Imaginary Friends and Abandoned Strays

Edited! I added a bit more detail to the middle and end. Please excuse grammatical and formatting errors. Enjoy!

Imaginary Friends and Abandoned Strays



Rain fell, and once again she watched the storm by herself. She sat on her front porch and was amazed by the lights that flashed back and forth in the sky, and by the thunder that shook the ground. But, despite being mesmerized by the incredible forces of nature, her thoughts kept slithering back to the dark recesses of her mind. She was lonely.

There is a clear distinction between being alone and being lonely. One implies that the only thing absent is the physical presence of another person. It can even be a good thing, seeing as everyone requires “alone time” once in awhile. The other implies utter desolation of consistently lacking the essential human contact that gives a person meaning in life.

Yes, she was very lonely.

* * * * *

It was the thunder that woke Tayen, not long after she had fallen asleep. Another sleepless night I suppose, was the only thought she could muster. It had been three days since she had last slept for more than three hours.  It was starting to show. She walked to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. She could see the dark circles forming under her eyes, a clear giveaway.

Rather than trying to defeat the monster of insomnia, she decided to spend the rest of the night out in the storm. It wasn’t very often that she was able to sit and watch the beauty of nature. Between working two part-time jobs, and half-heartedly attempting to attain a degree online, she had little time to spare for things that actually made her happy. Being happy was something she had no experience with. Of course, she had her moments, but they never seemed to last.

Her memories crawled to the front of her mind as she watched the lightning, memories that she tried with all her might to forget.

She was three when her parents left her at her great uncle’s house. She remembered hearing them say, “We’ll be back soon. It’s only for a couple of days,” but she hadn’t seen them since.

And when she was seven, she recalled finding her great-uncle on the couch not breathing. No matter where she went, it always seemed that she would soon be left alone again, left feeling lonely.

Even when she was at the orphanage, surrounded by other kids, and adults, she still couldn’t seem to maintain a friendship with anyone. They always left, or even if she did manage to become part of a group, she never felt as if she belonged.

The alarm on her phone shook her back into reality, away from the memories. It was time to begin another endless day in her seemingly endless life.

* * * * *

To say that she was suicidal was a bit of an overstatement. Now, if given the opportunity to possibly be hit by a car, or somehow killed in a horrible accident, she most likely would not take any action to save herself.

None of the medications had ever worked for her.

“And how are doing with this new prescription?” Her doctor would ask after a few months of being on yet another antidepressant.

“I feel the same. Nothing’s changed.” Was always her reply. Nothing ever changes, would be what she thought.

So, she simply continued on with her life. She went to work, paid her bills, and completed her school work. Alone. By herself.

As she made her way to the diner the morning after the storm, she happened to notice a stray dog lurking around her yard, but seeing as she was about to be late decided it best to ignore it.

She clocked in, and took her position in the back washing dishes. She used to be a waitress, but after so many complaints of the horrible service, she was demoted to a dishwasher. As long as she still had a job, she didn’t care what happened to her within the company.

“Did you guys hear the thunder last night? It was crazy!” She heard one of the cooks say.

“I know! I thought for sure that lightning was gonna strike and set something on fire!” Commented another worker.

“What about you Tayen? Did you hear it?”

She was surprised anyone had asked her a direct question, and even said her name. She looked up and saw that it was one of the new hires, a young man with light hair and eyes.

“Yeah, it woke me up.” She responded timidly.

“Me too!” He chimed back.

She spent the rest of her shift in silence, replaying what had happened earlier. He was talking to me, right? I didn’t imagine that did I? She thought as she finished washing the last dish of the night.

The next night at work, he engaged her in conversation again.

“So how long have you worked here?” He asked her as she went around the kitchen collecting dishes to clean.

“Uh, I don’t know, maybe a year or something.” She replied timidly.

“That’s a while. No promotions or anything?” He persisted.

“No.”

“Hm, that’s a shame.”

