Chapter 1
I knocked on the office door, feeling my heart racing. I was about to ask for something almost unheard of.
“Come in!” called the gruff voice of the head of the assignment office, Mr. Salynx.
I opened the door nervously and walked into the spacious office. The walls were decorated with the photos of the children Mr. Salynx had helped over the years. That gave me a little hope. Perhaps he would be sympathetic.
“Ah, Xylan,” he said, nodding his walrus head. “Come in, take a seat.” One of his long tentacles gestured to a chair across from where he was sitting. I sat down and started fiddling with my tail. “How can I help you today?”
“Well, you know I keep tabs on the children I help as they grow older,” I said, avoiding eye contact. “And, I’m a little worried about the child I was assigned just before Hailee, Alice. Halee’s getting a little too old for me, and I was wondering if I could be reassigned to Alice.”
Mr. Salynx scowled. “Xylan, you know imaginary friends are only assigned during childhood. Going back to a child after you’ve been taken off their case is highly irregular.”
“But allowed in cases of severe mental distress sometimes,” I interjected.
“I’ll pull up her file and go over it, and you can make your case, but I’m not making any promises.” He opened his filing cabinet and rifled through the files until he pulled one out and set it on his desk.
“Let’s see here, Alice Hunter,” he mused. “While you were assigned to her you took four main forms, a flying dog, a little brother, a blue caterpillar, and a silver dragon. It seemed she had quiet a fondness for dragons, and the silver dragon was your most common form. Let’s see here, you noted in here that she didn’t like barbies or dolls, and preferred not to play a female role in her pretend games… let me guess, in her teenage years it was revealed she was transgender?”
“Yes, sir,” I gulped. “She, I mean they, are non-binary. They go by Aspen now. They’ve been having a very difficult time. Unsupportive family, bullies at school, constantly being misgendered. I’m really worried they might do something horrible if I don’t help. Please sir, I care about this child. They were very kind and loving growing up, not just to me.”
Mr. Salynx rubbed his head. “Xylan, we are there to help children grow and develop. We are not there to help them once they’ve hit their teenage years. After a certain age, our presence becomes more of a detriment than a help.”
I swallowed hard. “Sir, Aspen needs my help. I know they’re not a child anymore, but they need to know there’s someone that cares about them. Right now they feel alone in the world. I’ve watched too many children over the years do terrible things because they felt alone. Please sir, I don’t want this to turn into another Robin. Please let me help them.”
That struck a nerve. Robin had been one of Mr. Salynx’s favorite children. He looked at the file again, and sighed. “Alright,” he said. “I’ll terminate your assignment with Hailee and reassign you to Aspen. On one condition. They are not to see you. Only hear your voice.”
“Understood,” I said, a grin tugging at my face, my heart soaring. I immediately ran to the child portal and scanned my ID. Aspen’s face came up, I turned myself invisible, and walked through the portal.
They were in their room, sitting on the floor, crying. I knew I’d done the right thing. I crouched down to their ear and whispered. “It’s going to be okay. You are loved. Everything is going to be okay."
