Chapter 3

~When all else fails, have hope~

“I heard your Dad left.”  Aimee looked at me curiously.  My eyes were red and my face was pale. I ignored her trying to concentrate in class. Geography was not my favorite subject. I thought it was boring.

“If you knew, why are you asking?” I whispered carefully. If Mrs. Peters caught us talking it would be detention.

  “I think she wants something.” I heard Murphy say.

 “Quiet, Murphy.”  I was not in the mood. Why would no one leave me alone?

  “Don’t trust her. She wants something.”

 “Who’s Murphy?” Aimee frowned and her light blue eyes glanced quickly around the room.

 “Nobody,” I said. “I’m trying to listen.”

 “I’m hurt.” Murphy chuckled.

“Will he come back?” She asked with a strange look in her eyes.

“Yes, of course, he will be back!” I whispered and heard the anger in my voice.

 “When will he back?” She was beginning to push me to the brink.

 “He didn’t say.” Tears brimmed my eyes.

 “So, he won’t be back then.” She tilted her head, trying to get me to look at her.

 “He will!” I wanted to scream at her and blinked back tears.

 “I heard my parents say that you were a poor girl and that something terrible happened.”

 “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Ssh.” I said.

 “They said your-“

 “Aimee, stop it. He said he will come back.”  I turned to face her not caring if I got detention or if she saw my blood-red eyes, tears pouring down my cheeks.

 “Okay. I’m sorry, Willow.” 

She turned away and left me alone, to my thoughts, and I tried to concentrate on the Geography lesson.

My tree and my bench were my only solitude, my safe place.  I sometimes wished I could stay here forever. 

  “I’m the only one who can see you, isn’t it?” 

  “Yes, that is correct.”  Murphy leaned against the tree, his top hat pulled down, swinging his cane around, something he seemed to enjoy that annoyed me a lot.

  “Why, Murphy?  Why am I the only one that can see you?  Aimee must think I am crazy now.”

  “I told you already.” He sighed, “I belong to you.”

  “So I am your Master?”  I thought about those stories, like Aladdin. ”Like a genie, but not a genie?”

  “Are you trouble and stupid?”  He stopped swinging his cane.

 His abruptness took me by surprise. “Not today, Murphy.” Tears began to stream down my cheeks again and I covered my eyes. “Please, not today.”

***

Before long, I became the school joke. Aimee had proven that she had joined the crowd; she was no longer my friend.

  “Ah!” David the idiot shouted. “Willow, where is your imaginary friend?”

All those around him laughed. 

  “What was its name? Hermie? Murph?” Ryan said, mocking me, one of David’s stupid friends.

 “Smurf,” Someone called out followed by laughter.

I wiped my eyes trying to ignore them.

  “Poor, Poor, Willow,” Jayde said placing her arm around my shoulders.

  “She’s crying.” Ashley faked concern. 

  “Get your friend Smurf to get your Dad to help you,”  Ryan said.

  “No, she can’t” Ashley laughed. “He left, gone for good.”

  “Oh, right.” Jayde continued. “He took Miss Evans with him. Isn’t that right, Willow?”   

  “Leave me alone!”  I pushed Jayde away and ran to the girls’ bathroom, ignoring the school bell, or maybe I did not hear it.  Why was I so different?  Why did Murphy even talk to me?  How was I trouble?  What were Ashley and Jayde even talking about?  Stupid, stupid kids, I thought. 

I don’t know how long I was in the girls’ bathroom, crouching at the far corner near one of the basins; someone came looking for me.  It was the school Principal, Mrs. Hadley.

  “Come, Willow.”  She said gently, “Susan is waiting for you at my office.”  

***

Dad had been gone for many months and as he promised, he called me twice a week. But, as I knew, after a while it became once a week, once every two weeks, then three weeks, and if I was lucky – once a month.  The world became very lonely and Mom was hardly around, it was just Susan – and, of course, Murphy lurking around, sniggering at how unfortunate I was. 

Jayde had been right. When I asked Dad about it, all he said was that he needed an assistant for the project and Miss Evans was a perfect choice.

The bullying at school didn’t stop so Susan started home-schooling me.  I missed my bench and my tree a lot. I began extra art lessons and joined a swimming club. We had a large pool so I could practice every day. Seeing, as Mom did not like the idea of me becoming a proper cook, I thought I could become a Principal like Mrs. Hadley or an Art teacher like Mr. Pryce. 

