Bending Reality

Elisa sat in her room. She was lost in a story about a vampire who fell in love with a werewolf. The story wasn't deep, but it was full of imagery and emotion. The day had passed by fast enough and while she loved to read, she eventually needed a break.

She took that break when she heard a knock on her bedroom door. "Elisa, are you alright?" a voice came from beyond her room. She recognized the voice as her mothers. Her mother was always worried that she spent too much time in worlds of fantasy and not enough time in the one that mattered.

"Yeah," Elisa shot back through the door.

"It's time for dinner." came the reply and with that, Elisa got up and left her fantasy world behind. Well, at least for the time being. Elisa's mom was a decent cook and her father wasn't easy to please. Elisa imagined that the beef stew was really boar meet that she cooked over a fire after hunting in an enchanted forest. She had that faraway look in her eye that disturb her parents very much but didn't really know what to do about.

"So how was your day at school?" Elisa's father asked, hoping to spark a conversation with his withdrawn daughter.

"It was ok." Elisa replied. Strike one.

"Did you make any new friends?" Her mother asked.

"I'm not in preschool, mother." Came the reply. Strike two.

They both paused a moment. One more strike and they were out. The problem was they didn't know how to relate to their daughter. She had a vivid imagination. One they were frightened of.

Elisa finished her dinner and went back to her room. Back to a world of passion and intrigue. Soon she was lost in the story again. She wasn't sure just how long it had been but after some time she heard a noise. A noise that wasn't supposed to be there and it brought her out of her trance. She felt like she was no longer alone and the hair on her arms stood straight up. She froze in place and if movement would cause great harm to come to her. She slowly looked around the room and there was nothing there that wasn't supposed to be. While in the grip of this feeling, there is a knock on the door.

"Can I come in?" Her father asked.

"Sure" Elisa answers, still petrified. Her father opens the door and walks in.

"Are you okay? You look scared." Her father observes.

"It's a scary part of the book." Elisa offers as an explanation. Her father accepts this reason and continues.

"Your mom and I are really worried about you. You don't have any friends and you seem to get lost in these stories as if they are real." Her father explains.

"I know you are worried." Elisa responds, "But people make fun of me at school and I'm not really good at anything. This is the only thing that makes life bearable."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Her father sympathizes, "but we have to do something. Maybe a therapist will help this time."

"You know what happened the last time." Elisa warns.

"I know" Her father says, "Just think about it."

"Okay" Elisa answers. Elisa's father feels helpless, but he leaves his daughter. As the door closes, a tall young boy comes out of the shadows. He is wearing jeans and a leather jacket. He is holding a fireball in his hand like it was nothing.

"I thought he would never leave" the young boy says with an evil grin on his face, "Are you ready?"

"Ready for what?" Elisa's asks innocently.

"Ready to start living!" the young boy responds.