. They were all close friends of Bubbles, but they soon became my close friends, too.
The first was Candy. She had lightly tanned skin, hazel eyes and bubble gum colored hair. She was my age and we were going to share a room.
The second was Luna. She had pale skin and grey eyes. Her hair was the color of the moon and it had navy blue tips. She was the oldest of all of us at fifteen years old and she was the most protective. Because of that, she always went to bed when we did, no matter what.
“I’ll be in the room right across from you with Bubbles,” she said. “If you need anything, I’m there all night.”
I nodded and climbed into bed. There was a nice, big window next to my bed and I looked out at the moon.
Candy walked in and smiled at me.
“So, how do you like everything so far?” she asked as she crossed over to sit on my bed.
“It’s nice,” I said with a smile. “I think I’m gonna have a good time here.”
Candy nodded and looked at me. She tilted her head a bit.
“You miss him don’t you?” she asked.
“Who?”
“Jacob.”
I looked away, trying to hide my tears.
Candy crawled over and hugged me.
“Everyone misses their first kid.”
I looked up at her and asked, “How do you know that Jake was my kid? I never told you about him.”
“My first kid gave me the ability to detect what’s wrong with someone when they’re sad,” she explained with a shrug.
I wiped my tears.
“Well, we better get to bed,” I said. “I want to be up early so that I can…”
“Meet up with Michael?” Candy interrupted. She looked at me and wiggled her eyebrows.
I blushed and she laughed.
“Don’t worry. I won’t tell him that you like him,” she said with a wink.
I shook my head and laughed softly before I climbed into bed and dreamed about Michael, Jacob and my new home.
Ten Years Later
“Veeeeerrrrraaaaaaaa. Wake uuuupppppp,” a voice said the next morning.
I groaned and pulled the covers over my head.
“I don’t wanna,” I said in a pouty voice.
Candy laughed and pulled the covers off of me.
“Well then I guess Michael is gonna have to find a new girl. He’s not gonna wait outside forever, you know,” she said.
I sat up and looked at her.
“He’s here?” I asked.
She nodded, a wide smile spread across her face.
I jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom. I took a five minute shower and wrapped a towel around my body before rushing back into the room.
I dressed in a light purple sundress and matching flip flops. I brushed out my hair and gelled it expertly so that the curls would stay in tact all day. I applied eyeliner, mascara and a bit of lip gloss and turned to Candy.
“How do I look?” I asked.
She closed her magazine and stood up from her bed. She walked around me and smiled.
“You look great,” she answered.
I smiled, hugged her, and yelled a “thanks” as I ran down the hall towards the main entrance.
On the way, I bumped into Luna and Bubbles.
“I guess Candy told you that Michael is here,” Bubbles said with a giggle.
I blushed and nodded.
Luna smiled and said, “Well, go get your man, Vera.”
I thanked her and hugged them both. Then, I ran to the entrance and pushed the door open.
There stood my tall, tan and handsome boyfriend of nine years.
I ran to him and jumped onto his arms. He held me tight and spun me around, causing me to squeal and laugh. We looked into each other’s eyes and kissed passionately.
When we pulled away he said, “These past six months without you have been hell.”
I smiled sadly.
“I know, but at least you helped make another child happy,” I told him.
He nodded and took my hand.
“That’s true. And it sure does feel good to help little kids,” he said as we walked towards the rides and booths, hand in hand.
“So, tell me about your kid this time.”
He smiled.
“She’s six years old and her name is Marley,” he started. “She has long, black hair and these really unique blue eyes. Her mom and dad were both lawyers and she had to be taken care of by a nanny who didn’t care about her.”
I frowned and said, “I’m glad you were there to take care of her. How did you finally help her?”
“I told her that she needed to tell her parents that she wanted them to spend time with her and act like her actual parents. When she did, they listened and it took them months to come up with a way to do that,” Michael answered.
I smiled.
“Well at least they did something. And it must have been good enough because you’re back now,” I said.
He nodded as a smile spread across his lips.
“At least I’m here with you now. I couldn’t stop thinking about you the whole time.”
We kissed and I felt completely happy and at home.
Just then, Carlisle, Hannabella’s assistant, walked up to us.
“Vera Lewis, Queen Hannabella would like to speak with you,” she said.
I nodded and kissed Michael one last time.
“I guess it’s my time to go now.”
He frowned and I told him not to worry. I would be back as soon as I could.
“You wanted to speak with me your majesty,” I said as I walked into Hannabella’s bedroom.
Hannabella turned and smiled at me.
“Yes, darling, I did,” she told me. “I’m afraid it’s time for you to go and care for another child.”
I nodded with a sad look on my face.
“Yes, your majesty.”
Hannabella walked up to me and took my hands in hers.
“I know that Michael just came back, sweetheart. But sometimes we have to make sacrifices for the children,” she said in her grandmotherly tone.
“I understand. There’s nothing more that I want to do than make a child’s life better.”
She smiled and said, “Well, there is a six year old by the name of Marie Jones that is waiting for you. Her parents are very poor and are always working, so they barely have time for her. She has no friends at school except for the temporary teacher.”
“Thank you. I will do my best to make her happy.”
haha, either way, I do like the ending, and this whole idea of a world for imaginary friends reminds me of that cartoon Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, WHICH I LOVED! Just wanted to say that. 