“Sure.” She noted.

* * * *

Weeks went by, and he still continued to pester her. She liked it, because it was new and different. It was a change. Every time she saw him, she felt something familiar, like she knew him from somewhere. But she couldn’t put her finger on where she could know him from. Maybe he lived around her neighborhood, or maybe she’d seen him in town? She didn’t know, and she wasn’t going to ask.

   As she walked out to her car at the end of her shift one night, she turned around to the sound of her name being called.

“Tayen! Wait up! I wanna ask you something.” It was him. “What are you doing here?” He asked, somewhat defensively.

She looked at him with confusion as she replied, “What do you mean?”

“I mean why are you here at this crappy diner that doesn’t even pay good money? You’ve got so much potential.”

“How would you even know that? You’ve been here for what two weeks? I don’t even know you.” She snapped.

He laughed, almost in shock.

“Do I not look familiar to you?” He questioned.

She paused, stunned by his directness. She looked at him, really looked at him, and began to recognize those familiar features.

“No, no, no--” she stammered.

“Yes, yes, yes!” He chuckled. “It’s really me!”

She laughed as tears streamed down her cheeks and they embraced.

“I can’t believe it! How long has it been, Peter? Where did you go and why are you here?” She asked, still struggling to compose herself.

He laughed at her childlike amazement. “A nice family adopted me and we moved out to Arizona back when we were at the orphanage, what twelve years ago?”

“Yeah, I remember that. But what brings you back here?” She inquired.

“Well, I took this part time job while I do some work on a film project for school.” He replied. “I thought it would be interesting to do a documentary on my old home town.”

“But, why didn’t you say anything to me before? Why’d you wait until tonight?” She demanded.

“I, I don’t know. I guess I wanted to see if you remembered me first. The timing was off--” He started.

“Oh, stop!” She laughed at his awkwardness. He laughed, too.

“Hey, listen. Why don’t you come over to my place, and we can catch up. Or we can go to yours if you want.” He suggested.

“Yeah, um, yeah. Here I’ll give you a ride.” She mustered.

Peter was her best friend, and having him back in her life was better than any medication she had ever taken. She was for the first time consistently happy. She laughed, made jokes, and had even been placed in her old position of waitressing.

“Tayen, I’ve noticed quite the change in attitude recently, and I wanted to know if you’d be interested in being out front again?” Her manager asked her one night after her shift was over.

“Um, yeah. Why not, right?” She stammered.

She was making progress,and it was wonderful.

* * * * *

It was a Friday night, when she and Peter decided to try a new restaurant in town. She was early and had already gotten a seat when she saw him come through the door.

“Hey, did you order yet?” He asked.

“Yes. Sorry, force of habit. I’m not used to eating dinner with someone. I actually haven’t been out to dinner in a really long time.” She sighed.

“Well, we’re here now, right?” He chuckled.

“Yes, we are,” she laughed, “I’m gonna run to the restroom, I’ll be right back.”

“Okay, I’ll be here.” He smirked.

As she was washing her hands, she looked up into the mirror, and noticed the dark circles under her eyes. She thought it was unusual, since she had been sleeping recently. Maybe it’s just stress, she thought to herself. She shrugged and made her way back to the table.

“Did you order?” She asked.

“I did.”

“Good.” She smiled.

After dinner, they decided to take a walk downtown, and talk. It was a cool night with a slight breeze in the air, making the night blissful.

“It was weird, wasn’t it, how the waitress basically ignored you, right?” She inquired.

“No, maybe she was just having a rough night. You know how it is with waitressing.” He replied.

“I guess, but it still seems weird to me.” She retorted.

“Same old stubborn Tayen.” He laughed.

* * * * *

“What do you think is out there?” She asked one night as they were stargazing.

“I don’t know. It could be anything,” he grinned,”Why do ask?”

“I’m just wondering.”

“Well, somewhere out there, past all the stars, planets, and galaxies, are two lifeforms, looking up at their sky and asking the same question.” He whispered.

