A Real Friend - Chapter 2

Thomas



The images in Thomas’ mind flipped from one face to another. It was almost like looking through a photo album or a scrap book, but with much more detail. In his mind he was not only seeing the faces, but he was hearing the thoughts and viewing the immediate life circumstances of each individual. He didn’t delve too much, after all, how much detail can you get from the mind of a child no older than three or four? Probably more than the average person would expect, but still nothing that ever made him feel like he was actually eavesdropping.



Strawberry blonde curls, blue eyes, rosy cheeks, attentive parents, no brothers or sisters; Dark complexion, tight black curls, loving grandmother, mother and several older siblings; Straight brown hair, olive complexion, hazel eyes, parents who are slightly distracted by the birth of his new baby sister... Face after face and still nothing. Not one of these tiny souls was tugging at him at all.



This wasn’t normally such a tedious and drawn out process. It was something that he normally looked forward to. His charges normally reeled him in with some detail that made him want to reach out. Something that would endear themselves to him in almost an instant. Yet as each face passed in his mind there was not even a hint or a sparkle that made him want to learn more.



What was holding him back and keeping him from fulfilling his purpose? It was a simple question with an obvious answer, but the obvious was exactly what Thomas was trying to avoid. Stating or even thinking about the obvious would bring him back to a time and place that he had no business letting his mind wander to. His purpose was clear – and so were the rules. He tried to push the memories aside and continue with the task at hand, but it was too late. The image in his mind was so real that his hand fluttered as if it were trying to reach out and touch it. Long auburn hair, a spattering of freckles across her cheeks and nose, dark brown eyes, so dark they almost obscured the blackness of her pupils and the smile that indented her cheeks into deep almost cavernous dimples on each side. Thomas began to smile, but then he began shaking his head almost violently as if that would somehow jar the image out of his mind.



He had to get over this obsession before he lost what little mind he had left. It had been years now and he had already spent that time span with two other charges since her, so why was she so vividly in his mind now? Of course he had never forgotten her, he never forgot any of them, he loved and cared for them all, so why her? These questions were getting him no where. He took a deep breath and tried to focus once again on finding his next charge. He decided to try a different tactic.



He wondered curiously to himself what form he would be asked to take this time. Of course he could appear human, if that’s what his charge wanted, but when you’re at the mercy of the imagination of a child not much older than a toddler, that isn’t always the case. He never tried to push the issue, after all it was their unique creativeness that called him to them in the first place. He did let them know that his name was Thomas, but that didn’t matter either. Whatever nick-name that they came up with was what he answered to. It was all figurative anyway. He never actually took that form physically, but his personal portal into their mind showed him exactly what he looked like to them as clearly as if he were looking at his reflection in a mirror. For that reason, for however long he was their companion, that is exactly how Thomas saw himself.



He smiled as he catalogued the images in his mind: Tiffany - white elephant with a pink tutu; Michael - tall, lanky cowboy complete with white horse and lasso; Jennifer - wolf-like dog with purple eyes and orange fur; Samantha - small pink monkey that could fit in her pocket; Malcom - sumo-wrestler who served as his protector and looked somewhat like a gorilla; the list was endless and only limited by their imagination. Of course some of his charges only wanted a companion and didn’t spend a lot of their creative energy on turning him into some fantastic being - they just wanted a friend. Someone who would be with them when no one else was around. His smile widened when he began to remember the last time he had actually been a normal human little boy, in her mind anyway.



Ugh! There was her face again. Why wouldn’t the images go away? He began to pace back and forth along the small beach. He had picked this place because of its tranquility, but there was nothing tranquil about the turmoil swirling around in his head. He finally stopped, closed his eyes and took a couple of deep cleansing breathes. He was hoping that the fresh scent of the sea might somehow help to clear the images from his mind, but somehow he knew better. Thomas walked to the nearest tree along the shoreline and slid himself along its smooth bark till he was seated on the marshy sand. He sat there for a few moments in anticipation. He was waiting for the memories to take over, as the expression goes, “if you can’t beat them, join them.” Maybe that was the only way he could get past it. She was creeping into his mind for some strange reason, so maybe he should just stop and take the time to figure out why. For the first time today, Thomas closed his eyes and relaxed himself completely. He allowed himself to drift back to the visions he was trying to block. He smiled to himself as he started at the beginning, the very first time he had seen Nicole.