For Lily

Constantine was, for the first time in her 12 years on this planet, an only child. Her slightly older twin brothers had recently graduated high school and each decided to pursue higher education out of state, away from the familiar dairy farm house they had all grown up together in. With ⅔ of her children gone, Constantine's mother justified the selling of her childhood home with her and her father by stating the home was too big for the small family they had become. It didn’t take much convincing for her father to be on board. He had always been a city man, craving the hustle and bustle of the grimy crowded street and convenience stores being just a stone's throw away. He had moved his whole life to the middle of nowhere Ohio, just for her mother, but had never been quite about the small bit of regret he held with that decision. Her mother on the other hand, adored the quiet and simplistic lifestyle that Constantine had grown up with. She knew that her mom and she had shared that one thing in common, so for her mother to initiate this life changing choice, it shocked her, so much so that she could hardly bring herself to protest such a drastic change. She tried to express her disapproval, but before she could even prepare an argument, strange men were moving her things from the only home she had ever known and crammed her entire life inside a large white box.

Her father assured her that their new home was like nothing she had ever seen before. Their old house was a fat, large, red roofed home with character. But her new house was promised to be even more beautiful than the last. A gorgeous, tall, sleek home with a new neighbor every five feet. However, with hands pressed against the smudged glass, Constantine had to disagree with her father's description of the house once she saw it for the first time. Rather than a tall elegant home, she could only see a shabby fixer upper. The building stood impossibly tall, with crooked sidewalks and steps to the door to match. It was not white, but a dirty off white and certainly did not scream ‘Welcome to your new home!’ Relentlessly, she stepped out of the car and sulked to the door. Her father and mother grabbed each other's hands for the first time in forever and skipped to the door, their joyful laughs bouncing off the crowded houses. Perhaps, she thought to herself, the house wouldn’t be all that bad. Maybe her parents knew more than she did and that it would be the beginning of a better adventure than she had envisioned for herself. 

This blind optimism she possessed for a moment left when she realized that the building was in fact not entirely theirs, but the home of at least three other families. The reason why the house was so tall was because each of the many windows she saw from the outside, was in a different home. Her father said they were the luckiest ones, since their home belonged on the top floor, with the greatest view of nearly the entire city. He admitted the house was cramped and much smaller than she was used to, but assured her that she would still have her own room for herself. With her small box of belongings in hand, she swiftly moved through the living room, kitchen, and past another door she presumed to be her parents before arriving at a bright pink pastel door. Groaning at this detail, she pushed open the door, hoping by some weird chance she had a room just as large as her last.

To no surprise, she was wrong. Not only was the room small, but she feared that she wouldn’t be able to fit her own bed in the room and still have room to walk around. She placed her box on the dusty cushions in the reading nook by her only window and sauntered back out of the room. The movers had already begun moving items into the house, and her parents followed just as quickly, pulling assorted items out of boxes and finding new homes for them in their tiny apartment. Instead of getting in the way of everyone, she decided to slip out the front door and back to the crooked old sidewalk. As she got lost in her thoughts, she began tracing her toes along the cracks, humming a familiar song aloud. 

“You shouldn’t do that.” A voice said out of nowhere, making her jump nearly a mile high. She quickly whipped around and met face to face with a short boy dressed in dark over sized clothes. His dark brown eyes stared straight at hers as he flashed her a crooked smile. “Step on a crack, break your mother's back? Ever heard of that?” He continued with a laugh. 

“Um…No?” She took a giant step backwards with hands behind her, but the mysterious boy matched the step. 

“Its an old rhyme. That if you step on a crack in the sidewalk, your mother's back will break.” He shot back, bouncing back and forth on his feet. Instead of explaining more, the boy started walking circles around her, holding his arms out like an airplane. Constantine releases the tension she holds in her shoulder and arms and relaxes slightly, turning her head with him to watch him entertain himself.  “What’s your name, new girl?”

“Constantine. What’s your name?” She said shyly. He stops in his tracks and meets her eyes again, muttering a response she couldn’t decipher before continuing his airplane circles. “What was that?”

“Parker!” He shouts towards the sky, running faster for a moment. “Are you moving into the apartment upstairs?” Before she could answer, he quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the house, and into the stairwell that leads to the four separate apartments. He brought her up to the third door and glanced over his shoulder before swiftly pushing open the door and pulling her in the dark room.

For a moment, she couldn’t see a thing, and panic filled her body as she wrapped her arms tightly around her body and away from Parker. But soon, her eyes adjusted and she was able to see the layout of the room, which was nearly identical to her own. Parker had moved away from the doorway and past the living room into the kitchen. His head barely pierced over the tall counters as he tried to pour himself a glass of water from a tall pitcher. His hands were nearly engulfed in his long sleeves, but he managed to pour not one, but two glasses of water. While gulping his down, he made his way back over to her and shoved the glass in her direction. Hesitantly, she took it with both her hands as a he gasped for air after chugging the entire glass

“It’s hot outside. You should drink some water.” Parker tells her matter of factly, returning to the kitchen to place his glass in the sink. 