She looked at him, a twinkle in her eyes.

“Really? You couldn’t have just left it at “there are an infinite amount of possibilities”? You had to go into that much detail? You’re unbelievable.” She laughed.

Af few minutes passed before either one of them said anything.

“You do believe in me don’t you though?” He asked. She could hear his voice waver. He sounded frightened almost.

“Of course I do. You can do anything in the world. I know you’ve got the talent.” She said carefully.

* * * * *

While she stood outside the diner one night waiting for Peter’s shift to end, she struck up a conversation with one of her coworkers.

“I know, I’ve been getting a lot of hours too recently. Good thing business is picking back up. I was really concerned for a while,” replied her coworker Leroy.

“Yeah, I think it has a lot to do with the menu change. People are more interested in it now,” she stated.

There was a pause.

“Hey, who are you waiting for? Didn’t you get off like an hour ago?” Leroy speculated.

“I’m waiting for Peter to get off, we were gonna go see a movie.” She said.

“Who’s Peter?” He questioned.

Her heart stopped, her breath was caught in her throat. Her hands began to shake, her eye twitched.

“What do you mean? Peter, He works here.” he stuttered.

“No one named Peter works here, Tayen. Are you okay? Is there someone I can call?”He asked with concern.

“Um, what? No. Uh, I gotta go. I’ll see you later, Leroy.” She muttered.

She raced home, sweat dripping down her face. She stormed into her bedroom and retrieved a box from under her bed. She opened it, heart pounding, and looked through the pile of photographs, photographs from her time at the orphanage. She looked through them all in a rush, searching for the familiar face of Peter. But she couldn’t find it. Not in a single one.

She threw the box away from her and scrambled away, shock overcoming her like a wave in the ocean. She tumbled, and spiraled out of control. She shook with fear, and cried. She began to feel lightheaded and tried to stand, but fell and blacked out.

* * * * She woke up, unaware of how much time had passed. She was still a little dazed, and quite confused, when she saw a shadow in the corner, a human-like shadow. That’s when it all came back to her.

“So, I see you’ve been feeling nostalgic.” He said.

His voice, which had once brought her comfort, now made her entire body shiver. Her head was spinning, pounding. Her vision blurred, and her voice was lost.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to say anything. I know, I know. I should’ve told you sooner.”

She suddenly found her voice.

“What do you mean you, “should’ve told me sooner”? Should’ve told me you’re not real? I’ve gone my whole life thinking you were my only friend, and you’re not even real! You’re just in my head! I don’t understand. What else isn’t real! Huh? Answer me!” She hollered.

There was silence. Time wasn’t relevant.

“I should go.” He whispered.

He began to walk out the bedroom door, into the hall, and make his way outside. She chase after him, yelling at him. And then she ran after him, ran out of her front door screaming and crying, chasing nothing, when she almost tripped over the stray dog, but made her way around it.

“Peter! Don’t leave me like this!” She cried.

She crumpled to the ground and began to tremble with tears. She was unaware of what was going on around her, until she heard a bark. She looked up and saw the stray sitting in front of her. She sniffled, and wiped away her tears.

“Are you gonna start talking, now? Wouldn’t be the first time I imagined something.” She grumbled.

She waited for a reply, but got none. The dog just sat with her head cocked to the side, her floppy ears perked up in interest.

“Well, I guess you can come in. Let’s see if we can find where you came from.” Tayen sighed.

The dog was completely black, with long hair, and a curly tail. Her ears were floppy, but not long like a hound dogs, and long hair curled off of them. They sagged when they were down, but she could raise them upright when she heard a noise, or if she was interested in something. She was a large dog, a little bigger than a German Shepherd.

Tayen had spent a month attempting to locate any kind of owner, but had failed to find any kind of previous home. So, she decided to adopt the stray. She filled the gaping hole that was left in Tayen’s heart.

