I was only five years old, I was the only girl in the house and the oldest of four brothers, we lived in the house that my parents built in Cumaná - Sucre State - Venezuela. It was a big and cool house, it had a porch, a living room with four rooms, a kitchen, a bathroom, a laundry room, a big yard full of fruit trees.
My mother worked in the library of the República de Argentina school, my father worked as head of social work in a welfare module. My grandmother was a seamstress, so after going to kindergarten, I spent the day in the company of my grandmother and my mother. Each had her own job, my mother took care of my other siblings and my grandmother was busy with her fabrics.
I was alone, I didn't have a baby sister to play with, so I would lock myself in my mother's room, where she had her double bed, the baby's crib and a big wooden closet, I would lock myself in there where I would create a fantasy world full of joy and fun.
When I would go on vacation to my paternal grandparents' house, in the city of Anaco, it was fun. The house was even bigger than the house where we lived, it had a central patio with ornamental and fruit trees and cement chairs, when I went to play I would go to the patio, I would sit on one of the chairs to play, I would spend hours and hours in my magical world. Once I was playing in the garden, my uncle José Gregorio, my dad's brother, noticed that I was playing and talking to myself. He tried to visualize who I was talking to, he noticed that no one was there, at first he didn't pay much attention to me. As the days went by he noticed that the situation was repeating itself, so he spoke to my mother:
"my sister-in-law, have you noticed that my niece plays as if she were with someone else".
My mother, very calm, replied "the truth is that I have not paid attention to her, I know she plays alone, I do not think it is anything wrong".
One afternoon I was playing in the yard as usual, my uncle Jose Gregorio approached me and asked:
"my pretty niece, who are you playing and talking to?".
I, with my face full of innocence, answered him:
"I am playing at the beach with my friend Andrés" My uncle, very confused, looking among the ornamental plants, said to me:
"Where is it that I can't find it?".
I, very smiling, told him.
"Uncle, it's next to you, can't you see it or are you blind?".
My uncle out of politeness answered me:
"Ah, yes, I just saw him".
My uncle's concern increased, he said to my mother:
"you should seek professional help, it is not good for the my niece to play like that, lest she is playing with a goblin".
My mother smiled and said to my uncle with affection:
"chinito don't worry, she is baptized so nothing bad is going to happen to her".
My uncle insisted that something bad could happen to me for playing with something imaginary. Every time he came home he would bring me candy, and I would happily say:
"thanks uncle, but you missed Andrew's":
My uncle, very serious, would say to me:
"I didn't bring it, because it's too ugly".
I, innocently, would say to him:
"He's my friend, it doesn't matter that you didn't bring him anything, I share my candy with him".
That's how the month of vacation went by, my uncle would make up any little thing so that I wouldn't play with Andrés. However, those things were not an impediment for me to build an imaginary world. It was time to return to Cumaná, we put the suitcases in the car, when we were ready to start, my uncle approached the car and put his head in the back of the car, he said to me:
"My niece, God took care of her, I imagine that Andres stayed here in the house with us".
Me shaking my head, my curls tousled like popcorn, I replied:
"No uncle, he's the first one who got in the car, can't you see him, here he is next to me, or are you blind?".
With the astuteness with which I answered my uncle, the whole family burst out laughing.
We set off on our journey, I fell asleep like a sleeping beauty, when we arrived back home, my maternal grandmother was waiting for us with food ready. After eating I started watching cartoons on TV, from there I went to my mother's room. She remembered the words my uncle José Gregorio said to her. Very calmly she followed me to my secret hiding place, when she saw me she found me in my secret place, my magic world, she asked:
"What are you doing?"
I turned my face and said:
"I'm playing with Andrew, he's very exhausted from the trip."
My mother, with a loving gesture, left me alone and went into the living room. As a mother, she understood that every child has an imaginary friend and should be under supervision. So the years passed, I played with my friend Andrew, until he dissipated over time. Today I am married, I have my daughters. When my uncles call home, by way of greeting they say to me:
"Niece of mine, God bless you, Andrew how are you?".
I, with a smile on my face, although I no longer remember Andrew's face , answer them:
"Well, I send you greetings".
This is a non-fiction story
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