Once upon a time, when I was just a little girl about three years old, I had a friend whose name was Joann. She was my best, best friend in the whole wide world. We did everything together.
We fed the chickens, petted the dog, went swimming, and rode in the car. We ate lunch together, took naps together and well, we did just about everything that two little girls do in the country!
Joann always sat by me at the dinner table. She sat with me in the back seat of the car. She even went to the bathroom the same time I did!
She was my best friend.
Joann had a problem though. And if Joann had a problem, I had a problem. You see, no one could see her but me!
My mom got tired of setting the extra place. My dad got tired of holding the doors. They grew weary of waiting on Joann to go to the bathroom.
"We are not going to set a place for Joann, she is not real," Mom would say.
"Get in the car so we can close the door, we're not waiting on an imaginary girl," said my dad.
"You have to wait. She is real. She is my best friend," I would cry.
Joann lived a dangerous life.
She got sat on. She got shut in the door. She got left behind when we went to Grandma's because no one waited on her. She grew hungry when she no longer had her own plate.
Finally one day, my mom and dad noticed that I no longer talked about Joann.
"Where's your friend?" they asked.
So I told them.
"I told her to get on out of here. I said, 'no one believes in you but me anyway, you dumb girl.' And she went down the road crying."
The end.
Addendum from my mom: Well, that made me sad as it did then. I always knew that Joann was real to you but as young parents, we just lost our patience sometimes. The main trouble was that Joann was always the one who did all of the naughty things like write on the walls, make a mess, and have a temper about some things. Maybe it was just as well she left, as I think maybe she wasn't such a good influence.
4 comments:
If Joann is not real, why am I weeping at your heartless treatment of such a loyal, steadfast friend?
And why didn't she spell her name JoAnne? That's how I've pictured it in my head all these years, and now I find out that not only were you heartless and cruel, but you didn't even know how to spell her name correctly!
Well, that made me sad as it did then. I always knew that Joann was real to you but as young parents, we just lost our patience sometimes. The main trouble was that Joann was always the one who did all of the naughty things like write on the walls, make a mess, and have a temper about some things. Maybe it was just as well she left, as I think maybe she wasn't such a good influence.
Well, of course it was Joann. I wouldn't have done anything like that..... :)
What a great story. You should write children's books.. only happier ones. My daughter had 2 imaginary friends. We'd see them swinging on the swing on breezy days and one day one of them got left behind at the store. My husband drove all the way back down there to get her. *LOL*
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