She probably should’ve seen a psychiatrist, a counselor, someone. But, she felt so embarrassed, and stupid. She didn’t feel like she was mentally ill. She felt betrayed. She hadn’t seen or even heard anything from Peter since the day he left.

She knew he wasn’t real, but she still missed him. And hated him, but mostly hated herself.

“Alright, Freya. You ready to go for a walk?” Tayen asked the stray.

Freya’s ears perked up, and she stared at Tayen, her tail wagging. When she saw her grab the leash she began to jump and bark with excitement.

“Alright, girl. Let’s go.”

She walked Freya twice a day, once when she woke up and once at dusk. It was good for not only her health, but for her mind as well. She was able to clear her thoughts and think properly. And getting outside helped her stay motivated. She had responsibilities now, had to take care of herself in order to take care of Freya.

It was nearing her college graduation, when another storm came through. This time she was able to sleep through it. But when she woke in the morning, the stray was nowhere to be found.

“Freya? Come on, girl. You wanna go on a walk? Come here, puppy.” Tayen called throughout the house. “Where did you go now.”

It wasn’t till she came to the back door that she saw claw marks.

“No, no, no, no,” she cried, “No, I always close the back door, there’s no way she could’ve gotten out.”

But somehow Freya had clawed her way through the screen door.

Tayen drove all through town, hung up posters, went to every dog shelter within fifty miles of town, yet her efforts were to no avail.

And just as she was beginning to think she had never existed, she found a picture, a picture from when she was a little girl. It had to have been from when she still lived with her great uncle, she couldn’t have been more than seven years old. She was sitting on a bail of hay next to a barn, with a large, black, and long haired dog.

* * * * *

A few months later she was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder. When she hadn’t shown up for work for a week, her boss went to her house and discovered she hadn’t left her bed the entire week.

“Tayen, what is going on? Are you okay?” Her boss quaked.

Everything in the house was a disaster. Trash was everywhere, there was writing on the wall, writing she couldn’t make out.

“They weren’t real, you’re not real, am I even real?” Tayen muttered, her eyes moving side to side, as if she were searching for something.

Her boss called an ambulance, and Tayen was moved to a small group home for the mentally ill where she was put on several medications and required to attend group and individual therapy everyday.

“Alright, let’s get started everyone. We have a newcomer, Tayen. How are you adjusting?” Asked the group therapist.

“Um, well, I’m not crying as much anymore, and I, um, don’t hear a buzzing noise either, so I think the medications are starting to kick in. It’s good, it’s good, you know? I’m getting out of bed and I have people all around me encouraging me to even do the simplest things and it helps, so that’s good. I just feel so drowsy and off, I don’t know.” She stuttered.

“Good, good. I’m glad to hear you’re making progress, even if it’s only a little bit of progress.” The counselor encouraged.

“I know what you mean, the just not feeling right. It’s the pills! I hate them!” Spat one of the group members, a man named Jeremy.

“Oh, now stop it Jer, you’re gonna scare the girl!” Chimed in one of the older ladies in the group. “There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the pills. Yes, they make ya’ feel funny, but they keep your head on straight. At least I think they do” She finished.

“Thank you, Pearl, for your insight.”Interrupted the therapist.

* * * * *

Tayen had recovered and was to be released from the home, even though she wished she could stay. She felt like she belonged there. They understood her, and encouraged her to keep going. And small things like bathing, or making the bed were feats of unimaginable glory. She wasn’t overwhelmed, or even terribly depressed. She didn’t feel stuck, because even though the inner workings of day-to-day life didn’t change, she liked the routine. There was art therapy, and group was always interesting. They even performed talent shows every once in a while. She felt safe in the group home. If she ever questioned the existence of something, there was always someone to rely on to tell her.

So, when the day finally came to move out of the home, she was deeply unhappy. The old feelings of numbness and loneliness crept their way back into her consciousness.

