A New Friend

“I… can’t…”

Its voice whispered in the smoldering darkness. The only light that emanated was itself, cradled in its limbs. Shrilled with terror, the fear of all around it… It shivered. Cried.

“Trys… can’t…” It only repeated that one thought. It whispered as it sat in the discomfort of its Abstraction. Rocking.. until it heard a reply.

(“Trys…”)

It recoiled. It hasn’t heard another voice in ages, from the moment it chose to hide away forever. It tried to hide… but it came from within. The voice was gentle, it hummed a happy timbre to its sound. As if it knew.

(“I can’t wait to meet you. We’ll have so much fun together!”) The voice pulsed along its Abstraction, until it vanished. It was alone once more.

It froze, then looked up to see where it went. But there was nothing. Nothing but fear in its heart. A glimmer of curiosity sparked from within… it could only wonder where that voice came from.

Perhaps it was time. The Edeia of Fear approached the boundary of their Abstraction, as it tore open to reveal the outside world. So much had changed from the day they Actualized and the present day.

The autumn wilderness bore a cool, yet welcoming atmosphere, the canopy glimmered the morning sun’s rays down to the forest floor as it glistened among the dew-covered leaves. Fall leaves of umber browns and warm oranges littered the ground, crunching as Trys stepped on them in its attempt to find the voice.

It could not help itself as it jolted back in alarm, recoiling back in the window between dimensions… it hadn’t seen the world change color or the trees lose their leaves at all. Until it heard them again, but faintly.

(“I… c….t w…t to m…et y…u!”)

Echoing among the rustling trees, it looked out. It was still out there… its curiosity kept it from returning back to the darkness. For once, it put its fear away to find happiness, scuttling into the world to find her best friend.

The crunch of leaves only grew louder and raspier with each sprint, passing by streams of water and gravel trails made by humanity. The adrenaline from Trys' legs, the crawl only built its fear even more. But that voice only grew louder and louder in the direction of humanity. It could not let it disappear.

The Edeia emerged from the wilderness to the homes of human life, invisible to their eyes as it slinked between the alleys. It merely followed the trance of its potential friend, hidden away from the mundane as per the rules of Secrecy. By no normal circumstances would it find itself crossing its own boundaries.

"Oh no… scared…" The environment of car horns, skyscrapers and people walking from every corner was becoming too much for it.

("Please… come find me… you're so close…!")

It became so clear. The warm soft tone of their voice was trying to keep the Edeia of Fear focused. It came so far.

It was so close.

It ran towards it. It grew louder as it passed by the blurs of human existence, towards a peculiar building: the local hospital.

Then, it stopped.

The Edeia peered into the room where the voice stopped calling.

The hospital bed was accompanied by a young boy. The sound of the blood pressure monitor beeped as the boy held up a toy plane. It swung around in the air, with the boy imitating the plane’s motor cheerfully. An innocent smile lowered to a solemn look, as he tired from his sickness, laying motionless in his sleep.

It slithered inside, phasing through the window glass to hide underneath the accompanying recliner, unsheathing its invisibility. Trys’ solid black body and yellow highlight made it stick out like a sore thumb as the walls were laced with a pale yellow tint and hospital equipment possessing a light beige and steel gray. It shyly scuttled to the side of the boy’s bed, clasping itself to the railing with its tail.

Was this the voice it heard? The spirit curiously stared at the boy, feeling at ease. In its attempt to nestle and wait for the boy to wake up, the toy plane fell from Trys’ shuffling, knocking it to the ground. It blared a sound, crashing onto the tiled flooring as Trys bend over to pick it up.

It cradled the toy plane and rose back up, only to meet the boy in the eyes. His gentle golden irises lock onto Trys in fascination.

“Who are you?”

Like a startled deer, the Edeia of Fear panicked, flinging itself from the bed, crashing into the medical equipment and recreational toys on the floor in its attempt to hide. Even curiosity was something that couldn’t hold its skittish nature back as it retreated behind the recliner. The little boy rushed to get up, leaving his bed to stand.

“No, no, it’s okay-”

Before the patient could bend down to search for his guest, a knock on the hospital door rang inside the room.

“Franklin? Are you alright in there?” The door handle shuffled, anticipating its inevitable case to open. He bent over to hold his finger to his mouth, shushing a rather frazzled Trys as he rushed to pick up his monitor.

In came his nurse, her flats clacking against the tile floor. She grabbed the struggling Franklin’s heart monitor, sitting it upright.

“What happened?”

“I… I dropped my plane, mam… I was just trying to get it and the tall beeping thing fell over…”

She sighed, “just be careful next time, okay? If you need help Franklin, just tap the call button on the bed, alright?”

“Okay…” He said sheepishly while hopping back in bed. “Will I ever get to go home to Momma and Papa?”

The fearful Trys could sense his fear while underneath the recliner, staring above at the two.

The nurse hesitated, “... hopefully when you get better. I have to finish helping another patient, I promise I’ll be back.” Leaving the room, she closed the door behind her. Once the coast was clear, Franklin bent over the rail to call Trys over.

“She’s gone.”

The Edeia of Fear emerged, peering above at the hospital bed. “What are you?” His voice was ever so innocent, filled with life. It hesitated, until it heard that voice again.

(“We’ll have so much fun together!”)

It came from the boy, despite the kid not saying anything. A glimmer of the boy’s Idea is what it saw. It laid there, motionless, contemplating. Was it destiny?

“Well, I’m Franklin! I haven’t had anyone visit me in a long time… other than Momma and Papa.”

“... Trys… afraid…” It curled into a ball, trying to comfort itself.

“Trys… you’re… real?! Is it really you??” Franklin exclaimed excitedly. “I saw you… in my dreams… you look so funny!” Franklin giggled, reaching for the small spirit. “Does that mean we are friends?”

“... f… friend…?” It approached his hand, clasping it at it gently.

His warm smile enveloped his face, “You helped me sleep at night in my dreams… when I was alone and afraid…” He pulled out a sketchbook underneath his bed sheets, opening it.

Inside were several crayon drawings of him and Trys, “I didn’t know you were real… and I don’t know how… but I think I was supposed to meet you Trys.” He began to shed a tear as he slowly dragged his hand back, only for Trys to cling tightly, scaling the boy’s arms to hug him.

“… afraid… but… Trys is… happy to find you…”

The two hugged for some time, until the rattle of the door shaked again. “o-oh… no…”

Letting the Edeia go, Franklin looked at the spirit once more, “will I get to see you again?”

It hesitated, but it nodded as it scuttled back towards the sunset in the window.

“Trys…. Promises… Trys…. friend…” It left, just as the nurse entered.

“Franklin… who were you talking to?” The nurse questioned.

“Oh… just… a new friend.”