Me and Mandy

My imaginary friend is Mandy.  Mom can’t see her; if she ever could, she would yell, “Who is that ragamuffin? How did she get in my house?” Mandy would materialise out of thin air. Bare feet and dirty feet at that. Her face—stained with chocolate because she climbs up on the kitchen counter and steals chocolate- covered peanuts.  Mandy is a champion climber. She climbs up to the ceiling and walks across it upside down. She swings on the drapes and once she tears the sheers.  Mom said, "That darn cat again.”

Me and Mandy climb out my bedroom window and run into the woods. One day, we chase the ducks in the pond and I fall in. Sneak into the house and into dry clothes.  Mom never notices. She is playing bridge, drinking sherry and eating chocolate -covered peanuts.

Me and Mandy go to a lumber yard. We steal two by fours and drag them to the stream. We build a raft with string that Mandy steals from the kitchen drawer. We go sailing downstream with the ducks quacking, “Bon voyage!” Soon the stream turns into a river. We pass boats and people with fishing rods. Then the river turns into the sea and there are huge waves.  Mandy said, "Don’t be scared—this is fun. Maybe we will see a whale.” Sure enough, a huge whale rises up out of the water and fixes his eye upon us. Mandy said, “Don’t be scared. Whales never eat girls. They only swallow boys like Jonah.” We pass a boat full of animals with an old man with a long white beard at the steering wheel. Mandy said “That is likely Noah.” Mandy is good on Bible stories because she goes to Sunday school.
She also knows about desert islands and sure enough, we find one. We see the mermaids swimming with the dolphins in the green seawater. Then they sit on rocks and comb their long golden hair with pearl-studded combs. They have shiny silver tails that never got muddy as feet do. Mandy said, "Wow, imagine having no feet and no great squishy mud between our toes.”

We eat dates and crack a coconut on the rocks. The milk is delicious, even better even better than chocolate-covered peanuts. It is getting dark and Mandy said, “Close your eyes and make a wish.” So I do and the next thing I know, I am home in bed. The morning sun is shining in my window and the larks are singing, high in the sky. Mom calls from down stairs, "Okay, kiddo, rise and shine. You’re gonna be late for school.” Stupid school. Life would be deadly dull without Mandy.