I am a translator from CN branch. Today I found that this article disappeared. I wonder why and whether I should keep working or not.here is the original article:
Is it okay to have imaginary friends?
I think we all have them. They're just normal for us, right? Especially when we want someone around! A friend who's there for us, or maybe just a special person who can keep us busy for a little while. Imaginary friends come in many shapes and sizes. Some are taller or shorter, while others might be strong or super smart. They might even have spikey orange hair and have goofy names like Woofenshmirtz or Babby Bip! But no matter how they look, or what they're called, all of our friends are loved.
I have a friend too! His name's Andy.
Andy's always been very special. He's not like the other imaginary friends we keep around. You know, the friends who show up whenever they want, or the ones that nobody ever seems to see? Andy's not like that at all. In fact, he loves being seen! He tells me that all the time. That's his only wish — to be noticed by everyone, just in case something were to ever happen to me. He cares so very much! And he just wants to be my friend, after all.
Andy knows a secret way to get others to see him. It's very special, I promise. The only problem is that he is also very shy! How silly of him, right? He's not like other imaginary friends, who are always so happy to talk to everyone we meet. No, Andy thinks it's rude to do that. Instead he does something very special.
It doesn't happen until I find a new friend. A real-life friend, someone who can come out to play with me when I go out to the backyard. Someone like Jaime — she was our neighbor. She loved playing with me outside. We would do it all the time until the sun went to sleep and then again once it woke up the next day!
Everybody loved Jaime, including Andy. Andy was so jealous that she couldn't see him. That was when he decided to reveal his special trick and come play with us too.
You see, Andy was shy because he didn't like the way he looked. He thought people would make fun of him because he's so skinny, or because he's very tiny. I tried to tell him that it was silly and that he looked very handsome but he's still shy. So, instead, he likes to appear as someone else. Someone like Jaime.
Andy loved that idea so very much. He said he just wanted to feel what it was like to be Jaime. To be felt as if he was being seen by everyone. It made him really happy, and it made me happy too!
But one day Andy said he wanted to feel more like Jaime, and that he had a special plan. One where everyone could always see him and Jaime.
We waited until Jaime came out to play with us — like she always did. Andy and I decided that we should all play in the treehouse again. And it was very fun! We played games like pretend, hide-and-seek, and so many others. While we were all playing though, Andy decided that it was time to reveal his secret plan.
Andy pulled out our pet rock Clifford. Clifford was such a silly pet — always up to no good! But we loved him very much. Clifford was also a very heavy pet. Andy said that I should show Clifford to Jaime because she would like him. So, I picked him up and took him to her. But Jaime was always busy whenever I tried to show her Clifford, and Andy didn't like that. So instead, Andy took Clifford from me and said, "Don't worry, I'll show him to Jaime for you!"
Then he went up to her, lifted Clifford up in the sky for everyone to see, and then BONK! Right on her little noggin! And a bunch of confetti and fluff came out of her — all red and squishy too. She had so much of it up there!
But Jaime got really tired when Andy tried to show her Clifford, and then she fell asleep near our playhouse set. That didn’t stop Andy though! Not at all. He just lifted Clifford back up again and again and again until there was no way she hadn’t seen him.
Andy got super excited. He said that he needed to show Jaime more! So we pushed her over to the corner of the treehouse. Then Andy had another idea. He thought that Jaime looked lonely lying there and that we should help her feel better.
He had me grab her hand before running away to do something else. I thought her hand felt very soft. Like a good blanket, or maybe a nice fuzzy coat. I stayed there for quite a while until Andy finally came back and told me that I needed to help him peel Jaime. Almost like an orange!
He said that there were many ways to peel oranges. Some of us like to slice them open with a sharp knife, or even bite through the whole skin and tear it all away. But Andy has his own special way to peel oranges. First, Andy had me hold Jaime’s hand while he lifted her fingernails. They came up with such a nice popping sound – like a soda can! Then he had me grab the nail too and pull it really hard. I thought that it might break off but instead I was able to pull it and Jaime’s skin all the way up!
Then Andy had me go to the next one, and then the one after that. We even had to change from her hands to her feet because we had pulled all the nails. It was so very fun – and I didn’t know that we had stuff underneath that peely skin! They looked like little red strings, and they were really stretchy and tough to pull on.
Andy told me that those strings were very special. He had me push my fingers between them like I was trying to peek through window blinds. It felt so very weird! I could feel the little strings shake whenever I wiggled my fingers. But then there was also something else in there – something hard and sticky. Andy said that I should pull it out. So I tried. And when I did I realized that it was a super long bone!
Andy helped me pick the rest of the bones out. We must’ve spent so long in the treehouse, pulling bones away one by one. Until we were left with nothing but Jaime. The real Jaime. She looked so peaceful and cozy.
After a really long time, Andy took Jaime, lifted her up really high, and had me slip inside her. In between the stringy red stuff and the peeled skin. We started from her back, fitting my arms and legs inside her first. Then Andy helped me fit around her stomach, and finally over her stretchy face. And she fit over me so very well! Like getting a big, wet hug all around. Andy made sure to check everything again and asked if I was comfy.
Andy took me to the mirror, and that’s when I realized something. This had been his plan all along! This is how Jaime would finally get to see Andy, my friend. It was so perfect with Jaime, Andy, and me all together. We were like a huge family.
I wish it would have lasted forever, but then Jaime started to get heavy and dry. Once I started having trouble moving around Andy helped me get Jaime off, and then he had me move her to the back of the treehouse, hiding her in our little toy chest so she could get some rest. How kind of Andy to think of Jaime like that!
She must’ve slept in that closet for a long while. After about a week or two, Jaime’s family started to stop by our house a lot. I remember them asking us a bunch of weird questions. I think they were very worried about Jaime, but then after a while they stopped coming by. They had no idea that Jaime was still up in the treehouse, playing with Andy and me every day!
But then Jaime went away too, and Andy started to get sad again. He told me how much he missed having a friend to play with us. I told him that it would be okay, but he said that we needed to have someone come back up to the treehouse with us. How silly of him! But I also think our new neighbors have another boy who’s about our age. I think his name was maybe Johnny? Andy said that I should try playing with him. Maybe we could even become best friends like Jaime!
But Andy also said he has a special new plan for Johnny. I wonder what it will be?
THX.If you don't mind, i wonder Whether you will republish it later or not.
Apathy's a tragedy, and boredom is a crime
