My Imaginary Friend

"Mum," I cried, "Please, why won't you believe?"
I desperately asked,
searching for a hint of compassion from her part.
But like last night
and the night before,
there wasn't any,
nothing but cold strict eyes glaring back.

At first I tried to convince myself
that I was dreaming,
that Tiquito didn't exist.
I really did try.

Whenever he came to scare me
and torture my young mind,
I would tightly close my eyes
to force myself to wake from this nightmare.

But his crackling voice,
and taunting snickers,
always made me realize : it is impossible to escape the truth, Tiquito is for real.

"I can't sweetie, I just can't"
She answered back,
and closed the door shut behind her,
leaving me alone to ponder in the dark,
with my imaginary friend not far.

It should be given another name,
because Tiquito is everything but a friend.
The robust smell of the coming creature,
made my nose twitch,
it came from the right,
from the door to the spare room,
where family usually sleep.

He knew just much as I,
that screaming wouldn't save me,
because no one would come.
No one will ever come,
to the fact that no one believes me.

At first,
a simple glimpse of Tiquito made my teeth chatter,
and the hairs on my neck
and back stick up straight.
But he has been coming through there
for weeks now,
his grotesque figure does not scare me anymore.

Around him,
deathly shadows dance
hand in hand with the pearly white smoke.
His body is hidden in between the dancers,
his face,
his smile,
only appear for a few seconds.
They are then absorbed back.

His words echo around my ears,
inside my mind,
they run throughout my whole body,
from the tips of my ten fingers
to the bottom of my ten toes.
It is his way of assuring himself that I hear
and understand everything he says.

But tonight,
there was something different about him,
it was all in his bright,
chemical-looking,
green eyes.
A murderous,
sadistic expression had overcome
his face,
his smile...
he hadn't come to play with me.
Tonight was the end of his tortures,
because he had come for a different reason.

I have dread this night for so long,
I could almost welcomed it.
His hands snaked up my head,
one on each side.
I took a deep breath,
and glanced sadly at the family picture beside my bed.

It was no use calling for help,
they would just shake their heads at each other
and think I was trying to attract attention,
so says the doctors.

"Is it going to hurt?" I questioned.
"No," He whispered, as I felt his fingers close in harder,
"There are much worse things than death."
He whispered, but was trailed off by my screams.

"Help!"
I uttered in a shrill,
piercing way.
An intense pain had,
suddenly saturated my mind,
obliging me to topple onto my knees,
my fingers desperately clutching to my hair.
Tiquito backed away
and watched me grimace.

To my great surprise,
the door jerked open,
and it was my mother.
She gasped as she saw for the first time Tiquito,
mouth open,
but no words would come out.
I miserably squirmed like a worm
under the scorching sun.
My mother kneeled down,
her hands above my body,
not knowing what to do.

In my last moments of consciousness,
I could distantly hear,
her shrieking at Tiquito
as he ghostly disappeared.
He had no reason to stay anymore,
he had finish what he had come to do.

But I simply smiled,
because she had come.
I am no longer alone,
she believes me.
She believes in Tiquito.

-never believed in forever -