Kelly's New Friend

Kelly Michielsen's vivid imagination was both a gift and an affliction, a blessing and a curse. It enabled her to become a creative writer later in life, but at the same time it often made her imagine that situations were far worse than they actually were. Throughout her life, there were times she wished she could turn her overactive imagination on and off with the flick of a switch, but it remained with her always, a constant companion.

Even when she was a young child, Kelly's imagination would often prove to be a problem. Growing up on a small, scarcely populated island off the coast of northern New England, she was one of only five children who attended school in one of the unused rooms at the North Atlantic Marine Research Center. Attending the public school on the mainland was out of the question since it was a two-hour trip by boat each way. Still, Kelly and her classmates received a proper education. Mrs. Barrett was a good teacher, and every one of her students was provided with a state-of-the-art computer with high-speed Internet access.

While Kelly was not deprived of any of the modern electronic gadgets and games children on the mainland had, she did not have any playmates her own age. That did not mean Kelly lacked friends. She got along well with the four other children who lived on the island, although three were much younger and one was four years older than she was. Most important to the Michielsen girl were the friends other people could not see, friends Kelly only spoke to when no one else was around. She knew these friends would never respond to her, but it hardly mattered. It made her happy simply to have someone—or something—to talk to.

Of course, just as the girl had plenty of friends on the island, she also had enemies—one enemy, to be exact. It was an enemy that towered over the island and spied on all who lived there. Unlike mere mortal foes, it never slept. Day and night, it never ceased its vigil.

The only way Kelly could escape its evil, flashing eye was to sneak off to the caves on the opposite side of the island. Although her parents warned her not to play in those caves, she often went there anyway; for once she could no longer see the frightening black-and-white-striped monster peering down at her from the rocks on the island's western shore, she felt free and lighthearted. Besides, the caves were a fascinating and enchanting environment for someone with a vivid imagination, offering countless adventures and limitless possibilities.

One Saturday, after finishing her assigned chores, Kelly packed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a fruit punch juice box in her backpack and headed for the caves. She kept her eyes focused on the path ahead of her, not wanting to look at the monster standing behind her, staring down at her with disapproval. Along the way to the caves, she was joined by two friends: one a rookie pitcher for the Boston Red Sox and the other a pop singer and former American Idol contestant.

"I've got everything we need," she said to her imaginary friends.

There was no response from her companions, but she was not disappointed because she had not expected any.

When they got to the caves, Kelly took her sandwich and juice box out of her backpack and ate. Her friends waited patiently for her to finish. She then put her trash in her backpack and took out a gardening shovel.

"Captain One Eye's treasure has been buried on this island for more than two hundred years," she announced. "I read about it in a book on pirates of New England. If we find the buried treasure, my father and mother can quit their jobs with the marine research group, and the three of us can all move back to the mainland."

As she dug through the wet sand, searching for the pirate treasure chest, Kelly carried on a one-sided conversation with the baseball player and the pop star, discussing everything from what she had for breakfast that morning to the latest movies released on DVD.

"There's no treasure here," she finally said with disappointment.

She looked at her watch and was surprised by the lateness of the hour.

"I have to go home right now, or I'll be late for dinner."

She put the shovel in her backpack, along with some seashells she wanted to add to her ever-growing collection, and then slung the backpack over her shoulders. Suddenly, she felt her sandal slip on a wet rock, and down she went. There was a sharp pain on the back of her head, and Kelly drifted away. When she woke up, she could see nothing but the blackness of night.

"Where am I?" she cried, momentarily disoriented from the blow to her head.

The sound of the waves breaking against the beach was her only answer.

"I'm in a cave," she concluded, remembering her treasure-hunting expedition.

Afraid of falling again, Kelly crawled out of the cave on her hands and knees. She couldn't see very well in the dark, so she followed the sound of the surf. Once outside, she still had difficulty seeing. It was a cloudy night, and there was no moon or stars to light the way. To make matters worse, all the buildings were on the other side of the island.

"I might as well be on the far side of the moon," Kelly moaned, worrying how she would find her way home and what her parents would say when she got there.

A light pierced the clouds, and then vanished. Again a burst of light followed the darkness. The pattern repeated: light, dark, light, dark. Kelly knew what it was—the black-and-white-striped monster was looking for her.

"Here I am," she cried, waving her arms above her head.

She took her first step toward the lighthouse and toward home. The on-and-off pattern of the flashing beacon never stopped, never deserted her in her time of need.

By the end of that journey through darkness, Kelly Michielsen had lost an enemy and found a new friend.