The imaginary friend- Chapter 1

giantbear (74)in #fiction • 6 years ago

Claudia just finished serving breakfast for her son David. He sat opposite her, and ate his cereal, while she sipped on her coffee. They had just moved into the apartment building, and she was still tired. The moving truck only arrived after five the previous afternoon, and she unpacked until after one this morning. She wanted to have everything ready for when David woke up.

Claudia is a single mom, struggling to make ends meet, but she succeeded so far with the help of her parents. She was totally dependent on them until she found this job. They had somewhat of an unwritten agreement that they will look after her and David until she found a proper job, but they had their own lives to live.

Claudia grew up in a godforsaken little town, and it was time for her to get out of there. She knew that if she didn't, she would be stuck there forever, and so would David. She couldn't do that to him.

She always knew that she didn't belong there either, but she had no other opportunity up to now to get out of there. Her parents were old and she was the youngest daughter so she had to find her own way in life. She went to school in town and she fell in love with Billy. They went out a few times and then Billy left to go and study at university and he never came back. She found out she was pregnant a few weeks later but Billy wanted nothing to do with her. It was as if she never existed.

She was stuck on the farm and when David was born, she knew that she wanted more for him that she could ever imagine for herself. It was the first time that she felt out of place on the farm. Her parents were never great supporters, but her mother looked after David while she worked at the diner in town.

She saved up every cent she earned there, as she knew that one day she would need the money. The only money she ever spent on herself was to do a correspondence course in accounting. She applied for many jobs but no one wanted a young inexperienced accountant on their payroll.

She saw the advertisement in the newspaper one day and sent in her application on the very same day. She had completely forgotten about it, and when she received the response she was over the moon. They loved her resume and she had to come in for an interview.

She came and made such an impression on them they asked her to start immediately, but she explained to them that she had responsibilities and they understood. Her boss was a Mr Vorster and he even gave her an advance on her salary to help her find an apartment.

She fit right in, and when she walked out of the building, she knew that she had found a new reason for living. She immediately went to look for apartments and found the perfect one only two blocks from the office building.

She knew that she was in the right place at the right time. There was a park nearby and she would be able to take David there in the afternoons after work, and there was a crèche nearby so she could drop off David in the mornings before work. Everything worked out just perfect.

- To be continued -