  “You’re not fun anymore,”  Murphy said watching me as I swam the length of the pool in strong backstrokes. “All you do is swim, swim, and swim.”

 “Keep going, Willow.” Sandra yelled, “You’re slowing down. Time!”

It did not matter where I was, or how far away Murphy was from me, I could always hear him. Taunting, teasing and irritating me. 

 “You were so close. Only ten seconds from breaking your last record.”

Sandra was a good swimming Coach. The other swimmers said she swam in the Olympics and won quite a few medals and she was very young, had straight brown hair cut into a sleek bob, and became like an older sister that I wished I had. 

  “Keep it up.” Sandra smiled as she patted my shoulder.  “You did great. Keep practicing and doing those exercises. I am sure you will eventually make it into the team and swim in the Nationals.”

  “Thanks, Coach,” I said smiling, reaching out for my swimming towel.

It did not take me long to figure out the only time I could not hear Murphy was when I was underwater. I made it my mission to submerge into the water as often as possible. Swimming became my passion and I was very good at it. A couple of kids from my school also came to the swimming club. They would just stare at me, saying nothing. Whenever I met their gaze, they would look away. Of course, Murphy would find it funny.  He was the strange one, not me.     

 “What are you doing this weekend?” Cara said drying herself off with her towel.

  “The same thing I always do.”  I shrugged. I would never say that I did absolutely nothing. Susan would take me out to some of my favorite places, and if her boyfriend, Kyle wanted to see her, I would get many promises to make it up to me, which usually never happened. Afterward, we would come home and they would either send me to watch TV in the Entertainment Room or early to bed. Most times, they would take me to a horrible place with lots of flashing lights, and people dancing to beaty music. She would leave me with her friend, called the DJ, who played the horrible music. She was young, and pretty, said that she was just a student making extra money to study and become a Doctor for kids. Only much later, I learned that her name was actually Zoe, not DJ.        

  “Well, if you are not busy or anything, why don’t you come over to my place.”  She began to comb her frizzy light blond hair. “It’s me and Damien's birthday and we're having a party. It would be nice if you could come.”

“Thanks,” I smiled, grabbing my bag. “I will have to see if it’s okay with Susan, but I think it should be fine.”  It sounded great. It had been a long time since I did anything with other kids since I left school, except for art and swimming.

***

“Why do you do this to yourself?” Murphy asked curiously, as I was getting ready for the party.  “Don’t you see anything beyond your little world?”

 “You are always so nasty, Murphy. I wish you would just go away.”

 “I’m trying to help you.” He lay on my bed as if it was his own. “I may just be your only friend.”

  “You’re not real.”  I could not find my favorite necklace.  The last time I wore it was at my Dad’s birthday party. I was sure I put it in the top drawer of my dressing table.

  “Of course I am real.”

  “Then why am I the only one that can see you?  I keep wishing you away, but you keep coming back. Why?”

  “You need me, Willow.” For the first time since I had met him, he looked serious, there was no mocking smile or a crooked grin. He looked serious.  “Don’t go to the party.”

Who was he to think he could tell me what to do?  I thought angrily.

  “I don’t need you and I am going to the party,” I said confidently.

  “You know why Susan was happy to let you go," he looked at me with a smirk.

  “So what,” I said with a smile, I found my necklace at the very back of the drawer. “She can spend time with Kyle all she wants, at least I don’t have to go to that horrible place and sit with Zoe. She’s a nice girl, but her music is terrible and it gets so boring.”

I placed the silver necklace around my neck, the heart locket neatly in the middle bearing the engraving: Willow, my Sunshine stay beautiful, love Dad. 

  “I wonder,” Murphy frowned.  “What kind of parties do children this age have these days?”

  “Aimee always told me that the popular kids had nice parties, lots of food, pool parties and always with lots of kids, fun stuff.”

He lifted a brow curiously. “You trust Aimee?”

  “I trust Cara,” Murphy was beginning to irritate me again. “She has always been kind to me, and, and she is my friend.”

  “Hmm,” Murphy sucked air into his mouth, holding his breath, his cheeks like balloons, eyes widening. It looked creepy. "What about her brother? They look similar, but are they same I wonder?"

"Damien has always been kind to me," I said thoughtfully, and then with a smile, "he's like his sister, they're twins, and they're alike."

“We’ll see.” He let out his breath; it was like mist in a donut shape and I watched it disappear into the air.