Imaginary Maddie

As Charlie had always been told to "stay with the family" on their vacations, he naturally tried to get away as often as possible. This usually caused mayhem in the family of seven but seeing as he was the youngest, no trouble or punishment ever came his way.

Charlie enjoyed being the youngest, however, there were times when it became lonesome and irritating. With a six-year gap between him and the twins, Kate and Sophie, he was the complete and utter baby of the family. When he was really young, the girls tolerated him but as they grew older, they began to complain about him tagging along and doing everything they did with them.

This had led to him being left home when the girls went out, as well as the creation of his imaginary friend, Maddie. From the ages of five to about nine, Charlie was glued to Maddie's invisible side and all he talked about was their adventures.

He frequently described her to his family, and his recounting was so consistent that as he grew, his parents began to worry. Their elder children assured them that he would grow out of it and that Maddie would soon become a fond memory. Their worry, however, became exasperation and by the time he was seven and a half, he knew not to bring her up anymore.

Charlie never worried about this though. Maddie understood and never judged him for his family's behaviour - she was truly Charlie's best friend. Her flaming red hair and wide grin became his comfort, and the day she stopped visiting him was the day he experienced true heartbreak and loneliness.

Now, at least a year or two later, he was hiding out near the penguins after escaping Kate's watchful eye and currently having a staring contest with the nearest bird. So far, neither party was winning.

Feet passed by him from where he was crouched down to be at eye-level with his opposition so as to not make the penguin think that he was trying to cheat. Maddie had always taught him that cheating was a horrible and mean thing to do. Maddie taught him many other things that his parents weren't bothered to. 

The first time he met her, he was fascinated with the mass of red curls atop her head, as well as the freckles dotting her thin cheeks. The gaps in her teeth that had at first made him stare but then made him giggle and her smiles that were completely infectious were the lights to his lonely days. 

They had a game that even after all their teeth grew in, they would try to cover as many of their teeth as possible when they smiled with whatever they could - their tongue, their lips, Charlie even used his fingers a few times. Maddie would scrunch her nose at that but even with the extra help, Charlie only won some of the time. The person with the least amount of teeth showing won. They even kept a scoreboard, although Maddie's side was filled with ticks and Charlie had a mere three. The last day of seeing her, he had managed to add at least two; a Charlie-record, she had laughed and used their orange chalk to add a tick to his side. 

He grimaced, his small mouth pulling into a sad smile. His eyes, however, were still locked onto the penguin's and they both remained unflinching. Neither stinging nor tears came to his eyes: he was well trained in the art of staring. He had spent hours simply staring at his ceiling thinking about nothing as a way to pass the time after Maddie left.

A squawk caused his grin to become cheeky and the tip of his tongue to peek out in concentration. The match went on for many more seconds until both of their concentration were broken as Charlie was slammed into by a pair of bright yellow rubber boots. He landed on his bum and skid to his elbows.

"I'm so sorry! Are you okay? I really didn't mean to, I just got these boots and -"

His eyes popped open at the voice and he peered up at the young girl with flaming red hair who was leaning over him, concern written all over her face. Their eyes met and she stared for a few seconds before blinking, confusion covering her expression. Not a second went by and his face mirrored her.

Charlie was the first to break eye contact as he got up from the floor to dust himself off, but even as he stood up, he didn't move forward. Instead, he smiled - wide and genuine- and covered his top front teeth with pointer fingers and the bottom row of teeth with his lip. 

"Huii!"

They stand like that for a second before she bursts into laughter and bounces over with her finger outstretched. Stopping in front of him, she focuses on his mouth and counts his visible teeth.

"You only have, like, three or four showing. You've gotten better since the last time I saw you Charl!"

Giggles interrupted her words, but he was still able to decipher what she was saying. He gave a grin, as well as one can with fingers still in their mouth and struck a pose. She giggled harder at that but soon stopped.

Removing his fingers from his top lip, he quickly wiped the saliva on his jeans and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Well? Let's see your try then! I doubt it will be better than mine, I've had a while to practice."

She smiled as wide as he did, but curiously not as genuinely. Every thought of concern flew from his brain as soon as he realized she managed to cover practically all of her teeth. His jaw dropped and his hands fell to his sides.

"What! How in the world did you manage to do that?"

"Juth count 'em!"

He rolled his eyes and totalled her score of visible teeth.

"Two! How did you even do that?"

