Growing up, I never had many friends. I was known as the geek with the big glasses and pigtails. So, I started getting imaginative. I got bullied so badly to the point where I had to beg my parents to move cities. Me and my parents moved into a small house near the outskirts of Montréal.
Kind of in the country side of it. I was so relieved, finally, all of that torment would far behind me. No more mocking, no more taunting, new school, new house, new city. But, it wasn’t entirely perfect… I remember getting a twirl in my stomach when we drove up to the house. The house was old, like really old.
It wasn’t even close to being minimalistic, The wood had the paint almost peeling off from it… but I’m going to be honest. I remember hardly anything about how the house looked. Just the feeling it gave me. I do remember one thing though, the backyard was huge. It was a small shed right in front of the huge forest behind the house, and as a 13 year old kid, I was pretty happy there was something interesting in this old house.
But, my parents told me strictly not to go in the shed. I obeyed. I remember the first day that I stepped inside of the forest, I just wanted to have a peak about what lied inside of it. I’m going to be honest it was quite boring at first, trees, grass, a bit of moss here and there. Nothing too exciting.
But, as I walked further into the forest, I felt my knees start to prickle and bend before I fell over. My new jeans were covered in mud and somewhat chlorophyl. I slowly turned up to see a man in a grey suit, almost a greyish blue. He was… incredibly handsome, almost irresistible. But, A dark aura was covering his charming and chiselled features. So he was… quite hard to look in the eyes.
« Bonjour. »
Was all I could make out while he cocked his head back in laughter. I was almost gasping for air since my stomach almost went into my lungs, that’s how much panic I was in. Suddenly a relief flooded upon my body. I got to my senses and started bolting. Faster than I’ve ever ran before, I could faintly hear « Julie. » Being said over and over again. I never had felt more relieved to see that old house once again.
Over the next few weeks, I heard a calling towards the shed. Specifically my name. « Julie. » The voice that called was so deep that it almost felt unsettling.
After a few weeks, my curiosity grew stronger. I walked over, finally bearing my courage. I opened the shed, and there he was. The same man in the grey suit staring at me. This time he was slightly leaning on the wall. He had a devilish smile on his face.
« Heureux de te voir. » “Happy to see you.” Was all he said. I won’t get into detail, but me and that man became closer, and I never complained to my parents.
His name was Harvey. Or at least that is what he told me. He wasn’t aggressive after the forest encounter and he said he really liked me. He never actually hated me, he would let me talk about anything I wanted for hours and hours. Even if he had no understanding of the topic.
But, then we moved away. However, I didn’t tell him we were going to move away.
But, I remember getting in the car, my luggage all packed. I glanced one last time at the house from the window. And I saw him, leaning against the wood of the house, same grey suit, but this time he looked angry.
That’s the last time I’ve seen him. Honestly, I do miss him. But, every time I mention him to my parents, they say that I was just an imaginative kid. Mum says she just thought I had an imaginary friend. Due to the fact I got bullied and hardly grew up without any friends, I had tons of those.
But, Harvey was real.