Natalie lay on the hospital bed, holding what she thought
was the most adorable baby she had ever seen.
"Ayano"
Natalie thought that name suited the baby.
"Ayano. Ayano Maria. It suits you so well my little darling.
Daddy would be proud of you." She cooed.
Natalie thought of the baby's father. They had split as soon
as he had heard the news. She wasn't mad though. No, her
child's health and well being were her first priority, and she
was glad he had shown his true colors then. She didn't
want her daughter to have a shitty father and besides,
Natalie was well able to provide for her.
"Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy
birthday dear Aya, Happy birthday to you!"
The 6yo toddler sat on a chair stacked with books so she
could reach the table, her toothy grin seemingly extending
from ear to ear.
"Blow the candle Aya !" Cried another little girl sprawled on
the living room's carpeted floor. Aya bent down and
puckered her lips, but a hand suddenly sneaked behind her
and pushed her face forward. More precisely, into the cake.
An awed silence filled the children packed room, but then,
all hell broke loose. With a sharp cry followed by an
adorable laugh, Aya grabbed a piece of cake and threw it
behind her, missing the offender and instead hitting one of
her classmates in the face. Pieces of cake and plastic
plates were soon sailing through the air and Natalie had to
retreat to the kitchen because she wasn't able to stop the
food war going on. Not that she minded.
Her phone started ringing. "Hello?" Silence greeted her on
the other end.
"Hello ? Who's there ?"
Still, no one answered. She was about to hang up when a
voice she knew all too well spoke.
"Hey, it's me Natalie"
"|- why are you calling me?"
"Damn, I don't even get a 'how are you' ?"
"You left me on my own John. What do you want ?"
"Okay, fair enough. How have you been since ?"
"Since what? You abandoned me? Splendid John,
splendid. Now I'm going to hang up.
11
"Wait ! I just want to... talk to her"
"Do you expect me to believe that after all these years ?
How much has it been ? Six-seven years ? Stop your
bullshit John."
"What's so hard to believe ? I just want to talk to my
daughter Nat"
"Don't pretend like you care ! Don't pretend to acknowledge
your daughter's existence now. And don't call me that."
The man sighed from the other line. "I'm not calling to
argue with you. I just want to hear her voice.
Aya was still giggling with her friends when she noticed
that her mom was missing. She made her way down the
hallway and caught her mother's voice coming from the
kitchen, sounding stressed "... stop your bullshut John".
She wondered who had made her mommy that angry.
Usually, she refrained from any form of swearing.
As she was tiptoe-ing on the carpeted floor she heard
tapping at the backdoor.
"Psst"
Aya was curious. She went to the backyard only to see a
woman gesturing for her to come.
"I won't hurt you little one, I have a message to deliver."
The stranger was wearing an old fashioned Cape with the
hood covering her face.
"Mom said not to talk to strangers."
"Your mom is right, you should listen to her. However, what
I'm going to tell you is very important."
"Okay." The girl settled on the grass, leaving a bit of
distance between herself and the young woman.
"What's you like name?"
"I cannot tell you that, but you can call me Rya."
"Can you come to play with me Miss Rya?"
The woman seemed phased "I can't promise you that."
"Oh, okay then. Me and my friend were planning to play
hide and seek later" the child said, completely forgetting
her previous precautions "Anyhow, what did you wanna tell me?
"Don't disturb mommy, OK? She's on an important phone
call and she might get upset."
"She's already upset" said Aya, picking at the grass.
"Yeah, I know. I'll keep you company for a bit, would you like
that?"
Natalie slammed the phone on the kitchen table. The party
was over, and every kid safely picked up by their parent
earlier. After John had called, her mood had been ruined
and she had proceeded to call it a day.
She walked around the house looking for Aya, not finding
her in the living room nor her room. She wasn't worried
though, her daughter had a habit of wandering to places
and staying extra quiet.
"Aya, honey, its getting late! Let's call it a day, okay?"
"I'm coming mommy, I'm saying goodbye to a friend !"
Natalie followed the sound of her voice to the back door,
wondering what friend she was talking about. Opening it,
she saw Ayano sitting by the swing set and seemingly
listening intently to something. There was no one there.
"Honey, who were you talking to ?" She asked her, while
approaching and picking the discarded plastic plates on
the grass.
"My friend Rya! She says she knows you mommy, do you
know her ?"
Natalie looked around worriedly. Who was this Rya? It
wasn't unusual for kids at Aya's age to have imaginary
friends, but this didn't sound like a made up person.
"Where is Rya love? I'd like to meet her."
"She's right..." Aya looked around, a lost expression on her
face "... there. Where did she go to?"
Natalie smiled. Maybe it was an imaginary friend after all.
"Cmon honey, let's go inside. Mommy ordered pizza today."
"Yay pizza!" Aya got up, running towards the house exactly
when the front bell rang.
"That must be it. Get inside and grab me some napkins."