“ You be my fwend… I will name you Charlie!” 5 yr old me said to himself
That’s how it all started , how I created my best friend …
My biggest regret…
Hello let’s get introductions out of the way , My name is Daniel and I’m currently 10 years old . I am reaching to each and every single one of you in a desperate need for advice .
Let’s start from the beginning , I grew up in Abbington Massachussets with a very loving family that always seemed to get me whatever I wanted whenever I wanted which looking back just spoiled me and turned me into an insufferable brat later on but the point is I was happy . However there’s a lot of stuff money just can’t buy and I guess that at that age the thing I wanted the most was a brother . However my parents explained to me how that wasn’t in their plans and so I asked them for a pet to which they also said “no”.
“SCREW THEM!” I said to myself in a fit of rage ! I went up to my bedroom , slammed the door shut and started to cry … all I wanted was someone to play with…
I snatched a book from a bookshelf and started flipping through the pages angrily .
That’s when I saw it … A smiling fat yellow cat sliding down a water slide . I stared at it in awe and instantly knew that I wanted him to become my friend . As usual I got what I wanted , but at what cost …
Charlie and I were inseparable , I would talk with him (myself) for hours during the night ranting about how annoying my parents were and about the cute girls I would meet at school . He said everything I wanted him to tell me , he would always agree , I was fulfilled and truly happy.
All that was thrown out the window when I woke up one night with a terrible chest pain and shortness of breath. I wheezed helplessly and tried calling out for my parents but nothing came out . I struggled to get out of bed but somehow managed to do so. Once I was finally out I walked next door and pounded on my parents bedroom door . The last thing I could remember before I was knocked unconscious was hearing my mother shriek in horror as she opened the bedroom door .
“What happen- where am I?” I said as I struggled to open my eyes
“Honey , everything i- is fine. Everything is going to be okay I promise.” She said
I stared as doctors rushed in and out of my room , with concerned looks in their faces as they stared back at me . I saw as my mom grab one of the doctors robes pleading and sobbing as she asked “Is he going to make it through this time ?”
I fell back asleep and was woken shortly after by a soft tap in my shoulder .
“Hey buddy , how are you feeling ?” The doctor said
“I’m feeling a little better , my chest doesn’t hurt anymore…” I said
He gave me a warm smile and said “ Listen buddy , I spoke to your parents about what seems to be the cause of your problem and I think you deserve to know as well . You have a sickness known as lung cancer which is what’s causing those terrible chest pains and your shortness of breath . I assure you that everything will turn out ok , all I need is for you to cooperate with us . I know this is not easy for you but I’ll be here for you and so will your parents . You will meet other kids just like you and I assure you that you will make a lot of friends here ! Ok?”
“Y-yes” I said and proceeded to fall asleep again
Over the following weeks I was scheduled to receive chemotherapy 4 times a week and my progress was constantly being checked . It’d like to say the treatment was a success , but as you could probably guess it wasn’t, if anything it got completely worse.
It was one of those nights after the treatment had been applied to me where I felt like complete garbage . My hair kept falling off , my stomach was burning and I felt like throwing up all throughout the night . I forcefully closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep but I just couldn’t manage…
That’s when I heard it…
A raspy little whisper coming from the corner of my mind
“Hey Daniel , feeling a little better?”
“ Huh? Who is this?” I murmured
“ What do you mean “who is this?” It’s me Charlie , your pal !”
“ Char- Charlie? Your … real ?” I said
“O yes! And I’m very real! But for now all I need is you to do is listen to me closely…”
“Where have you been all this time ?! Why did you abandon me !” I said
“Shhh… I’ve simply been working on a way to help you out with your little problem , now listen your very sick , the treatment isn’t working and the doctors are going to have no choice but to rip open your skin and take out a chunk of your body from you , it’s going to hurt but I want to help you . All I need you to do is to promise me that you will do everything I say from now , if you agree to this you will feel good again , you will leave this bed and sleep in your own bed again , and we can play forever !”
“O-ok … I promise” I said reluctantly
“Sweet dreams kiddo” Said Charlie as he faded into obscurity once again .