“Why did you bring me in here?” Constantine asked, taking a small sip of her water. 

“I needed to ask you a question.” He explained “A private question that I didn’t want anyone else to hear.” She cocked her head sideways, her curiosity outweighing her fear. 

“What is it?” She asked, her voice hardly a whisper. The thought of her gaining the knowledge of something new, or giving her knowledge to another excited her. Or perhaps it was just the idea of making a friend so quickly that made her happy. 

“Did your parents tell you about…” He started, creeping his little body closer to hers. He moved on his tiptoes, holding his arms out in front of him like a sneaking cartoon character while looking behind his shoulder before looking back at her, continuing even quieter than before “the secret room in your house?” Constantine’s eyes grew wide as she clutched onto her glass of water, slowly shaking her head back and forth. Parker's mouth grew into a sinister smile. She noticed he was missing not one, but two of his teeth. This detail, somehow, put her at ease. How could a boy, most likely younger than her, make her so frightened? Releasing her grip on her glass slightly, she raised an eyebrow, gaining a little confidence in her body.

“Well, no. But how do I know you’re not lying?” The boy stopped his dramatic show and his shoulders fell slightly as did his face. 

“Why would I lie to you?” His voice sounded different this time. For the first time, he sounds small and like a child, rather than an adult trying to scheme. He was a child, just like her, looking for a friend. She moved past him and gently placed her nearly full glass in the sink. “Are you gonna leave me?”

“No,” She replied quickly, whipping around to face him “I want you to show me the secret room in my house.” His face lit up and closed the distance between them to grab her hand and pull her back out his front door and into the stairwell. He tripped over his baggy pants on the first set of stairs, but scrambled back up as they both laughed at his harmless mistake. Their laughter echoed around them as they reached her door, both out of breath and hearts pounding in their ears. Constantine pushed the door open wide as she and Parker paraded in together, catching the attention of her parents. Her dad stared at her, eyebrows furrowed, while her mother held her hands against her chest and smiled bright.

“Who’s this, Constant?” Her mother asked politely, tilting her head at Parker.

“This is-” She began, before Parker cut her off by holding his arm out in front of her. He took a small bow and offered his tiny hand to her mother. She took it, chuckling and firmly shook.

“I am Parker. I’m her new best friend.” Parker replied matter of factly. Her parents shared a moment of laughter before shooing them towards her bedroom. As they entered her bedroom, she noticed that her parents had already set up her bed and school work desk. A small mountain of boxes was stacked in the corner, but all of her clothes were neatly hung in her wide closet. Parker walked into the room and looked around cautiously, before turning to her closet and pointing. 

“This is the secret room.” He whispered with wide eyes. Without thinking, Constantine walked over to the closet and looked through the crack that was open. She grabbed the handle and flung open the accordion doors, revealing a small dense wall of hanging clothes and a shelf above it with neat piles of assorted pants. 

“You call this a secret room?” She asked, turning to him with a sour face. Rather than reflecting that expression as she expected, instead he smiled. It was the kindest and most gentle smile she had ever seen on a person. He divided the wall of hanging clothes with his two hands, looking back at her before doing anything else.

“It is a secret room.” With that, he pulled apart the clothes, revealing a small door, the same color as the walls in her room. If Parker hadn't shown her it, she was sure she would have never seen it, since it had no ridges, bumps or textures that were different from the wall. The only thing that was different was the faint outlines by the hinges and a small, white knob protruding from the right side of the panel. She gasps with excitement, and knelt down beside him as they both pressed their small heads and hands against the door. Silence engulfed them as they tried with all their might to listen for something, anything on the other side of the door. 

“How did you know about this?” She finally asked him as they continued to listen. He stared into her eyes and smiled again.

“I had another friend who lived here,” He said, looking back at her room “Her name was Lily. This was our hiding spot.”

“Where did Lily go?”

“I don’t know.” Parker said, his smile fading. “I woke up one morning and ran to her door, but no one was here. My mom told me that it happens sometimes. People just have to leave without a goodbye.” She stared at him, at a loss for words. “But it’s okay.” He perked up, looking back at her. “Because you can be my best friend now.” They both grinned as he reached for the doorknob

“Wait,” Constantine placed her hand on top of his, stopping him from opening the door. She held out her pinky finger and nodded towards his. Without hesitation, he wrapped his small pinky around her, waiting for whatever promise she was about to make. “Let’s promise each other to always be friends. And always say goodbye.” 

“Okay.” He nodded in agreement. “I promise I will be your friend forever and I will always say goodbye.” She took her hand off of his, but before he let go, he added “And I promise I’ll always say hello again after our goodbyes.”