The Society of Imaginary Friends (Book 1 of The Conjurors Series)

Chapter 3

Over the next few days, Valerie relaxed as she fell back into the familiar rhythms of hospital life. She had been here so many times that the staff and other kids were more like family than any she’d ever had. 

As she had during her last few visits, Valerie spent part of each day visiting the younger kids to deliver comfort and tell them stories to distract them from their pain—always under the careful supervision of a nurse or parent, of course. It was a much colder world outside of these walls, and Valerie was glad to be back. If only she didn’t have to worry about what was going wrong inside her, she could almost be content. 

Because the hospital was currently at full capacity, two other children were sharing her room now, but that didn’t stop Cyrus from visiting her regularly. She did her best to ignore him, deciding that it wasn’t a good idea to indulge her hallucinations, but he made it very difficult. He seemed to take a childlike glee in forcing her to acknowledge his presence. One time, he entered the room on Dr. Freeman’s broad, dignified shoulders, pretending he was a cowboy and the doctor was his horse. He whirled an imaginary lasso above his head and pretended to pull back on reins to slow the doctor as he approached her bed. 

She had burst out laughing, and the doctor had given her a sharp look and made a note on his chart, which immediately extinguished her mirth. The last thing she wanted was for Dr. Freeman to decide she was dangerous and put her in isolation. So she did her best to stay calm as she recovered. 

The next day when Cyrus entered, she refused to look at him, even when he did cartwheels and back flips around the room. After more than an hour of unsuccessfully trying to attract her attention, he finally came to a stop beside her bed. 

“Not even a smile for me today?” he asked, sounding a little petulant. 

“Go away,” she hissed, not wanting the other two children, Ming and Jeremiah, or their parents, to overhear her. 

While Valerie read a tattered old Seventeen magazine that Nurse Beth had brought for her, Cyrus tapped his foot impatiently beside her until the other children were called away for a Halloween craft hour. 

On her way out, Ming stopped by Valerie’s bed. “Can I bring Mr. Hopsalot?” she begged, cradling Valerie’s tattered old stuffed bunny in her arms.

“Of course,” Valerie replied, smiling at the happy light in Ming’s eyes as she skipped out of the room. 

“Now will you talk to me?” Cyrus asked as the door closed behind Ming. 

“No.” 

“Why not?” 

“Because you’re not real,” she replied, realizing how weird she must look, talking to an empty patch of air. She sealed her mouth closed and decided not to say another word. 

“So that’s how it’s gonna be, huh? What if I could prove that I’m real? Would you listen to me then?” 

She looked over at him curiously, but didn’t say anything. He gave an exaggerated sigh. Dr. Freeman walked in, still calling instructions over his shoulder to a nurse in the hall. When he turned around, he stopped short. 

“Oh, excuse me, Ms. Diaz. I didn’t realize you had company,” Dr. Freeman said, surprised. 

“Wh-what?” she stuttered, looking around her room. No one was there—except Cyrus. Her eyes grew wide, and her heart sped up. “You can—see him?” 

“Of course he can,” Cyrus jumped in, giving her a quick wink. “Stop acting like such a weirdo, Val. Nice to meet you, sir. I’m Cyrus.” 

“Nice to meet you, young man,” the doctor replied, recovering his usually unflappable demeanor. “Are you a friend of Valerie’s from school?”