“Get a roommate, a house plant, and maybe a pet.” Suggested one of the counselors.”All of these things will provide you with security and encourage you to keep moving forward.”

“I don’t know if I know how to move forward.” Tayen muttered.

“You’ve got that college degree now, right? Look for a new job, a career. I know you can do it.” The counselor smiled.

Tayen grinned back, and even felt slightly more hopeful than she had before.

But circumstances never turn out the way she had intended them to. Her life was the same as before, spinning in an endless cycle, repeating on loop.

Imaginary Friends and Abandoned Strays



Rain fell, and once again she watched the storm by herself. She sat on her front porch and was amazed by the lights that flashed back and forth in the sky, and by the thunder that shook the ground. But, despite being mesmerized by the incredible forces of nature, her thoughts kept slithering back to the dark recesses of her mind. She was lonely.

There is a clear distinction between being alone and being lonely. One implies that the only thing absent is the physical presence of another person. It can even be a good thing, seeing as everyone requires “alone time” once in awhile. The other implies utter desolation of consistently lacking the essential human contact that gives a person meaning in life.

Yes, she was very lonely.

* * * * *

It was the thunder that woke Tayen, not long after she had fallen asleep. Another sleepless night I suppose, was the only thought she could muster. It had been three days since she had last slept for more than three hours.  It was starting to show. She walked to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. She could see the dark circles forming under her eyes, a clear giveaway.

Rather than trying to defeat the monster of insomnia, she decided to spend the rest of the night out in the storm. It wasn’t very often that she was able to sit and watch the beauty of nature. Between working two part-time jobs, and half-heartedly attempting to attain a degree online, she had little time to spare for things that actually made her happy. Being happy was something she had no experience with. Of course, she had her moments, but they never seemed to last.

Her memories crawled to the front of her mind as she watched the lightning, memories that she tried with all her might to forget.

She was three when her parents left her at her great uncle’s house. She remembered hearing them say, “We’ll be back soon. It’s only for a couple of days,” but she hadn’t seen them since.

And when she was seven, she recalled finding her great-uncle on the couch not breathing. No matter where she went, it always seemed that she would soon be left alone again, left feeling lonely.

Even when she was at the orphanage, surrounded by other kids, and adults, she still couldn’t seem to maintain a friendship with anyone. They always left, or even if she did manage to become part of a group, she never felt as if she belonged.

The alarm on her phone shook her back into reality, away from the memories. It was time to begin another endless day in her seemingly endless life.

* * * * *

To say that she was suicidal was a bit of an overstatement. Now, if given the opportunity to possibly be hit by a car, or somehow killed in a horrible accident, she most likely would not take any action to save herself.

None of the medications had ever worked for her.

“And how are doing with this new prescription?” Her doctor would ask after a few months of being on yet another antidepressant.

“I feel the same. Nothing’s changed.” Was always her reply. Nothing ever changes, would be what she thought.

So, she simply continued on with her life. She went to work, paid her bills, and completed her school work. Alone. By herself.

As she made her way to the diner the morning after the storm, she happened to notice a stray dog lurking around her yard, but seeing as she was about to be late decided it best to ignore it.

She clocked in, and took her position in the back washing dishes. She used to be a waitress, but after so many complaints of the horrible service, she was demoted to a dishwasher. As long as she still had a job, she didn’t care what happened to her within the company.

“Did you guys hear the thunder last night? It was crazy!” She heard one of the cooks say.

“I know! I thought for sure that lightning was gonna strike and set something on fire!” Commented another worker.

“What about you Tayen? Did you hear it?”

She was surprised anyone had asked her a direct question, and even said her name. She looked up and saw that it was one of the new hires, a young man with light hair and eyes.

“Yeah, it woke me up.” She responded timidly.

“Me too!” He chimed back.

She spent the rest of her shift in silence, replaying what had happened earlier. He was talking to me, right? I didn’t imagine that did I? She thought as she finished washing the last dish of the night.

