Dad and mom argue a lot; every year their fights get worse. They think I don’t notice because I lock myself in my room, but I see everything. Even so, I prefer not to say or do anything. It's better this way.

Since I can remember, it’s just been me in a huge mansion in a quiet part of a small town. My parents don’t have time for me, so it’s just me and my best friend, Mr. Bunny. Mr. Bunny is my plushie, my only companion in this luxurious place that surrounds me. My room is enormous and for someone as small as me, it’s impossible to fill it. Not even all the books in the world could fill it, not even all Mr. Bunny's stuffed could.

In this vastness... I feel alone. The only thing I ask of my parents that they haven’t been able to give me is a friend. Company. I ask them to let me go outside to play so I can join the kids I hear beyond our huge garden. They forbid me to socialize, to talk to them, and tell me to stay home and play with my things. My dad says it’s for my own good, though I don’t understand it. Sometimes I cry at night, silently, hugging Mr. Bunny and wondering when I will have someone to play with and share my books with.

I'm not going to school either; I have a private tutor who teaches me everything I need at home, and that's why I don't see any reason to leave the house. I imagine making friends on the street or at school, I picture what I would say to them and how we would play when I invite them over, and I also think about what we would play if they invited me to theirs and what our birthday parties would be like. But just thinking about the fact that I really don't know how I should talk to kids of my age scares me, and in the end, it gets me down, making me think maybe Dad is right. Maybe being like this, isolated, is for the best.

Still, I enjoy spending time in the garden; it's even quieter than being inside the house where my parents could start arguing at any moment. I took a book and Mr. Bunny, with me, sat him on a stone bench in front of a tall and well-kept bush, which is the entrance to our little maze. Then I sit down next to the stuffed animal and open the book. I start to read aloud. But suddenly…

"Pss"

A sound coming from inside the maze grabs my attention. I look up, but there's no one there, so I continue with my reading aloud.

"Pss"

Again, the same noise. I glanced at Mr. Bunny, naively thinking maybe he was the one who made that noise. But it's clear he wasn't. I turn my eyes back to the book but don’t pick up the reading again; I wait to hear the noise again.

"Pss. Pss"

I close the book and ask:

“Who 's there?”

“Come on, let’s play for a bit” says a voice. It sounds like a kid my age, but I can't see anyone around.

“Who are you? Where are you?” I decide to put the book aside and stand up from the bench, leaving Mr. Bunny behind. The voice seems to be coming from inside the maze.

“What does it matter? Let’s play. I’m all alone and bored. Do you want to play with me?”

I’m alone too... I’d also like to play with someone.

“My parents told me I couldn't play with anyone around here.”

"And are they really going to find out? Come on!"  I take a look at the mansion behind me; it's true they don't have to find out. They're usually busy and won't call me back until late afternoon when it's time for dinner.

"But I can't see you; I don't know who you are or what you look like. How are we supposed to play if I don't know how you look?"

"Alright, I've got a proposal," the voice said cheerfully. "I'll keep talking to you; follow my voice until you find me. If you manage to catch up to me, then I'll introduce myself properly. How does that sound?"

"Yes! I accept the challenge."

I step into the maze, following the direction of the voice toward where I think the sound is coming from. I run as fast as I can, turning corners quickly, and end up at a dead end. I look in every direction, thinking that this is where the voice might be.

"Almost there, almost! Did you really think I'd make it that easy for you?" the voice mocks. I don’t give up, so I turn around and keep running. Now the voice sounds like it’s behind me, pretty close, so it shouldn't have gone far.

Still, no matter how fast I got to the spot where I thought he would be, he was nowhere to be found. Nonetheless, he kept talking to me, teasing my attempts to reach him, giving me hints about where he was. I swear I had already covered the whole maze and there was no trace of him. Just when I least expected it, I heard my mother’s voice calling my name from the gate. I was tired of chasing the mysterious boy and hadn’t realized how much time had passed; it was getting dark.

"I have to go" I said loudly, addressing my companion.

"So soon?" the voice complained. "This was just getting started..."

"You can come, have some tea with us..." I said without thinking, "even though I don't like tea, but if you want to join me..."

"No, thanks," the voice replied. "Maybe another time."

His refusal made me a bit sad, but his next words filled me with joy and hope.

“What do you say we will meet back here tomorrow?” If he could see me, he would have definitely noticed how my expression lit up.

“Yeah, that would be great,” I replied.

I walk out of the maze and grab my book and Mr. Bunny, who I had left all alone the whole afternoon. When I get to the gate, my mom asks me what I was doing, and I tell her I made a new friend in the garden. I was so happy that I didn’t think about what she might say about it. She’s definitely going to scold me. My mom looks towards the maze of bushes searching for my friend, but there’s hardly any light left in the day to tell if anyone is really out there; she strokes my head and nods.

“I see, you mean your stuffed rabbit.”

“No, mom. I’m talking about a real friend, a kid my age.” She stares at me, looking worried.

“But no one is allowed to come in here, honey.”

We enter the house, and while we walk through the hallways, I insist that I really met someone and that I’d been playing with him all afternoon. During dinner, the atmosphere grew quite tense when my mom mentioned my friend to my dad.

“Aren’t you supposed to be watching your son...?” my mom reproaches my dad, who looks just as puzzled by the whole situation with my friend as she is.

“Claudio, you need to understand we don’t allow any strangers into our home” my dad said calmly.

“I know, but he didn’t come into the house. We were in the garden” I replied calmly while sipping some juice.

My parents exchanged glances; my mom looked like she might have a meltdown at any moment. She was a very nervous person, while my dad took things more calmly, although he could have a strong temper sometimes.

“I see.. " My dad began to say calmly as he cut the meat for dinner “So, Claudio made a new friend. He’s happy about it, and we should be happy for his achievement, right, my love?”

My mom looked at him with her eyes wide open in surprise, as if she couldn’t believe what he was saying.

“I mean, it’s normal for kids to invent imaginary friends and think they’re real,” my dad continued. “They’re real to them, since it’s hard for us adults to understand something like that.”

Then my mom calmed down upon hearing the rest and nodded with a slight smile. For a moment, I truly thought my dad was supporting me, but I didn’t understand why they didn’t believe me.

“I’m telling you the truth!” I raised my voice in frustration. My parents looked at me, surprised, exchanged a decisive glance, and my dad decided that I should go to my room immediately, and that if I disobeyed or raised my voice again, I would be punished.

I preferred to head to my room and cry silently over such injustice; I didn’t want to be punished and lose the chance to see my new friend again. The mere thought that I might not spend my afternoons alone anymore made me feel calmer.

From my window, I could see the garden, so I stayed there, watching the dark and lonely landscape, longing for the next day to see my new and only friend again.