Gemotions

The crayon slipped from Amelia’s hand, clattering against the kitchen table. She stared at the drawing, a crude depiction of a stick figure with impossibly long limbs standing next to a smiling sun. It was the same stick figure, with those disconcertingly elongated arms, that her niece, Lily, drew constantly. Amelia felt a cold dread creep into her stomach.

“Lily, darling,” Amelia said, her voice unusually tight. “Who’s this?” She pointed a trembling finger at the figure.

Lily, oblivious to her aunt’s sudden disquiet, bounced on her heels. “That’s Sammy! He comes to play with me in my room.” A giggle escaped her lips. Amelia swallowed, the taste of bile rising in her throat. She remembered Sammy. He was her imaginary friend, from a long, forgotten childhood. The friend she'd buried, deep.