As she walked out to her car, she turned around to the sound of her name being called.

“Tayen! Wait up! I wanna ask you something.” It was the same guy. “What are you doing here?” He asked, somewhat defensively.

She looked at him with confusion as she replied, “What do you mean?”

“I mean why are you here at this crappy diner that doesn’t even pay good money? You’ve got so much potential.”

“How would you even know that? You’ve been here for what two weeks? I don’t even know you.” She snapped.

He laughed, almost in shock.

“Do I not look familiar to you?” He questioned.

She paused, stunned by his directness. She looked at him, really looked at him, and began to recognize those familiar features.

“No, no, no--” she stammered.

“Yes, yes, yes!” He chuckled. “It’s really me!”

She laughed as tears streamed down her cheeks and they embraced.

“I can’t believe it! How long has it been, Peter? Where did you go and why are you here?” She asked, still struggling to compose herself.

He laughed at her childlike amazement. “A nice family adopted me and we moved out to Arizona back when we were at the orphanage, what twelve years ago?”

“Yeah, I remember that. But what brings you back here?” She inquired.

“Well, I took this part time job while I do some work on a film project for school.” He replied. “I thought it would be interesting to do a documentary on my old home town.”

“But, why didn’t you say anything to me before? Why’d you wait until tonight?” She demanded.

“I, I don’t know. I guess I wanted to see if you remembered me first. The timing was off--” He started.

“Oh, stop!” She laughed at his awkwardness. He laughed, too.

“Hey, listen. Why don’t you come over to my place, and we can catch up. Or we can go to yours if you want.” He suggested.

“Yeah, um, yeah. Here I’ll give you a ride.” She mustered.

* * * * *

Peter was her best friend, and having him back in her life was better than any medication she had ever taken. She was for the first time consistently happy. She laughed, made jokes, and had even been placed in her old position of waitressing.

“Tayen, I’ve noticed quite the change in attitude recently, and I wanted to know if you’d be interested in being out front again?” Her manager asked her one night after her shift was over.

“Um, yeah. Why not, right?” She stammered.

She was making progress,and it was wonderful.

As she stood outside the diner one night waiting for Peter’s shift to end, she struck up a conversation with one of her coworkers.

“I know, I’ve been getting a lot of hours too recently. Good thing business is picking back up. I was really concerned for a while,” replied her coworker Leroy.

“Yeah, I think it has a lot to do with the menu change. People are more interested in it now,” she stated.

There was a pause.

“Hey, who are you waiting for? Didn’t you get off like an hour ago?” Leroy speculated.

“I’m waiting for Peter to get off, we were gonna go see a movie.” She said.

“Who’s Peter?” He questioned.

Her heart stopped, her breath was caught in her throat. Her hands began to shake, her eye twitched.

“What do you mean? Peter, He works here.” he stuttered.

“No one named Peter works here, Tayen. Are you okay? Is there someone I can call?”He asked with concern.

“Um, what? No. Uh, I gotta go. I’ll see you later, Leroy.” She muttered.

She raced home, sweat dripping down her face. She stormed into her bedroom and retrieved a box from under her bed. She opened it, heart pounding, and looked through the pile of photographs, photographs from her time at the orphanage. She looked through them all in a rush, searching for the familiar face of Peter. But she couldn’t find it. Not in a single one.

She threw the box away from her and scrambled away, shock overcoming her like a wave in the ocean. She tumbled, and spiraled out of control. She shook with fear, and cried. She began to feel lightheaded and tried to stand, but fell and blacked out.

* * * * She woke up, unaware of how much time had passed. She was still a little dazed, and quite confused, when she saw a shadow in the corner, a human-like shadow. That’s when it all came back to her.

“So, I see you’ve been feeling nostalgic.” He said.

His voice, which had once brought her comfort, now made her entire body shiver. Her head was spinning, pounding. Her vision blurred, and her voice was lost.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to say anything. I know, I know. I should’ve told you sooner.”