The next morning I woke up feeling stronger than I had ever before I kicked the bed sheets and got up from bed , disconnecting everything I had attached to me. Up to that point I had completely forgotten about my interaction with Charlie the night before . I got out of my bed and approached the window …
All of my hair was back …?
“This can’t be possible … ” I said to myself
At that moment , the door knob twisted and the doctor along with my parents entered the room . My mother fell down to the floor and started to scream and cry out of happiness .
“I-It’s … a miracle !” Said the doctor .
Except it wasn’t a miracle … it was Charlie .
After that day my life changed completely . I returned home better than ever I had ever felt before and only a couple weeks later Max came into our lives , a cute beagle puppy of only a couple months old . I played with him day and night at home , in the park …
But Charlie didn’t like it .
After only a couple weeks I started to notice that a sense of hatred start to emerge from me . I just couldn’t explain it …
“Why…” Charlie said
“ What’s the matter , anything wrong ?”
“We don’t talk anymore … seems like Max has taken my place hasn’t he ?” He said
“What are you talking about ? No he hasn’t , it’s just that I love him and he’s my best-‘’
“Get rid of him.” He said
“I WONT!” I protested
“Is that so …? Looks like someone forget OUR LITTLE DEAL !! If you don’t get rid of him I will .”
I didn’t answer him, just stared into those cold yellow eyes that protruded from the corners of my mind . The next morning I woke up to the sound of past pacing and murmuring coming from the living room . I got out of bed with a sense of dread following me with every step …
“What happened ?” I asked
“Honey … Max is gone .” said my mom
“We’ve put posters all over the neigh-‘’
“LEAVE ME ALONE ! JUST GIVE ME MY MAX BACK . I screamed as I rushed back to my room and slammed the door shut
We never found Max …
After a couple days Charlie started speaking to me again and even though I was still scarred from the incident and skeptical about his intentions , within a couple hours of talking we were back to being friends just like before . I felt so happy talking to my best friend again but my parents had to step in and ruin everything.
It started off with small talks about how imaginary friends aren’t real and how I should start making real friends in school and perhaps let go of Charlie , but Charlie didn’t want to let go …
Eventually my parents started setting me up with therapists to try and put a stop to what they called “The Charlie Madness”. This went on for many months but nothing they did seemed to work .
All of this leads us to last weeks incident , we were eating dinner and Charlie started talking to me , naturally I answered and that’s when my father snapped at me
“WHY WONT YOU GROW OUT OF THAT STUPID HABBIT ! CHARLIE ISNT REAL AND HES NOTHING BUT A PRODUCT OF YOUR STUPID IMAGINATION ! NOONE IS GOING TO LIKE YOU IF YOU KEEP ACTING LIKE A FREAK!”
I was stunned , but Charlie wasn’t …
Deep inside me I could sense hatred start to consume him and a thirst for revenge like never before started to emerge from me … I felt like killing my dad …
The feelings have been growing stronger and stronger throughout this past week and Charlie keeps whispering me to kill my father . All of this has been great cause for concern but what I discovered last night is what motivated me to write this post . I was looking through my mother’s phone and found an app that is supposedly for a security camera that I didn’t even know existed , I was looking through all of the footage it had and I found some really old ones , some that had Max in it , I scrolled until I found the date Max was last seen and I couldn’t believe my eyes …
Even though the lights were turned off and it was pretty dark I could still manage to see Max’s sleeping silhouette and …
There I was walking towards him in a sleepwalking state , when I finally approached Max I grabbed him , walked towards the door , opened it and threw him out. I pressed my ear closer and could hear Max’s whimpers as I returned to my room . I was horrified to find out the truth but the worse thing is that I found Charlie’s complete power over me . If I don’t listen to him he will make sure to get rid of them one way or the other , either that or he will just …
Kill me.
Im typing this on my computer with a knife on one side and a pill box on the other. I need your help … I just can’t bear the thought of doing this to my parents , but then what other choice do I have … take him out with me ?
What do I do … time is running out .