Severance

Chapter 1: A Broken Heart

Chapter 1: A Broken Heart

KELSEY

October 12, 2006

I kept my first imaginary friend a secret. Mostly because I was twelve years old when I saw him, and when any girl reaches this age in her life, things like Santa Clause and the Tooth Fairy are replaced with bubble gum lip gloss and school crushes.

Thinking back to the first and last day I saw him, I recalled he harboured an aura of calmness. It was a cold day in September. The cool air of autumn touched the bare skin of my arms. I shuddered and pulled my grey woven sweater out from my backpack and threw it on, clutching it tight around my body. I sat back against the old Oak tree in the school yard and continued to write in the black, leather-bound journal I had gotten from Gran last Christmas. She had told me to write about my life and all of the "amazing" things I was doing. After about a week I had only managed to write a few sentences—mostly concerning the weather and how much I hate the school librarian, Mrs. Blake.

A few yellowed leaves fluttered down into my lap, gently caressing the tops of my knees. From above, soft whispers of what sounded like a song cascaded down towards me. I looked up towards the sky and did a double take. A boy of my age was up in the tree looking off into the distance at Gardner's Peak, singing an unfamiliar melody. His dark brown hair stood out in disarray as if a shock of electricity had passed through him. I stood up from where I sat and looked up at him. He hadn't seemed to notice that I was standing there. Or if he did, he showed no sign of it.

"What song is that?" I called up to him. He halted his singing and stared down at me. His green eyes bore into my brown ones. Curiosity crossed his face, followed by a sudden onset phase of annoyance.

"What song were you just singing?" I repeated. Silence. I shifted uncomfortably but still managed to hold his gaze.

"Who are you?" I tried again. Frustration was beginning to course throughout my tiny body. I huffed and sat back down on the ground.

"Do you know Michael Wood?" he asked suddenly.

I stilled, taken aback by his question. "Is he in our school?" I inquired, thinking back to the list of students I had helped the vice principal put together over the summer.

The boy sighed, "Never mind." He hopped out of the tree. My eyes grew wide. The sudden impact of feet to ground made me cringe, while the boy, not showing any sign of pain or discomfort, simply stood up straight and walked back towards the classrooms.

The bell signaling the end of recess sounded. I hurriedly sank to the ground and gathered my things, shoving them into my backpack, heading for the front entrance. I met up with Macy by the door. She had her powder blue compact mirror in hand and was reapplying her lip gloss.

"Did you write it?" she asked, still distracted by her reflection in the mirror, hollowing her cheeks and puckering her lips. She tucked a strand of her short brown hair behind her ear. I pulled out the journal and handed it to her. She pocketed her lip gloss and mirror, taking the journal from my hands and opening it.

"Dear Will," she read out loud, "I like you. Do you like me? From Kelsey," She shot one eyebrow up, turning her head in my direction to give me a look. I looked down at my feet and toed a pebble on the ground before finally kicking it to the side.

"Is that it?" she wrinkled her nose, "Gee, for someone who likes to read, you're really bad with words. Are you sure you really like this guy?" She handed the notebook back to me.

"Yes," I scoffed, tugging on the end of my ponytail "Is it really that bad?" I muttered ignoring her earlier joke and shoving the book back into my bag.