She suddenly found her voice.

“What do you mean you, “should’ve told me sooner”? Should’ve told me you’re not real? I’ve gone my whole life thinking you were my only friend, and you’re not even real! You’re just in my head! I don’t understand. What else isn’t real! Huh? Answer me!” She hollered.

There was silence. Time wasn’t relevant.

“I should go.” He whispered.

He began to walk out the bedroom door, into the hall, and make his way outside. She chase after him, yelling at him. And then she ran after him, ran out of her front door screaming and crying, chasing nothing, when she almost tripped over the stray dog.

“What? You’re not gonna start talking are you?”

She waited for a reply, but got none. The dog just sat with her head cocked to the side, her floppy ears perked up in interest.

“Well, I guess you can come in. Let’s see if we can find where you came from.” Tayen sighed.

The dog was completely black, with long hair, and a curly tail. Her ears were floppy, but not long like a hound dogs, and long hair curled off of them. They sagged when they were down, but she could raise them upright when she heard a noise, or if she was interested in something. She was a large dog, a little bigger than a German Shepherd.

Tayen had spent a month attempting to locate any kind of owner, but had failed to find any kind of previous home. So, she decided to adopt the stray. She filled the gaping hole that was left in Tayen’s heart.

She probably should’ve seen a psychiatrist, a counselor, someone. But, she felt so embarrassed, and stupid. She didn’t feel like she was mentally ill. She felt betrayed. She hadn’t seen or even heard anything from Peter since the day he left.

She knew he wasn’t real, but she still missed him. And hated him, but mostly hated herself.

“Alright, Freya. You ready to go for a walk?” Tayen asked the stray.

Freya’s ears perked up, and she stared at Tayen, her tail wagging. When she saw her grab the leash she began to jump and bark with excitement.

“Alright, girl. Let’s go.”

She walked Freya twice a day, once when she woke up and once at dusk. It was good for not only her health, but for her mind as well. She was able to clear her thoughts and think properly. And getting outside helped her stay motivated. She had responsibilities now, had to take care of herself in order to take care of Freya.

It was nearing her college graduation, when another storm came through. This time she was able to sleep through it. But when she woke in the morning, the stray was nowhere to be found.

“Freya? Come on, girl. You wanna go on a walk? Come here, puppy.” Tayen called throughout the house. “Where did you go now.”

It wasn’t till she came to the back door that she saw claw marks.

“No, no, no, no,” she cried, “No, I always close the back door, there’s no way she could’ve gotten out.”

But somehow Freya had clawed her way through the screen door.

Tayen drove all through town, hung up posters, went to every dog shelter within fifty miles of town, yet her efforts were to no avail.

And just as she was beginning to think she had never existed, she found a picture, a picture from when she was a little girl. It had to have been from when she still lived with her great uncle, she couldn’t have been more than seven years old. She was sitting on a bail of hay next to a barn, with a large, black, and long haired dog.

Reviews

[Signature]

Wow!! What a great story. What happens to Tayen?? I need more!! LOL I like how she felt betrayed but not mentally ill Lol. Only thing is I wish it would have taken her longer to find out Peter wasn't real. The only encounter they had was at the restaurant and then even though time passes we don't get to see them interact again until she finds out he's not real. Also, she gets side-tracked easily while chasing after Peter when she runs into the dog. She just found out she's been hallucinating her whole life and she stops chasing because she sees the dog. I actually thought she found some sanity with the dog only to find out that was a hallucination as well. Ahhhh! LOL I wasn't expecting that.

[Psyche]

Thank you so much! I know some parts were a little rushed, I was just so excited to finish it lol! I'll definitely go back and add more detail of their relationship and possibly more to the end! Thanks again!

[Signature]

two thumbs up!! poor Tayen but at least she tried to get help. I really like the star-gazing scene when Peter says maybe two people are out there asking the same thing :-) ....feel free to check out my writing sometime