An entity tied to me - part 1

"YN, the food's ready!" my mom says.

"Coming!" I shout back and close the book I'm reading for the past few hours; People from another world.

This book is supposed to solve the mystery that's around me since the day I was born, to help me understand what's the problem with me.

You see I have an invisible friend, like every child my age does. The difference is that my friend is not imaginary. He exists, well, kind of. We communicate as well. I can easily understand what he's saying to me and so does he.

The problem is I can't live my life like

other children my age do. Wherever I go, I keep causing so much trouble and keep scaring people around me. As a result, I stay home accompanied by Michael, the only friend I have and try to protect myself. Even though I have someone to talk to, I feel extremely lonely and like I'm not wanted anywhere. And all these awful things 'cause Michael is uncontrollable. There's not even a minute when he doesn't get involved in something - trying to protect me when others make fun of me, being mischievous as to express my anger for something etc. So here I am, locked in my own home, without any human friend, trying to figure out why is this happening to me, why Michael and I are tied together.

"Honey are you coming or not?" my mother asks.

"Sure mom, I'm coming!" I say once more as I go down the stairs and enter the kitchen.

But something stops me to go any further and tells me to stand by the door hedge for a moment. A moment to see my parents, especially my father, being relieved that I'm not around yet. That makes me feel even more depressed than a few moments ago and more lonely than ever. I close my eyes and inhale deeply before entering the kitchen.

By the time I go inside the room, my parents stop talking to each other and turn to face me.

"Oh, hello honey!" mom says with a faint smile on her lips.

"Hello daughter..." says my father without smiling.

"Hi..." I answer as I take my seat on the table.

We all stare at our plates for a few seconds. At least mom has cooked my favorite food today; spaghetti with tomato sauce and meatballs and some orange juice for me and a glass of wine for my parents. After a couple of awkward seconds, my father clears his throat and begins to talk.

"So, YMN, thank you for cooking dinner for us tonight. It sure seems delicious."

"Well, dig in!"mom says with a smile forming on her lips.

A faint smile appears on my lips and I take a spoonful of my spaghetti. Then I turn to mom.

"It's great..." I muttered trying to cheer her up.

The smile on her face grows a little wider and strokes my cheek with her soft palm.

"Glad you liked it, honey..." she tells me softly.

She then turns back to her plate and we all continue eating silently.

***

"Yes, Michael, I'd love to go out and play with them. But you know that I can't..." I whisper to Michael, while I stare at those kids outside playing in the snow.

I get a little bit jealous and as I can't stand watching them having fun, knowing that I can't, I stand up and go to the kitchen. I find my mother in there and approach her. I tap her arm and try to catch her attention.

"Honey, I'm a little busy right now making the cake as a dessert after our dinner."

"But, mom, I just wanted you to give me a hug..." I tell her giving her the puppy eyes.

"Aren't you a little old for hugs?" my father snaps as he enters the kitchen, probably to have a glass of water.

"Everyone needs a hug from time to time!" mom tells him rolling her eyes and turns to face me.

She, then, pulls me into a tight hug. A feeling of relief grows inside me for a few seconds, before my mom pulls away. You cannot imagine how good I feel when she hugs me... I feel safe and loved and I don't want to let go of these hugs... I wish they would last forever...

Anyway, after pulling away, she places her hand on my cheek and caresses it.

"I love you, sweetheart!" she whispers before turning back to the cake.

"I love you too..." I whisper back and leave the room, walking past my father, who's glancing at me with his eyes full of hatred.

Gosh, why are you looking at me like that? It's not my fault I'm different! I think and stare at him angrily for a few seconds.

"What are you looking at, kid?" he asks sternly.

The anger inside me grows bigger and stronger. As a result, the door behind him closes with a loud bang and the glass of water he's holding breaks.

"Michael, stop it!"I mutter pretending to be irritated by his behavior.

This time, I feel extremely happy for Michael's behavior. Father totally deserves that kind of treatment from time to time, in order to make him understand to treat me nicely. I know he can't see me as a person, but at least he has to act nicely towards me.

So, after Michael's little attack, I leave the kitchen and go to my room. Once I get in my room, I lie on my bed and turn in the TV, in order to watch my favorite cartoons.

Three hours later

I eat the last bite of my cake and leave the kitchen. I enter the living room and sit at my favorite spot near the window. Sitting by the window and watching the kids play, people passing by, nature doing all those miraculous things she does, make me dream. I seem to forget all the problems I have because of Michael, and live in my own world. Me, playing with other kids in the snow, having true friends that accept me for who I am, being treated as a person and not as a monster. A melancholic feeling comes through me and I sigh.

"Is everything ok, YN?" Mom asks me.

"Yes, mom, everything is ok. Thing is I'm a little bored..." I tell her.

She stays silent for a few seconds before she speaks.

"Then why don't you get out and play?" she finally says.

"Go outside and play? I mean for real?" I squeal and my cheeks start burning. I just can't believe that she told me that I can go out and play.

"For sure!" she answers and a smile is forming on her lips.

"Cool, thanks, mom!" I say and hug her tightly.

"You're welcome, sweetheart! " she tells me."But you have to promise me that you will be away from any kind of trouble." she continues as she pulls away.

"I promise..." I answer.

Then, I put on my boots, jacket, and gloves and go outside. Once I get out, I rush to the backyard, where there is a hole, which helps me watch easier the kids playing. As I watch them play, the desire to join them starts growing bigger and bigger. I slowly turned to see if my mom is watching me, and once I realize that she isn't, I open the yard's door and approach them.

"Mom doesn't need to know! After all, we aren't going to spend the whole time with them..."I whisper to Michael.

But something deep inside keeps telling me that what I'm about to do is a pretty bad idea...

I decide to just ignore this feeling and join the game. I take some snow from the road and approach slowly one of the kids. In a matter of seconds, I throw the snowball at him. Then, he slowly turns around and faces me.

'' Did you just throw a snowball at me?''he asked me.

I can easily understand by his voice that he didn't like at all what I had just done. To be honest, he seems angry about that.

" Yes, I did" I answer his question and he approaches me angrily.

" But I just wanted to join your game, you don't have to be that angry " I continue.

" We didn't invite you " he responds angrily and grabs my neck with both hands.

My heart starts throbbing in my chest and soon starts beating faster, as I know that the next minutes will be the worst of my life. I close my eyes and wait for the worst.