She shrugged and looked innocently at the penguins behind the exhibit glass. His eyes narrowed,

"You didn't cheat right?"

At first, she looked insulted but then her expression turned amused. He noticed that her eyes had darkened from the soft, sweet grey they used to be to being darker, more hard.

"First of all, no I didn't cheat! Cheating's bad, don't you remember? And second of all, how would even cheat at that? Cover more of your teeth? Oh wait, that's the point of the game!"

Her eyes reflected her temperament he noted.

He grinned,

"Well I dunno, just seemed suspicious that even now you win."

The spark from her eyes went out as he mentioned the fact that it had been years since they last saw each other. The darkness dulled to become an ashy colour. He didn't like it as much as he did the hurricane in her eyes.

Quiet seconds go by before,

"Well, nice seeing you!"

She turned away and waved a hand over her shoulder as if seeing hadn't brought up old memories. He stood there, confused for a few seconds before jogging after her.

"Uhhh, whaddya mean 'nice seein me'?" 

She stopped and faced him, and even though the zoo was at its busiest hour, it seemed that only they were there.

"What do you think I mean Charlie? You haven't visited me since I was nine, and I needed you the most the past few years! What am I supposed to think Charl?"

Even though she was speaking normally, it still felt like she was shouting in his ear. There was no bite to her words, only a sense of sadness and disappointment. That made it worse, he decided. He would rather her anger than her low spirits.

"I didn't stop! You stopped! I thought you didn't like me anymore, I would never -"

"Charlie! Get back here!"

The shouts of his mother stopped him in the middle of his sentence. He glanced back at Maddie, who looked as if she was ready to take off.

Terrified, he whispered to her,

"Please, don't go."

His mother hurried up to the pair, barely glancing at Maddie before fussing over Charlie.

She ruffled his hair, messed up his jacket and looked him over this way and that until she finally decided that he was fine.

"Where have you been, young man? One moment you're standing in front of Kate, and the next BOOM! You're gone! Do you know how worried we've been?" 

His cheeks flushed bright pink and he coughed, glancing away at the glass. He met Maddie's eyes in the reflection and they stared at him, filled with glee. Charlie internally groaned, he was never going to hear the end of this now.

A dramatic gasp made Charlie's head whip around. His mother had taken a full look at Maddie, and her face had gone pale.

"Oh! Hey Mum, this is Maddie, you remember her right? I told you she was real."

His tone was smug but joyous. Joyous to have finally been right - Maddie was real and not just a figment of his imagination, as everyone had told him when he was younger. 

"She's real? Holy mackerel, she IS real!"

She sounded dazed and disbelieving, and as Charlie stared at her, he noticed that her cheek was twitching.

"Mum? You okay?"

The concern that leaked into his words seemed to snap his mother out of whatever stupor she was in. She quickly put on a smile and made eye contact with him, her worry immediately forgotten.

"I'm alright honey -"

 The sweetness in her voice masked her movements. She darted toward him and he didn't have enough time to move before she suctioned herself to him, wrapping her arms around him and squeezing him tight to her body.

"Isn't it so sweet that you care so much for your dear mum."

He grumbled from where his face was squished into her chest. Charlie reluctantly wrapped his arms around her stomach and squeezed her back, not nearly as tight. 

Giggles made his arms stiffen and he struggled to get out of her embrace. He saw Kate and Sophie standing with Maddie in between them. Both of his sisters had phones, videoing the moment between him and their mother, evil looks on their faces. Maddie had a similar expression however hers was softer. Charlie didn't enjoy seeing the twins together but with Maddie in the middle, it didn't seem so bad.

A thought came to his head and he grabbed his mother's neck and pushed onto his tiptoes to whisper into her ear,

"Hey, mum can I invite Maddie to join us on our zoo-tour?"

She looked at him and ruffled his hair,

"That's a great idea sweets, as long as her parents are okay with it."

Charlie jumped out of her arms and nearly face-planted running over to his friend.

"Hey, do you wanna come on our tour with us? If your parents are okay with it," he quickly added, remembering his mother's requirements. Maddie nodded and grabbed his hand.

"Let's go ask them!"

She dragged him behind her through the crowds. Charlie turned his head to shout to his mother,

"We're checking with her parents!"

His mother giggled and hugged the twins to her, one under each arm.

"Okay sweets!"

She whispered to the twins,

"Have you ever seen him this energetic?"

They shook their heads and watched as the pair raced off through the sea of people, hand in hand, laughter trailing behind them.