I did not understand anything of what had just happened. One moment, I had been curled up, fetal position, on my small and lonely twin bed, my abode nowadays since the heart attack that had taken my beloved stepmother's life, and the next...I was standing here. Though, where here exactly was, I wasn't exactly sure. One thing I did know was that it was absolutely beautiful.

I stood barefoot on a patch of damp grass, still dressed in my thin cotton nightgown, my thumb stuck in my mouth as I gaped up at the cascading waterfall and long, peaceful-looking river. It looked almost like a rainforest scene from one of the nature videos that my stepmother had used to convince me to watch with her.

Stepping forward tentatively, I lowered my free hand into the crystal-clear water.

"Hey! Are you crazy? I thought I specifically told you last time to wear something warmer to bed!"

Startled by the loud shouting coming from the dark trees behind me, I lost my balance and fell into the river. A hand pulled me out, coughing and throwing up water. As soon as I could open my eyes, I looked up into a familiar pair of bottle-green eyes.

The owner of the eyes tilted his golden head to the side, giving me a pitying look.

"Now look at you. You're as soaked through as a wet kitty...and your lips are turning blue. Can't you ever stay out of trouble?"

I stood there, trembling from head to toe, including my lower lip. The tall boy sighed and shook his head.

"Girls. What is the world to do with them? Well, no use in letting you shiver." He smiled at me, showing two dimples in his chin. "I'd hate to lose you."

Suddenly, certain parts of my face were quite red and warm, and I almost smiled for the first time in days.

He smiled back easily, and lifted me gently in his arms. He cradled me against his chest and slowly walked back in the direction of the dark forest. But I was no longer scared. He was with me now, and he would guard me against all harm.

***

"Open your mouth."

I obediently parted my lips as Ethan shoved a silver spoon full of gooey medicine in between them, his eyes furrowed in concentration.

"I know that you meant good and all, but did you really have to send Mom and Dad away on a vacation on the exact day you decided to come and fall into the river?"

"I-I-I didn't c-create the r-r-river," I shuddered, despite the pile of blankets and shawls that Ethan had formed into a cocoon around me. "W-why is it t-there?"

"Of course you didn't create it," Ethan sniffed. "You don't have a boys' imagination. Robby and I thought it up yesterday---by ourselves---, when you didn't show up for playtime."

The last part was undisguisingly accusatory, and yet, it was just the right perk-me-up to get me instantly riled up.

"Of course I didn't show up yesterday! Do you even know what happened yesterday? My mother..." I started to choke on tears and my own anger "...My mother was buried yesterday."

Ethan blinked at me slowly, then it seemed to dawn on him.

"Oh. Oh! Oh, Mia, I..."

"It's okay," I said, but it was blank and without conviction. "You did not know."

Or perhaps he forgot because he was with that Robby again, I thought bitterly. This was yet another one of those times when I berated myself for being caught up in a moment of emotion and creating yet another friend to keep Ethan company on the days that I was not able to leave the real world and play with him.

I had tried to make Robby as polite and thoughtful as Ethan was, but the end results were anything but satisfying. Robby was short and squat, with greasy brown hair, and a constantly running nose that he was always wiping on the sleeves of his shirt. I was personally disgusted with him, but Ethan seemed to look up at him with the blinded eyes of a hero, and he always snapped at me when I tried to say otherwise. That hurt a lot.

Ethan and I went back a long way, ever since I was born. My mother---my real mother, Eileen, Kathleen's elder sister---had told me that all children were born with a companion that only they could see, to help them and guide them throughout life. It was better than having a best friend---to me, having Ethan totally compensated for being an only child.

For all nine years of our lives, we had been inseparable. We'd never had a fight or disagreed on anything...that is, until Robby had come along. Now, Ethan was always playing with him, even on the days when I was able to leave my own world to come and visit him. Robby had made it quite clear that although he was debted to me for bringing him to existence, he thought I was nothing but a "stupid little girl" and that Ethan could have done better by finding a human boy who would be willing to give them anything they wanted---which was obviously what I didn't do.

Ethan sighed and looked at the clock sitting on the mantle over the crackling fireplace.

"It's almost 3 o'clock. Mother'll be back soon from visiting Lizbeth. She'll be able to make you tea then." He gave me an embarrassed look. "I'm off tea duties right now."

"Why?" I demanded, disappointed. I loved making tea with Ethan; watching him stoke the fire with logs and pour a bucketful of pure water into the iron pot, and then slowly letting the herbs fall from between my fingers in the water. It was one of our quiet times, the times when we were just close without having to exchange words.

"Because I let Robby help me and we sorta kinda nearly set the house on fire when Robby started to fence with a burning log," Ethan admitted sheepishly.

I clenched my fists. All of a sudden I'd had enough of Robby.

"Well," I burst out, "if this is how my visit is going to go, I'm leaving. Tell Mrs. Opal I'm sorry I couldn't stay for teatime." I shoved off the blankets, not caring whether or not I took a cold back with me to the real world, and hand-wrung my slightly-damp nightgown a few times before I stumbled towards the door.

"Mia? Wait! You just got here, and Robby will be..."

I didn't want to hear about what Robby would do. I turned around to glare at him.

"Don't tell me anything about Robby. He's ruining everything! I came here, expecting for you to be here ready for me to talk to, for a shoulder to cry on..." Oh, dear, the tears were falling down my cheeks again. "...And all you can talk about is that jerk. My mother's dead, Ethan. Do you understand? My mother is dead! Outside of this world, there is a reality where there are rainy days and where life doesn't go the way you want it...but you're just too much of a little boy to see it."

Ethan gawked at me. He'd never seen me in such a state.

"Mia..." He began, now sounding a bit ashamed. "...Please don't cry. I don't like it when you cry."

"I don't care what you like and you don't like!" I snapped back, wiping at my cheeks furiously. "What do you care if I cry, anyway? Kathleen always told me it was all right to cry."

"Kathleen wouldn't want to see you sad for long, Mia. You're her little girl. She always liked to see you happy."

"Oh, yes, always happy," I mocked back bitterly. "Now look! Because of love and happiness, she is now in an early grave. If she hadn't loved my father, she wouldn't be dead!"

"Mia, you cannot blame your father for the delivery problems...Mia, please don't cry."

I choked out a laugh. "Haven't you heard that's what girls do? They just cry and whine all the time...that's what you and Robby said."

Ethan had his arms around me now as I sobbed.

"Shh, Mia...it'll be okay," he whispered. "You still have me. I'll never leave you, I swear on it. Shh."

"Of course you'll leave," I bawled. "Everyone leaves in the end. Mother left, and now Kathleen, and my baby brother that I wanted, and now Father is leaving me too! And you...you'll leave me as well soon."

"Shh, don't talk nonsense, Mia. I won't leave."

I pulled away so I could see his face. It was full of concern and sorrow for my sake.

"You promise?" I hiccouped.

With a serious expression that didn't fit his little face, Ethan cupped my face.

"I will never leave you---ever. You're my best friend, Mia. Best friends don't leave each other."

Satisfied, I pressed my face back to his chest and let him stroke my hair. His words soothed me and made the empty part of me feel whole. He had promised. Now he wouldn't be able to leave me.

That was the last day that Ethan and I ever were that close.

A/N

Please review and take the poll on my profile to let me know what you thought of this chapter. If I get enough positive feedback (at least three reviews), I will continue to post this story at least once a month. THIS WILL NOT DISTRACT ME FROM LADY OF THE TIGRES; as I said before, Gabriel and Marisa take top priority. :)

~Elyssa

Oh, and to encourage you a bit, here's a preview, from a bit farther on in the story:

"Mia, meet our houseguest."

I stared aghast at the handsome young man who was standing next to my beaming father. He was taller, and his face was leaner, and he was wearing a suit, but he was still...

"ETHAN?" I gasped.